The Unbearable Sharpness of Cats

The dilemma, when a cat who loves you has jumped up,purring, onto your shoulders, is that if you bend over only enough to provide the cat a gentle slope so that it can climb down without having to dig its claws in and shred you, you are not providing adequate incentive for the cat to climb down in the first place.

"Why," says the cat to itself (cats being fairly introspective creatures), "why would I jump down now, just when things have gotten so comfortable?"

Cats are too fond of comfort to pick nits about whether they are actually comfortable. This may be the most ancient and insoluble paradox of domestic catdom. Unlike, for instance, the most ancient and insoluble paradox of, say, wild honey-badgerdom, which is how to be the most badass thing since Chuck Norris' beard's solo career without actually getting eaten by leopards.

We all make sacrifices.