She Keeps Licking The Empty Bowl

Really. My cat does. She finishes all her food in one sitting and then sits there and continues to lick the empty bowl. Finally she’ll wander away and a little while later, she’s back at it, licking the empty bowl. Perhaps she thinks if she licks long enough more food will suddenly appear. I don’t know. My cat is strange.

Meet Chaser

Meet Chaser: the fat, beer-drinking cat. It’s true! She drinks beer! She also eats paper, chews on pens, baskets, books, whatever she can sink her teeth into. I don’t know. My cat is strange.

So, how did the beer drinking thing begin? It all began with a Sam Adams. At least she has good taste! Notice the licking of the chops as she stares it down? I even have a video of it because it was so funny.

Bowl-Licking Obsession

So, back to her bowl-licking obsession. I don’t get it. In fact, at this very moment, she’s doing it again. Lick. Lick. Lick. She got up off her claimed cushion in the sunny window and walked into the kitchen to her bowl. For an empty dish. Granted she’s on a diet. She IS a chubby little thing, after all. (And any comments about pets resembling their owners are really not appreciated!!) So, the vet said – diet. (Note the light beer!) And so, she licks her empty bowl. I don’t know. My cat is strange.

But aren’t we all strange? Don’t we all “lick the empty bowl” in life? We do the same things over and over with no results and yet hope somehow magically results will suddenly appear. Like when I step on the scale after a week of indulging and somehow expect that it will magically show me a different, smaller number. Funny. I don’t know. Humans are strange.

Deep Hunger

But one thing humans and cats both have in common: a deep hunger. The kind that makes us seek out empty bowls hoping for more. What we’re really seeking is meaning; a reason for being. If this is you too, you might enjoy my devotional series, “Look & See” which features photographic reflections on the goodness and presence of God. I know I’d sure love to stop licking an empty bowl, wouldn’t you?