Cats

[HEPZIBAH]

CATS

As we seem to have a thread going elsewhere about cats and where they sleep I though we could open up a thread here in Literary Corner for poetry about cats. As the thread started with the interesting places cats find to sleep I thought this first one was most appropriate:

Cats Sleep Anywhere

Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair.
Top of piano, window-ledge, in the middle, on the edge.
Open drawer, empty shoe, anybody's lap will do.
Fitted in a cardboard box, in the cupboard with your frocks.
Anywhere! They don't care! Cats sleep anywhere.

Eleanor Farjeon (1881 - 1965)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kitten And The Falling Leaves

That way look, my infant, lo!
What a pretty baby-show!
See the kitten on the wall,
sporting with the leaves that fall.
Withered leaves - one - two and three
from the lofty elder tree.
Though the calm and frosty air,
of this morning bright and fair.
Eddying round and round they sink,
softly, slowly; one might think.
From the motions that are made,
every little leaf conveyed
Sylph or Faery hither tending,
to this lower world descending.
Each invisible and mute,
in his wavering parachute.

But the Kitten, how she starts,
crouches, stretches, paws, and darts!
First at one, and then its fellow,
just as light and just as yellow.
There are many now - now one,
now they stop and there are none:
What intenseness of desire,
in her upward eye of fire!
With a tiger-leap half-way,
now she meets the coming prey.
lets it go as fast, and then;
Has it in her power again.
Now she works with three or four,
like an Indian conjuror;
quick as he in feats of art,
far beyond in joy of heart.
Where her antics played in the eye,
of a thousand standers-by,
clapping hands with shout and stare,
what would little Tabby care!
For the plaudits of the crowd?
Over happy to be proud,
over wealthy in the treasure
of her exceeding pleasure!

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five Little Eyes

In Hans' old mill his three black cats
watch his bins for the thieving rats.
Whisker and claw, they crouch in the night,
their five eyes smouldering green and bright.
Squeaks from the flour sacks, squeaks from where.
The cold wind stirs on the empty stair,
squeaking and scampering, everywhere.

Then down they pounce, now in, now out,
at whisking tail, and sniffing snout.
While lean old Hans he snores away,
till peep of light at break of day.
Then up he climbs to his creaking mill,
out come his cats all grey with meal.
Jekkel, and Jessup, and one-eyed Jill.

Walter (John) De La Mare (1873-1956)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Creation of the Cat

On the first day of creation, God created the cat.

On the second day, God created man to serve the cat.

On the third day, God created all the animals of the earth to serve as potential food for the cat.

On the fourth day, God created honest toil so that man could labor for the good of the cat.

On the fifth day, God created the sparkle ball so that the cat might or might not play with it.

On the sixth day, God created veterinary science to keep the cat healthy and the man broke.

On the seventh day, God tried to rest, but he had to scoop the litterbox.


||Author Unknown||

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cat's Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray this cushy life to keep.
I pray for toys that look like mice,
and sofa cushions soft and nice.

I pray for gourmet kitty snacks,
and someone nice to scratch my back.
For window sills all warm and bright,
for shadows to explore at night.

I pray I'll always stay real cool,
and keep the secret feline rule;
to never tell a human that. . .
the world is really ruled by cats!
=^..^= Authored by an Unknown CAT =^..^=


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cat Owner's Prayer

Because I'm only human,
it's sometimes hard to be...
the wise, all-knowing creature
that my cat expects of me.

And so I pray for special help,
to somehow understand...
the subtle implications
of each proud meowed command.

Oh, let me not forget that sofas
were put on earth to shred,
and what I like to call a lap,
is actually a bed.

I know it's really lots to ask,
but please, oh please, take pity...
and though I'm only human,
make me worthy of my kitty!

[FABlux]

There are some lovely ones there Hepzi, Cat Owner's Prayer is soooo true

[Horus]

This section would not be complete without a TS Elliot poem, he was famous for giving human characteristics to his various cats as in this example

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw -
For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime - Macavity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air -
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!

Mcavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square -
But when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!

He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
But it's useless to investigate - Mcavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
`It must have been Macavity!' - but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long-division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!

-- T. S. Eliot

[jewel]

Oh lovely poems will have to get my thinking cap on The five eyse one brought back lovely memories I knew it off by heart once and until I saw it here had forgotten all about it - incredible

[HEPZIBAH]

Bump - re 'Animals'

[jewel]

"Sleeping with cats"

by J Brehmer

last night I woke up around 2:00 a.m.

Mocha Joe was sleeping
in the crook of my arm
Java was curled on my chest
Jax was stretched out on my legs

and I had to pee

you know you're a sucker
when you lie awake
thinking about peeing
but don't want to disturb

the cats

so I lay there
knowing I'm an idiot
hoping to drift off
in spite of a screaming bladder
knowing all the while
I won't sleep until I pee

my cats are not
that considerate of me

they think:
she's reading
let's sit on her book
she's on the computer
let's park in front of the screen
she's taking a nap
let's play king of the human

and still
I lay there . . .




This is soooo true

[Bullet Magnet]

I do Love cats. Three have owned me in this lifetime, and one of our Neighbours cats has now adopted me as a part time carer and back scratcher.
A role which I am truly honoured to have been given .

This cat os so fat, that it lets off a yelp each time it jumps off my fence and lands on the ground.
You know that point when a Whale "lands" in the water after one of its great Leaps out of the ocean..

Also, sometimes, to soften the blow of its gargantuan carcass hitting the ground in one jump, it uses the bonnet of my car as a halfway landing stage..

I notice cats like to sleep a lot too.

Mine used to like to get about 10 Hours a day..
Then another 8 or 9 hours at night..

[jewel]

That is lovely BM, funny about the fat cat, my cat eats a lot! I think shed eat all day given chance
And whenever we eat she always has to see what's on offer
she has funny tastes, and loves broccoli, will always try and pilfer some

I am a true cat fanatic! Have you ever seen Tard the grumpy cat? I LOVE her

Can't add these clips properly ? why, but this is her






Enjoy!

[Bullet Magnet]

Five Hours earlier, I had uploaded this.. I called it "Stan ?"




Don't tell Stan though.

He generally doesn't patrol the Literary forum, so I doubt he will find out anyway..

[LivinginLuxor]

What is it with cats? I like them as I do most animals, but I can't understand the fascination with posting twee pictures of them doing something or other, or with inspirational slogans all over Facebook! Now it's coming here too!

[Bullet Magnet]

Morning Stan !!!

OK, Who squealed !!!

I have to admit to being less than unimpressed at these Cat and Dog pics too, you get the odd pearl, but the majority is just sand..

I did think there was a stunning likeness though, if you dont mind me saying so.. x9)

Merry XMas and all that..

[Winged Isis]

I cannot believe 475 people have looked at a topic on CATS! Good grief! :roll2:

[Mad Dilys]

I'm owned by a cat, I understand it perfectly

[HEPZIBAH]

As Christmas is almost upon us it seems appropriate to post this poem which I have just found on the Global Classroom.

The Christmas Cat

There is a legend, that is 100-200 years old,which says that unless you get at least one new garment to wear for Christmas you "get caught by the Christmas Cat" or "dress the Christmas Cat" as the saying goes. The Christmas Cat was supposed to be some kind of a monster that originally came from the other nordic countries. But still today we talk about it and make sure that everyone has something new to wear on Christmas otherwise you'll get caught. To give you a better picture of the Cat I translated an icelandic poem about this kitty (you''ll have to forgive me but I didn't make it rhyme - I'm not much of a poet).


The Christmas Cat
You all know the Cristmas Cat
And that Cat was huge indeed.
People didn't know where he came from
Or where he went.


He opened his glaring eyes wide,
The two of them glowing bright.
It took a really brave man
To look straight into them.


His whiskers, sharp as bristles,
His back arched up high.
And the claws of his hairy paws
Were a terrible sight.


He gave a wave of his strong tail,
He jumped and he clawed and he hissed.
Sometimes up in the valley,
Sometimes down by the shore.


He roamed at large, hungry and evil
In the freezing Christmas snow.
In every home
People shuddered at his name.


If one heard a pittiful "meow"
Something evil would happen soon.
Everybody knew he hunted men
But didn't care for mice.


He picked on the very poor
That no new garments got
For Christmas - who toiled
And lived in dire need.


From them he took in one fell swoop
Their whole Christmas dinner
Always eating it himself
If he possibly could.


Hence it was that the women
At their spinning-weels sat
Spinning a colorful thread
For a frock or a litle sock.


Because you mustn't let the Cat
Get hold of the litle children.
They had to get something new to wear
From the grownups each year.


And when the lights came on, on Christmas eve
And the Cat peered in,
The little children stood rosy and proud
All dressed up in their new clothes.


Some had gotten an apron
And some had gotten shoes
Or something that was needed
- That was all it took.


For all who got something new to wear
Stayed out of that pussy-cat's grasp
He then gave an awful hiss
But went on his way.


Whether he still exsists I do not know.
But his visit would be in vain
If next time everybody
Got something new to wear.


Now you might be thinking of helping
Where help is needed most.
Perhaps you'll find some children
That have nothing at all.


Perhaps searching for those
That live in a light-less world
Will give you a happy day
And a merry merry Christmas.




http://www.globalclassroom.org/catxmas.html

[Bullet Magnet]

Sorry to resurrect this topic, but on the subject of the chosen few for the purpose of resurrection, I stumbled upon this and remembered this topic.




Yeahhhh, I remebered something outside my normal 5 minute attention span.. !!!

[LivinginLuxor]

I have nothing against cats - rather nice furry creatures, but why do so many deranged people (usually of the female persuasion) put so many pictures of cats doing stupid things, or making stupid remarks in speech bubbles (often of an 'improving/inspirational' nature all over Facebook? Is it a new psychological condition in reaction to the internet I wonder?

[Bullet Magnet]

Fun Stan, Fun.. It's our path to God, one of them..
That is why very young children always laugh, they have "the Knowledge" and truth be known are very intelligent given the chance to express it.

I showed my grandson my Birthsign on a zodiac I have on my wall when he was 15 months old. He couldnt speak back then, but said "Akrab".

[Bullet Magnet]

[FABlux]

Wonderful even if I choked on my soup!

[Bullet Magnet]

I'm glad you Liked it Fran

I wonder if it melted the Ice man's heart just a little,.

C'mon Stan, give us a smile...