Tobin: On Cat Sitting

It’s morning come a calling time and I am refusing to open my eyes, putting off the inevitable.  I can feel morning.  It comes quietly through my windows.  Shreds of daylight slip through chinks in blinds, stealing into darkened corners and shifting night to lighter shades and shadows. As the night evaporates, morning rubs against my eyelids and tugs impatiently at my lashes. I snuggle deeper under the covers, refusing to be disturbed … and yet I am.

The window is open just a fraction and a cool breeze slips across my skin, caressing, leaving delicious spots of cold on fingers and nose.  I stretch pushing gently against the cat at my feet. He uncurls, emitting a gruff little “purr” at the intrusion.  Large paws knead the covers protecting my toes.  Deeper he digs. Quickly I take a peek.  His body is tense as he leaps from bed to dresser to window sill.  With twitching nose pressed tight against the windowpane … his long tail flying … his ears like small antenna , Peak. Gruffly he speaks “Meow.”

I feign sleep. I wait and am not disappointed. One huge paw … pats against the unopened window again and again. I smile and hide my head under the sheet. In a single bound with one giant leap he pounces like a heavy boulder upon my bed. The mattress sinks beneath the weight. My smile deepens and my hand affectionately rubs his stubborn proud head. He refuses to purr. The tail snaps with impatience.  Flipping the covers back I slip out of bed searching for slippers to ward off the cold.

He flies from the bed and along the hall.  He is at the back door in no time at all and there he sits with eyes alert.  He knows that I am coming and crowds the door.  Playfully I shove him out of the way.  “You be a good boy.” The door opens just a crack and he is out, walking majestically … from shadow into the suns light. He is a work of Art, stretching long and sleek  … a strong  … powerful  …spoiled … and proud … Feline with “Attitude.”