She binds us with cooing when we find no words
save to admire her licks, trusting gaze, her faults.
She endures the laying on of hands
when they cannot tell their mother of their love
or their father how much they miss him.
They bury their faces in her butter-golden fur
warmed by sunbeams, chased by catnip,
listen for the reassuring snore and rumble in her purrrr.
In a few days, it will be three years exactly since we adopted our cat. She has brought such love, comfort and fun to our lives that she deserves a new poem. Here are some previous poems in her honour: by me and my boys.
Lovely Marina. Almost makes me want to get a cat!
Much easier to look after than dogs, no walks required, and she really loves it when I read in bed (and she can cuddle up).
I love ‘Zoe’s song’! Our own adopted Mischief is still settling in, and I’m trying not to miss my ancient Squeaker.
This is the downside of having a pet, of course, that all too often you will outlive them and have to cope with loss. I remember an elderly friend of mine saying that she has a ‘pact’ with her beloved (elderly) dog: that he won’t die before her!
Cats are a great comfort. Loved the previous poems, too, I hadn’t read them!
Thank you, as you can see she is a never-exhausted source of inspiration!
Lovely. If only Zoe could read. I read the poem the boys wrote. It is so cute! They sure love their cat
I think she gets told a hundred times a day how cute she is, so she is aware of our admiration!
This is lovely, Marina Sofia! I love the way pets heal us in all sorts of ways.
Absolutely, I remember that, when I was volunteering a while back, the elderly people who had pets were much more optimistic and active than those who didn’t.
Lovely cat and lovely poem! I hope she’s coped ok with the move!
She doesn’t like the English weather – although, for heaven’s sake, it was colder in France in winter!
I love the poem! I have four cats myself, I’m a big fan!
Ah, there is something about cats and literary people, isn’t there? They can sit and appreciate us writing next to them, perhaps?
Cute. Both of my cats have numerous names as well.
And she didn’t mind the move? Ist it complicated to bring them to the UK?
Not too complicated if they are chipped and have a pet passport (with vaccines up to date). She was a bit restless and withdrawn at first, but she has adapted well to the new environment. She doesn’t like the other cats in the neighbourhood though – maybe they don’t speak French!
Isn’t it not ist it.
I say there can never be enough poems written about our cats. 🙂
She seems very sweet.
Ah, someone on our wave length…
Beautiful! But Tommy and Tuppence are now wildly jealous… I shall try to get back in their good graces with five extra minutes of the laser toy this evening. See what you’ve done??
You can always sing them a song (although my Zoe is pained, I think, at the sound of my singing).
What a sweet face and a lovely poem!
Well, I’m a trifle biased, but I think she’s the best little girl in the world (not so little, either… she loves to eat!)
What a lovely poem, although your cat certainly sounds as though it deserves another poem!
We joke that she reunites the best traits of dogs (loyalty, responding when she is called, responding to no) and of cats (independence, amusing herself, content to curl up for ages on your lap). I think she might have spoilt us for any future cats, as it will be hard for anyone to live up to her…
This is lovely. And it does make me want a cat. Shame the kids are scared of them!
Mine were scared of most animals too, even big rabbits. That all changed once we got Zoe, and now they are very gentle and responsive to most small animals. They even like small dogs now (previously they were terrified of all dogs).
No no Marina Sofia – cats have NO faults. Nary a one! (I can hear her purr sound a little preen-ish at this point, as her faultlessness is acknowledged)
My own faultless ones are sleeping, tightly curled against the cold. No doubt to suddenly wake should I move towards the kitchen………..
You are right, of course, they are faultless and beautous! And if by any chance she does have a momentary lapse of reason, she looks so guilty when she is told off, that you cannot help but forgive her on the spot…
My beloved -getting-on-in-years girl has developed a habit of really extending her tongue and letting it positively hang out of her closed mouth, clearly having forgotten that she had been in mid-wash, and then gor distracted into forgetfulness. A person would look utterly deranged. She appears even more photographically delightful than normal and gazes at me, as if in invitation to take a picture. By the time I have located the camera, tongue has disappeared. I swear this is a tease by her
I’d love to see that picture though, if you ever managed to get it!
Lovely poem. Cats are to be petted and adored. So are dogs, I’ve learned from a neighbor’s dachshund.
Grew up with cats, had cats, then became allergic to them. But I want to adopt every cat I see on TV pet adoption segments, kittens, older cats, all of them.
Oh, that’s a shame! I won’t suggest a Sphinx cat, which is supposedly OK for those who are allergic, as it doesn’t have hair. I could never pet a hairless cat…
My much-loved feline is sitting right next to my laptop at this moment. She generally likes to supervise what’s written. I have never written her an ode and she certainly deserves one. Luckily she was looking away while I read your delicious poems; I would hate her to get jealous ….
What an omission! Well, you’ll just have to amend that asap…
I have seen hairless cats at someone’s house. One family member was allergic to cats. They are strange-looking creatures, and I wasn’t motivated to pet either cat.