Freud had it wrong.

His question should have been "What do CATS want?"

Really, has anyone every figured out the inner workings of a cat's mind? Anyone who has a cat knows that cats are intelligent. Look at how they get us to do their bidding!

It's their methods, though, that often prompt us to ask what the cat really wants. If a cat has gotten his or her way once by doing a series of activities before the cat's person finally figures out that the cat, say, wants to go out, then ever after the cat will go through the same series. Nevermind that it might start with a meow by the food dish, followed by ignoring the food, walking in a circle, meowing a again, and then, maybe, heading for the door to the outside. If it worked once, the cat figures that's how it's done!

And how many of us have give food to our apparantly starving cats, only to have them turn up their noses at it? It took me years before I finally figured out that I should not stand there waiting to see if the cat was going to eat. I now walk away into another room, and soon the cat starts chowing down. She must want her privacy when she eats. At least, that's how I read the situation. Who really knows?

Most of the time when my cat curls up on my lap it is because she wants to snuggle, be petted and sleep (or that's the way it appears). But sometimes I think it's just to keep tabs on me and be prepared, when I get up, to indicate another want or need, be it food or to go outside (the primary cat issues, at least in my home).

So, let others worry about what women want. Those of us with cats will better spend our time trying to figure out what cats want!