A cat is an enigma, a question, a surprise.
She is soft, hard, warm, cold. He is gentle and fierce.
They are solemn clowns in search of an appreciative audience.
She watches out the window, waiting for the ice-cream truck to bring her lunch.
He watches the people do funny human tricks.
Who knows what they are thinking?
They keep us warm by stealing the blankets at night,
Safe by waking us up to check for intruders.
They answer the phone, watch TV, escort us to the bathroom.
They help us make dinner and our beds, fold laundry and mail.
They bring us snacks, hair balls, fleas, other cats and surprises.
They keep the world safe from all harm by ridding us of bugs and spiders.
They are black, white, orange, brown, gray, striped, spotted, blotchy, patterned, plain.
They are short, tall, big and small.
They are cats, gattos, gatos, katz, chat, kat, cattus, kott, katsi, kedi, gatz,
Mao, mio, neko, biss, and puss.
They are Muffin, Tigger, Pumpkin, Sissy, Missy, Butch, and Charley.
They are "Here Kitty," "That Stupid Cat," "Get Out Of Here," "My Precious Darling."
They are special, loved, indoor, outdoor, clawed, declawed, homed, abandoned.

What is a cat?
Take a guess, they are everything and anything you could imagine.

Copyright © Pam Shirk
December 11, 1999