Jake, Mandi, and the Way We are

 I HAVE TWO KITTENS,  mandi the female, and jake the male. (ladies first). Only problem is, mandi aint no lady. Both came to me as strays, and they adopted me. I took both of them in, mandi first. Both demonstrated their true desire to be with me by hanging out incessantly on my front porch. Its too late for anyone else to join the family; one must have limits.

Both kittens were wilder than jackrabbits when they came to me. Would't let me get close, let alone touch them. They had never had any human contact. Just born to a stray female somewhere, who weened them, then went about her business.They were several weeks old. But they came to me for some reason, and kept coming back.

I don't know why they chose me, but they kept coming back, hanging around, so I decided to feed them, even though I had no intention of being adpoted by a cat. Hadn't had a pet in ten years. Gradually, very gradually, they began to trust me.

Jake eats anything you give him, glad to get it. Mandi turns her fuzzy nose up at whatever I put on her food dish, picky and ungrateful, even though a few short weeks ago she had no home, no steady source of food, other then human trash.

Over and over again jake approaches mandi, wanting to be friends. Every time, mandi hisses and growls at him, and even from time to time throws a few right hooks. jake just sits there, not sensing any danger , ignoring her aggression, no worries, even though she is considerably larger than he.

If I pick up mandi and put her on my lap, she usually hops right back down - unless she happens to be "in the mood", which means hungry. Pick up jake, he stays, and purrs. Mandi sleeps with me sometimes, and sometimes not. Jake climbes into bed, snuggles, purrs, and is content.

There's only one way to treat cats and dogs, as everyone knows: love the stuffin' outta 'em. If I love on mandi, jake sits contendly nearby, waiting his turn, knowing it will come. Sometimes he acts like he wants to join in. If I love on jake, mandi indignantly turns her back on both of us, disdainfully, and pouts.

Sounds kinda like human beings, don't it? Females, by nature, must be very selective. After all, one can only get pregnant at the hands (genitals) of one male. The male, on the other hand, must be willing to take whatever comes. If rejected by one female, find another. Find as many as possible.

Males are programmed by nature to spread their seed far and wide, thus increasing their chances of sending themselves into the future through their progeny. The female, if she is smart, picks and chooses, sits and looks pretty, selecting the best possible mal;, in other words, the one with the most resources.

Resources include material wealth, power, strength, physical attractiveness, power, and social status (fame). Females  are looking for males with resources, males are looking for females with fertility: youth and physical beauty

WE humans can no more help or change what are are than can my kittens. The only solution is to accept things the way they are, and either play the game or stay on the sidelines.

jake keeps trying, and sometimes i wonder why he bothers. Sometimes I wonder why any of us bother. The sidelines can be a very warm and fuzzy comfort zone.