I Am Cat

When we first got our giant boy cat, Toby, he was so small he could fit in the palm of our hand. We slept with him the first night to be sure our other two cats didn’t pick on him or he didn’t get stuck somewhere. He was the smallest thing with giant floppy ears and a ridiculous monkey-like tail. Now, at 16 pounds, he still acts like a baby and has giant floppy ears and a ridiculous monkey tail that acts more like a rudder and occasionally like a sail.

He would hide in our giant clover patches (great for butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and bats! And now little Toby!) and I would always wonder what he was thinking. Here’s what I came up with one day and sent, with this picture, as one of my ATC cards (artist trading cards).

‘I am cat. Stealth, all seeing, focused.
I create the world around me, bend it to my will.
My bed is made of dirt and clover…and freshly washed sheets.
Food falls before me in fear, perfectly into my favorite blue bowl.
When I tire, I have my choice of trees, blankets, and laps.
This is my domain.I am cat.’

He is such a delight. One of the funniest things he does – and maybe all cats do this, but I only see him dramatically act in this fashion – is drink from the water dish as if it’s moving. He’ll sit and drink from the nearest edge, but then lick across the bowl and up like someone is pulling it away and up. It absolutely tickles my funny bone. I’m not a great artist and it took me an hour just to put my drawing together for you in this slide show, but I tried to illustrate what I am seeing. I hope you enjoy!