How do you put one cat on a diet while still feeding the other one? Serious question.

One of Jack’s friends came over to meet the cats and was duly introduced to slim, neat Davy. Then Hobbes wandered in, Jack pointed him out and said “There’s the fat ranga one.”  And he has got fatter since then. I guess that he was malnourished as a kitten and has a poverty mentality, such that, whenever there is food, he eats as much as he can fit in. Hobbes even supplements his diet by bringing in white bread crusts, from the neighbours, I guess, and gnawing them on the carpet. Like him, we still have a level of poverty mentality. We were pretty thin when we left Zim during hyperinflation, after we had finished our last rice and tomato sauce, and our pantry was as empty as the supermarket shelves. We needed to go somewhere where there actually were groceries on the shelves, and we actually had some money to be able to buy them. In Botswana we could afford to buy apples! And yogurt! And cheese! So we feasted, and grew plump, like Hobbes. We have lost some of it since, but it is hard to shake off that mentality once you have lived like that for a period of time. Perhaps being poorly nourished for a while triggers some feast or famine genetic thing? So your brain and body see food and go “Great! Let’s see how much of this we can eat and store for later!”

 

Mind you, I think that it has the opposite effect on some people. Their brain and body say “We’ve had a piece of toast already today, so no worries until tomorrow.” My oldest is like that. He is an Enneagram 5 (for those who are familiar with the Enneagram (I do some coaching on it from time to time)), and they are very good at ignoring their bodies. He recently mentioned one day at about 5pm that he was craving sugar.

 “What have you had to eat so far today?” I asked.

He looked puzzled, “Nothing” he said.

Nothing! Of course your body is craving sugar, the poor thing is starving. I told him that if he treated a dog like he treats his body, the SPCA would be on his doorstep asap.

“I just forget” he said.

Forget!!

I so wish I was like that! My body screams for food all the time. It sees it as the answer to any problem:

I’m tired – “I know, let’s eat something!”

I’m bored – “I know, let’s eat something!”

I’m sad – “I know, let’s eat something!”

I don’t know WHAT to paint – “I know, let’s eat something!”

I don’t know HOW to paint – “I know, let’s eat something!”

 I’m happy – “I know, let’s eat something!”

I try to give it coffee instead, and egg instead of sugar, but I wish I knew how to shut it up, let alone forget about it!

Some of you thin (team Davy) ones are now pitying/despising me, while others of you (team Hobbes) are saying “I know, right?” Which team are you? Is there a middle team??

So what have I been up to besides trying not to eat too much?

Priming canvases and doing drawings for some new paintings.

Painting clouds and hills.

Painting an alternative butterfly. Can you see what the wings are made of?

Completing the 30 day art in the home social media challenge!

Missing my husband, who was away in Australia for two weeks. I let the cats sleep in our bedroom a couple of times, to keep me company while he was away. Mistake. Hobbes kept me awake, and I kept Davy awake.

And now this week’s blessing:

Team Davy: May you treat your body with tender, loving care, and actually feed it something nourishing.

Team Hobbes: May your body leave you in peace, and may you forget about it for considerable lengths of time.

XX Barbie