I have never been able to tolerate animals that continually make noise. I don’t mind an occasional bark or meow; but a constantly barking dog, or a cat who meows continually … Well it drives me nuts!

The barking dog isn’t too bad, because you can tell a dog to stop barking and they will; and if it is your neighbor’s dog who is driving you nuts, you can shut the door and window and block out most of the sound. The cat, however, is a totally different story. Cats don’t “obey” unless it is their idea; and the more they don’t get what they want, the “louder” they demand. Some cats have quieter — but equally annoying — ways of demanding; but there is nothing quiet about the one we are currently housing for our son until he can come back to Canada from China to take her back to China with him.

I’m sure I am exaggerating when I saw she meows constantly; I’m sure there are quiet moments. The times when she is not quiet, however, are so annoying to me that I completely forget if there are quiet times or not!

I have to feel sorry for her actually…A very affectionate cat, she doesn’t like being away from her human mom and dad. She’s used to being the only animal with two adults to dote on her. At my house, I don’t pay any attention to her. She drives me crazy! And my wife has to split her attentions between the cat and our resident dog. Besides that, the cat only barely tolerates the presence of the dog… So I do get it. She misses her family. But why does she have to yawl all the time?!?!

My wife doesn’t seem to be bothered by the noise. She says she ignores it. I wish I could learn to ignore it…

It makes me think though. There are things in life that shouldn’t be ignored; irritations that need to be paid attention to. A fire alarm, a car honking behind you, a crying child, to name a few. Then there’s the “irritations” of the news. The devastations of fires, earthquakes, wars, world hunger … Many people have learned to ignore these; yet according to God’s Word, they really shouldn’t be ignored! “If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8 NIV)

One other “irritation” comes to mind that absolutely should not be ignored: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV). We like to think of the devil as being sneaky; but this text makes it abundantly clear: The devil prowls around like a roaring lion! Why, then, do we so easily fall into his traps? Because we have learned to ignore his roar! We have learned to ignore our consciences that try to warn us that we are about to fall into temptation!

I’m afraid I’ve already learned to ignore so many of the other things that I really shouldn’t ignore. Perhaps I shouldn’t learn to ignore the cat after all! Instead, perhaps I need to condition myself to actually see hurting people around me! To actually hear the “roar” of the devil!

An English expression, “the cat’s meow”, means that someone or something is very appealing. Maybe those irritating noises — like the beggar, the news of tragedy, and especially the “roar” of the devil — should be seen by us as truly being “the cat’s meow”! Something that gets our attention and causes us to avoid temptation, to truly care about those around us enough to do something about it!

Don’t tune out the “cat’s meow”, friends! Let’s all resolve to stay perfectly in tune with the things in life that we really should pay attention to!

Oh, and would anyone like a literal cat who meows constantly? No? Well does anyone have ear plugs?

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries