There's a fine line between children and pets some days. (Parenting/Humor)

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If you’re a parent, you know what it’s like to be eating, reading or watching television when all of a sudden you have the distinct impression that someone is staring at you. Look over your shoulder and you will find one of your children concentrating intensely on the back of your neck.

“What do you want?”

“Uh....”

Why do they do that? Are they trying to develop telepathic powers?

More disconcerting is when you have a cat that does the very same thing.

My husband and I were talking one day when we both felt that unbreakable stare. This time one of our cats perched on a nearby table turned out to be the culprit. We looked at him.

“Me-ROWR!” (That’s cat for: “Fill my food bowl.”) Well, we weren’t about to grant this request right at that moment so we continued our conversation. The staring continued. We ignored him.

Suddenly, a book crashed to the floor. We jumped. The cat smiled. We returned to our conversation. Another book hit the floor with a stunning slap.

What’s this? The cats have turned into little hairy children! They now imitate the children exactly. “PAY ATTENTION TO ME NOW OR ELSE!”

Now, ordinarily my mom guilt would have tipped the scales. Moms always worry about whether or not they have paid enough attention to their kids. In fact, one of the very things we wonder as we try to discern our children’s more disturbing behavior is “Have I spent enough time with Junior lately? Is he acting out to get my attention?”

But this was one of our cats so my mom guilt didn’t elevate in the slightest. We kept talking, the cat kept dropping things, upping the ante each time by selecting something even more precious to drop and break. I finally gave into his demands and set out his dinner.

Well, what was I supposed to do? Put him on a time-out?

Something else the kids do that the cats imitate is sneak. Now if one of my children strolled into the kitchen, took a cookie, ate it and went on his merry way, I wouldn’t even notice. But tiptoeing, opening cupboards and cookie jars carefully so as not to make a sound ALWAYS sets off my mom radar.

It’s the same with the cats. Ordinarily, they saunter into the kitchen and eat their dinner. BUT, if a cat trots to the entryway of the kitchen, peeks stealthily over his shoulder and then scurries quietly out of my sight, I know immediately that the garbage is about to be raided.

I don’t know. Maybe I need to get out more often. The line between children and pets is getting awfully gray.

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©Lisa Barker
Jelly Mom™ is written by Lisa Barker, mother of five and author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane... Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and is syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com. Sign up for the complimentary Jelly Mom™ weekly newsletter and receive a BONUS GIFT!