Cats

My house has been overrun by my eight cats. There are times I watch the cats, and I can't help but wonder if they're plotting against me. Their movements are always so deliberate, and they always seem to be watching me, especially when I'm eating something they want. I'm not saying that there's a conspiracy among my cats; it's just that I've noticed some strange behavior lately.
For example, the other day I was in the kitchen making a sandwich, and I turned around to see my cat Mittens staring at me. That wasn't unusual, but then she started to lick her paws. I've seen cats lick their paws before, but there was something different about the way she was doing it. She was licking them slowly and deliberately, and she kept glancing at me as she did so. I couldn't help but feel like she was trying to tell me something.
"What is it, Mittens?" I asked. "What do you want?"
Mittens just kept licking her paws.
"Are you hungry?" I asked. "Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
Mittens stopped licking her paws and looked at me. She meowed once, and then she went back to licking her paws.
"Well, I'm not going to give you any of my sandwich," I said. "You're already overweight."
Mittens meowed again, and this time she reached out and touched my leg with her paw.
"No," I said. "I'm not going to give you any of my sandwich."
Mittens meowed again, and this time she put her paw on my leg and looked at me with her big, green eyes.
I sighed. "Fine," I said. "You can have a bite."
I broke off a piece of my sandwich and gave it to Mittens. She ate it in one bite, and then she licked her paws again.
"Is there anything else you want?" I asked.
Mittens just looked at me and purred.
I shook my head. "I don't know what you're up to, Mittens," I said. "But I'm not going to let you get the best of me."
I went back to making my sandwich, and Mittens went back to licking her paws. I kept an eye on her, though, and I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.