Reading Sarah K’s post today about  one of her many pets…My sweetest…it made me think of my poor dead kitty who died suddenly last winter. I decided to post the poem I wrote in my sadness.

Ode to a Dead Cat

Nuisance, I barely knew you,
you were a strange but lovable beast.
You showed up out of nowhere
shortly after we bought our tiny, ugly house.
It seemed fitting that the old dwelling
would have a pushy cat to go with it,
and with it you seemed to go,
as you would never leave,
even when we chucked rocks at you
to scare you away.
Frank felt bad about doing that,
so he started feeding you behind my back.
When I found out he was feeding you dogfood
out of pity, I named you Nuisance
and bought you some catfood.
You snuck in to the house
whenever you could slip past us
or push the door open
and you would go straight to the room
that was Bailey’s…the old lady
who was the previous owner
must have let you sleep on her bed.
You began your meowing at 5am,
if anyone was stirring…6 if all was quiet.
We had to hide the dog and catfood in
a locking trash can or you would
rip the bag open at the bottom to snack
or just jump inside if it was a big bag.
Your favorite trick was to flop yourself down
on your back right in our paths,
either wanting a rub
or secretly trying to make us break our necks
(I never knew which).
Many a time, I nearly fell trying not to step on you
cursing you mildly under my breath
thinking about kicking you across the yard.
You learned the hard way to time your flop
a few feet further away, avoiding getting squished.
You loved nothing better than to have your head scratched,
yet you would bite the hand doing the scratching,
playfully of course.
If I worked in the garage
you would jump on a box or a shelf
as close to my head as possible
then bat at my hair until I would pet you.
You brought me gifts of mice heads
and a few entrails and laid them
right in front of the washer in the basement
where you knew I would always return,
until you got too fat and lazy and stopped hunting.
You chased away other cats
not wanting to share the scanty attention you received,
and there was no such thing as too much petting
or too much attention
except from the neighborhood kids…
Unblinking stare with those green eyes,
twitchy tail when irritated,
insistent meowing when hungry or lonely
or cold.
You were my first cat,
and though I may someday have another,
you are irreplaceable in my heart.
I’ll miss you, you stupid cat.