Pythian Games

When I am an old Cat…

Posted in A Poem a Day, KerryWordsmith by kvwordsmith on May 5th, 2008

When I am an old cat…

I shall eat only salmon mousse

And cough up hairballs in front of guests.

I shall bathe before the company

And lick between my toes while they watch.

I shall run when they try to pet me

And miss the litter box on purpose

When my human comes home late.

I shall refuse to eat dry kibbles

And hold out for canned fish

So I can whisker-kiss with tuna breath.

I shall look offended when pushed off

Of paperwork or my favorite chair,

And I will ignore being scolded

For leaving tongue grooves in the butter.

 

But for now I must not dig in house plants

And knock down knick-knacks too often.

I must not nip the children too hard

Or growl too much at the vet.

I must be purr-fect and pretty

And always adorable.

 

Still every now and then

I must hiss at the dog

And hide when I am called

And spit out my medicine

And act bored with my kitty toys

So my human will not be too surprised

When I become an old and finicky cat.

 

By Kerry Vincent © 2003

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11 Responses to 'When I am an old Cat…'

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  1. When I am an old cat… « Kvwordsmith said, on May 5th, 2008 at 1:14 am

    [...] When I am an old cat… http://pythiangames.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/when-i-am-an-old-cat/ [...]

  2. Lori said, on May 5th, 2008 at 1:48 am

    Actually, I know some humans who act like this! :)

  3. gwenguin1 said, on May 5th, 2008 at 3:15 am

    When I was between felines, I actually started missing tongue grooves in the butter. Never mind cat-breath and their corner of the bed.

    We won’t talk about curling up together, watching the rain; next to the inimicable warmth of a wood stove, and being midwife to kittens.

    I love this Kerry, so beautifully, perfectly anthropomomorphic a view of ‘Cattitude’, the mark of a true cat lover, I like that in a person!!

    Hugs and kisses,
    GwenGuin

  4. traveller said, on May 5th, 2008 at 4:24 am

    this is just purrfect Kerry. I miss my cats too and this brought back fond memories of tongue grooves in butter, tuna breath, etc. etc

  5. Fran said, on May 5th, 2008 at 6:03 am

    How true to humans and to cats, I too like purrsons. Fran

  6. cronelogical said, on May 5th, 2008 at 10:25 am

    True to both the cat and people as Lori says and I agree. Fran

  7. espirit07 said, on May 5th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    Kerry, a huge fan of kitties and with one who is turning 13 soon, your poem is very precious and endearing ;-) Genece

  8. porchsitter said, on May 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

    You’ve nailed the feline personality, Kerry. People often discuss the differences between cats and dogs, but rarely talk about the difference between the owners. I’d say, generally, cat owners have more tolerence and patience.

  9. woodnymph said, on May 5th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Yep, cats and old ladies, too, like to do their own thing and shock anyone who happens to be around.

    Vi

  10. Alexis said, on May 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am

    I’m not a cat person but love reading stories and poems from cat points of view. Maybe this is why, despite my preference for dogs, I really love LOLCats.

  11. jodhiay said, on May 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    I’ve been slowly converting some die-hard dog people into cat fans with the help of my feline friends. It can be done, one warm lap at a time! Bwah ha ha ha haa! Er, Meow.

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