The Cat's Prayer


Although I am too proud to beg, and may appear to be a very independent creature, I ask for your loving care and attention.  I rely on you for my well being much more than you may realize.

This I promise you, my benefactor, that I will not be a burden on you nor will I demand more of you than you care to give.

I will be a quiet peaceful island of serenity for you to gaze upon; a soft soothing body to caress, and I shall purr with pleasure to rest your weary ears.

Since I am a gourmet who appreciates different taste sensations, I pray you will give me a variety of nutritious foods and fresh water daily.

You know dear friend, how I love to go.  Allow me, I pray, a warm sheltered place where I can rest peacefully and feel secure.

If I am wounded in battle or suffering from disease, please tend me gently, and see that I am treated by loving and competent hands.

Please protect me from the inhuman humans who would hurt and torture me for their own amusement.  I am accustomed to your gentle touch and am not always suspicious nor swift enough to avoid such malicious acts.

In my later years when my senses fail me and my infirmities become to great to bear, allow me the comfort and dignity that I desire for my closing days and help me gently in my pain or passing.

Hear this prayer, my dear friend, my fate depends on you.

A Taker-in of Stray Cats

(In Memory of Tinkerbelle)
God sends some of us a special mission
To take in stray kitty-cats in any condition,
To feed them and give them a permanent home,
To love them and make them our very own.
They chase through the house; their potty box smells;
They seem to have secrets they're unwilling to tell.
They play till exhausted, then curl in your lap,
And settle themselves for a long comfy nap.
Some people are called to great wealth and power,
To run corporations and make big bucks per hour.
But others of us are only asked,
To take in little stray kitty-cats.
I asked God for things of importance to do,
Other than loving a good man and a bunch of kitties too.
He said, "Don't be self-righteous; learn from your mistakes,
And be glad I send kitty-cats and not My stray snakes."
I dreamed when I died I heard St. Peter say,
"What important things did you do each day?"
I felt Heaven for me was an impossibility
And that I should have lived my life much differently.
Then God said, "Come in and have food and some drink,
And sit here in Heaven by your little cat Tink;
For I gave you one of My most important tasks
When I asked you to be a taker-in of stray cats."
By Darlene Goff

A WRITER'S CAT

I remember the day a favorite cat died.
At dawn I carried him into the garden and laid him on a bed of mint,
Still breathing.
The eyes I had known for almost thirteen years followed me about.
When the post arrived, he gave a short purr.
It had been his habit since a kitten.
It was his last link with my world of manuscripts and books.
Our parting would be soon.
Later when I wrapped him in an old cardigan
I thought of Anatole France and St. Mael's baptism of the penguins
And how St. Catherine had said:
"Give them souls -- but tiny ones."
I will settle for that
For my cat.
By Neville Baybrooke

Go to more poems