( I did not add the video because I am a nervous wreck and that evidence need not be on the internet forever)

 

I like my cat,

I like her well,

As all the house may see.

I like her for herself, not

Because the cat likes me.

 

Any time is play time,

According to this brat.

I could be walking, writing, or working–

It doesn’t matter. I’m in her habitat.

 

She counts her only work in life,

To flourish and be fat;

And this she does with all her might;

Of course, I like my cat.

 

After 13 long years,

Filled with accidents left and right,

I do indeed have one fear:

She might be living out of spite.

 

And heaven forbid you leave your clothes,

pillows, papers, spare change,

For a cat like mine, who adores wasting time,

Any feather is fair game.

 

She’s eaten everything off the counters;

Nobody’s bacon is safe.

From fruits and fries to biscuits and lies

She was always desperate for a taste.

 

For while in every other part

Her portly persona sleeps,

That bushy tail, with a steady wave,

A ceaseless vigil keeps.

 

When night is dark

my cat is wise

to light the lanterns

in her eyes.

 

It’s 10 AM and time to play

Now it’s 3 AM and time for freak outs.

Its 12 PM and time for a buffet

Now it’s 4 PM and time to shout.

 

My house cat sits

And smiles and sings.

She knows a lot

Of secret things.

 

She’s got tricks up her sleeve, likely,

Or time she needs to borrow,

I want to wait and see,

But I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

 

Messing about around the house

Continues on for days.

In subtle ways

She lets me know

“I am here to stay!”

 

There is a special place for cats,

After which they part.

Bastet is there, and different skies,

And nights with different stars.

 

I adore her, for the most bit.

Still, she is as proud as you please.

I know, one day, she will leave

But her memory belongs to me.

 

~ Lauren E. Jadot, © 2019