There’s an old adage that says what I say three times is true.
His routine was to take a break from his work on his laptop, by stepping out onto the patio, where he had a chair. Over time, it became evident that his cat, a large male, also found it a comfortable place to sit. Although, in his case, a comfortable seat cushion to curl up on and go to sleep. At first the man would see it as somehow cute and went to a nearby garden bench instead. Again, over time, he reconsidered his attitude and took on a more practical view. He felt that he had been too soft. With his new approach, he found it necessary to give the animal a few nudges before it jumped down.
The next stage of the affair occurred when, on occasion, he would find the cat on the chair and would only have to approach, talking to it, to have it reluctantly give it up, without him having to do anything. The final phase came when, on his opening the door to come out, the cat would look up and instantly hop off. At first he couldn’t believe his eyes. Then, he did it again. When he did it a third time… well, you know what they say about that. Anyway, when his pet did this, it invariably settled down next to the chair. It was this last development that had the man wondering.
He pondered over the idea that this was a most un-catlike thing to do. They, as a species, and being the way they were, tended to do exactly what they wanted, at least most of the time. Maybe it was a sign of respect? No. Give me a break, he thought. Maybe it was his age. After all, he was getting on a bit. Because he was getting old, it could be that he wasn’t up to making an issue of things; he was just looking for a quiet life. He wondered about that. What would his age be, compared to humans? He’d have to look it up. The whole thing had him puzzled.
Oh! Well, he thought, there’s another adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.