Meows and Purrs

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Meows and Purrs - book excerpt

My Mother’s Cats

My earliest memories

were of my mother’s cats

the lost and the strays

those she fed outside

those she kept

those she gave away.

There were always cats in our house, it seems

tabbies, shorthairs, Siamese

We had litters of kittens

a few older cats

some were thin

others fat.

A few lived with us long

a few very short

they were each special

I thought.

My mother’s cats

were my friends

a young child, almost an only

they kept me company.

My mother’s cats

knew when I was sad or sick

They comforted me with purrs and licks

My mother taught me

how to care for them

the special bond of a furry friend

We cried together

when they died

buried them in our backyard

My love of cats was born in childhood

raised over years

by a woman so good

Now that she’s gone

I know what she left me

a heart full of love for all felines

along with the memories.

*This poem is dedicated to Florence Smiloff, my cat loving mother, who passed away in 2018.

Kitty, Little Girl, and Pumpkin

The summer I was five,

my mother and I

found a lost cat in the park.

She was gray with a white streak down her nose.

We took her home.

In October,

Kitty gave birth in my closet.

I named one of the kittens Pumpkin

even though he was gray.

Two years later, he disappeared with his brother.

Kitty and her daughter, Little Girl, lived to old age.

The summer I was twenty-five,

Kitty died.

I buried her in my garden

under the marigolds.

A year later, Little Girl joined her mother.

I’ve had many cats since then,

but I still remember Kitty, Little Girl, and Pumpkin.

My Benny Boy

Benny was my boy.

He loved to jump high

and watch birds fly.

He was a gray, shorthaired cat.

The sweetest boy I ever had.

Benny didn’t live long.

He suffered kidney disease young.

Mom and I tried fluid therapy and prayer.

It was a losing battle, we feared.

I remember the day that fall

I rushed home after Mom’s call.

She was crying

Benny was dying

He sat on my lap in the car

silently purring as I stroked his head

He raised it weakly

He was nearly dead.

The vet put him to rest

I knew it was for the best

but I missed him so

I’ve never forgotten my Benny boy.