Cats and people are among the social mammals, but being part of the social matrix means submitting to social conditioning and often letting others pull your strings. But we are not merely the victims of the social matrix — we are also perpetrators of it. Others may attach strings to us, and we may attach strings to others. When we do things for others, expecting what they will do in return for us, we attach strings. When we manipulate people to serve our purposes, we make autonomous souls into puppets.
Consider this an auspicious time to recognize the strings attached to you and/or by you in particular relationships and the social matrix in general.
See: Confessions of a Self Aware Starship