Kato

Sleeping, peacefully

A slightly bedraggled slump of white fur.

Belly rising and falling.

Paw over her eyes.

Stirring, yawning, looking at me.

Then, in one smooth flowing motion

off-the-couch onto-the-carpet.

She stops, deciding… Outside? mmmm Maybe…

Back to the food bowl? mmm Nah!

Decision made!

Her mincing little steps, slightly stiff,

Each one clicking her claws — actually, nails —

against the beige linoleum

She disappears, out through the wide-open door

to where Anne reclines in the courtyard

reading in the twilight as evening falls.

A few moments later,

After drinking from her terracotta saucer

she returns.

Slinking toward me, and

Looking up at me from the carpet, Purrrrrrrrr….!

and then jumps-up to join me.

She kneads my belly through my T-shirt with her two front paws

Purring as I tickle her throat.

After a few minutes reconnecting, she turns away

Back to her… my… OUR corner!

She keeps it warm for me, and I keep it warm for her

Depending on who gets there first.

Then, each evening, we take turns.

If — and there is a very slim chance — if I get there first

I’ll prop up my head on two pillows

and get into TV-position for some chill-out time.

It won’t be long before she joins me

Walking over me, or between my legs

Onto my belly, and then, standing on my chest,

slowly,

with her thin, 20-year-old frame,

lowering herself into sphinx position.

As she does she’ll lean forward, eyes part-closed,

and

Rarely is her nose not so close that her whiskers

—as white as the rest of her—

do not tickle both my cheeks, simultaneously.

And then, we’ll lie there, breathing each other’s breath.

Hers-into-me and mine-into-her…

Co-regulating

As though we are lovers; which, of course, we are.

Kato

You are, without a doubt, the loveliest little-old-lady cat

I have ever had the pleasure to spend time with.

Thank you for gracing my life with your presence,

in this,

the last of your nine lives.

Neil Davidson

July 2024