Ansem was racked out
On the carpet.
Right smack in the middle
Of the walkway
Between the Living Room,
And the Family Room.
His four legs stretched out
On four different directions.
And I watched him
As his eyes
Gradually closed.
Delilah was racked out too.
On a double wide
Cat scratcher.
Made of cardboard.
We’ve had that scratcher
For a while.
And Delilah and Kaosu both
Scratch that sucker
Lots and lots.
I think Delilah sleeps on it
Because it’s been shredded
So very much
That it’s top
Is actually quite soft.
Other than that,
I don’t have a clue
Why she would sleep
On cardboard.
Kaosu is is usual self.
Wide awake.
He starts by sitting down.
And then he collapses his front legs.
And lowers his whole body
To the ground.
You can’t see his paws at all.
‘Cause they’re under him.
Hidden by his cat hair.
And his tail.
He looks back and forth.
Between Delilah and Ansem.
And then he looks at me.
Then he starts looking
All over again.
After he does this
Several times.
He decides to get up,
And go raid the left overs
From the can of cat food
That they had for dinner
Tonight.
Once he’s helped himself
To the bits of cat food
That the other two
Didn’t eat earlier.
He wanders back into the room.
And then decides it’s time
To wake Ansem up.
And see what he can do
To interest him
In playing cat games.
Kaosu has this look
Somtimes.
That I’d swear says
That everything in life
Is a surprise to him.
That everything is new.
Every single day.
We’ve had Kaosu
For better than four years.
And he’s seen everything
Inside this house.
And yet,
Every day
He has that look,
Painted on his face.
“Where the heck did that come from?”
“Wait a minute! What’s that?”
Ansem’s in his kitten hood.
Something that he’s never had.
We got him from
The SPCA.
Where they explained to us
That he was a rescued cat.
One of over 100 cats
That had been rescued
From a breeder.
Ansem was four years old,
As best as anyone could figure.
And he’d spent his life
Inside a cage.
Where the only contact
That he ever had
With anyone
Was when they paired him
With a female cat
That was in heat.
He still won’t let us pick him up.
And pretty much
The only time
We can pet him
Is when we give him
Cat food
From a can.
His first for years
Were really rough.
And really awful too.
But he’s come to like it
In our house.
Where he has room to run.
And play.
And he plays every day
With Delilah
And Kaosu.
He chases balls of cat hair
That the cats have shed,
And collected up
On the carpet.
He sometimes runs
From room to room.
And up and down the stairs.
And he’s absolute murder
On the big shoe strings
On Steph’s big black work boots.
Delilah’s the princess.
The ruler of the cats.
She was rescued too.
Part of the same group
That Ansem came from.
But Delila was kept
With dozens of other cats.
And she had to learn real fast
To fight for her food.
And stand up to
Other cats within the group.
And she doesn’t hesitate
To smack Kaosu or Ansem
On the nose
With her claws extended
From her paws.
If they do something
That irritates her.
Our cats are all
So very different.
And yet they get along.
And you can tell
That they enjoy
Each other’s company.
And I’ll have you now
That my family
Would not be the same
Without the three of them.
My Soul's Tears 