Jealousy

     Humans know what jealousy means.  It really needs no definition.  Animals don't know our meaning of it.  But yet, they display it frequently.  I have four inside cats that I rescued when kittens.  Mother cat abandoned them in my garage.  I don't know why she did it.  But it became up to us (my son and I) to take care of them.  It will be four years this October that the four came to live with us.  At first, we closed the garage and allowed them to live there.  The three females were spayed and the one male neutered.  The plans from the start were to release them outside when we thought they could take care of themselves.  But becoming attached to them would eventually find us moving them into the house with us. 
     Before all this came about, we frequently went into the garage to play with them.  When they got tired, they climbed upon our chest and went to sleep.  Three of them did this.  The fourth one, who was a runt and named Runt, never did this though.  She started out sick and required a heating pad for warmth.  She constantly laid on the heating pad.  What they all learned in that garage, they brought with them into the house.  Runt sleeps alone.  The other three still do that climbing on the chest and going off to sleep.  They are no longer kittens, but weigh now 17 to 20 pounds apiece.  They do get heavy. 
     One cat is lying in a better place than another.  Up jumps Bugs who runs My-a off.  Was that cat getting more love?  He now lies in the exact spot that My-a once did.  On another occasion, Blossom seeks my attention and is lying on me.  Up jumps My-a who runs Blossom off. 
     "I'm hungry," Runt meows for food.  Here comes the other three meowing and pushing Runt aside to gain the attention.  Everyone of the four are meowing now in their attempt to gain all my attention.  Since I don't work, I see the antics of these cats all day long.  In their eyes, I am an important part of their lives.  They all want me......How blessed can a person be to have all that love?  I can only explain their behavior as jealousy.  They are showing a human emotion.  My son laughs it off by saying, "You're their mother."  Actually, I am.  My son and I are the only humans they have known.  We love them and they know it.  They love us and we know it.  I try not to show any favoritism.  I practice loving them all four the same........It is hard though to show no favoritism.  I do have my favorite as I think all mothers do.