"Cat"

"Darn you, Cat!" Richard yelled out as he tripped over the grey-tabby house cat. "If you want to stay on my good side, get busy and catch that mouse." He picked Cat up and stretched a finger toward the fairly new mouse hole at the base of the cabinet, next to the stove. "Do you remember why we took you in?" he continued as he shook his finger, huh? Do you? Too bad you're not an elephant - they never forget! Let me explain it to you one more time." He held Cat in front of the mouse hole. "See that dark place - it's called a mouse hole. Do you know why they call it a mouse hole - because there's a stupid mouse living in there. That's why we took you in - to get rid of that mouse. Now get busy and do your Cat-thing!"

Cat snipped at Richard, trying to bite the hands that held him someplace he did not want to be.

Cat grunted his usual disagreeing, angry meow and stomped past the hole. He jumped onto the kitchen chair, curled up, and hiked a hind leg to continue the morning bath he had been so rudely interrupted of when Richard tripped over him.

As he cleaned himself, he recalled the cold, blustery February day when he had chosen this family as the ones to take care of him. He had first began building doubts of his choice when Richard had left him on the cold concrete porch for three days before Richard finally got the message that he wanted in. Every time Cat had tried to go through the doorway whenever someone entered or left, Richard had been there to shoo him away. Then when Richard did let him in, Cat swished his tail a little harder at the times when he thought, "Look at the name they gave me - Cat! How absurd! How unoriginal!" Cat often dreamed of several ways he could get back at them. He would show them who would was in charge.

Finished with his bath, he stood and stretched every muscle of his body as he dug his claws into the kitchen chair's padding.

"Stop that, Cat!" Richard's wife, Shirley, bellowed. She ran to the table, waving a dish towel in a threatening manner. "Scat, cat. Get out of here."

Cat skittered across the linoleum kittchen floor and into the den. Ricard held the back door screendoor open for the escape.

"Keep clawing on our furniture and I'll personally de-claw ya!" he barked as Cat leaped out into the spacious backyard.

Away from the yelling and threats, Cat decided he needed more cleaning. He sat on the cold grass-matted yard and hiked his leg.

When he felt he had cleaned himself enough, Cat sauntered off to find something to occupy his time.

He eyed the chain-link fence bordering the three sides of his yard. The neighbeor's tree held limbs invading Cat's personal space. This time, the birds chirping in overhanging limbs caught his attention. He stood motionless, eyes squinted. Slowly he hunched and began a stealthy crawl. He moved to the base of the fence, thinking himself invisible to their eyes. He kept a vigilant watch on his prey as they sang noisily in the tree top.

He swished his tail back and forth, ready to pounce up to his chirping meal. Head close to the ground, he slowly moved forward. He focused on the fattest, juiciest bird.

He mewed a feline growl as he surveyed the fence for the right place to leap. He leapt, all four paws landing on the cold, icy, narrow metallic bar. He hated winter!

When he landed on the bar his forepaws shot out from under of him. His hind-paws slipped and slid backward. He meowed in shock as the fence's top cross-wires dug into his side. He meowed again in pain and anger as the birds looked at him mockinly, then flew away. He dug furiously with hind paws, desperately searching security so he could leap off his pain and onto solid ground. Finding the right spot, his paws found security and he pushed off the fence. He ran away to lick his wounded pride. Cat had just found another reason to hate winter - invisible ice!

After tending to his flesh wounds and seeing he had only minor scratches, he went back to the house. He let it be known that he wanted in by scratching at the screen on the door.

Richard did not say anything as Cat walked to his food bowl, his tail angrily swishing. Cat sniffed the shrimp flavor food. He looked up at Richard, squinted his eyes in his attempt to convey his disgust.

"Well, if you're wanting something else to eat," Richard said, "then, catch that mouse." Richard reached down, picked Cat up and walked over to the mouse hole. "See that hole? Now, prove to me you're really a cat and not a figment of my imagination. Now, go do your cat-thing." He dropped Cat in front of the hole.

Cat looked at Richard, then at the finger pointing toward the hole. He sniffed at the waving finger tip. He sniffed at the hole. Then he turned to Richard, again, and meowed, "I know there's a mouse in there. But, you'll not be catching me sticking my paws in there." Cat swished his tail angrily as he mewed and stomped away.

Cat laid down at a spot near the end of the cabinet at the other end of the hole. "He'll never be happy. I'd better prentend to be trying to catch that mouse," he thought. He directed his attention toward the black hole.

Time inched by. Cat never took his eyes from watching the hole. Even when Cat napped off his ears remained perched in readiness the slightest sound coming from the hole.

Eventually the kitchen air was filled with the delicious smelling odors of the meal Shirley was cooking for herself and Richard. Cat sniffed the air, his nostrils tasting the odor of frying meat. Cat thought, "I wish they'd share with me ... after all, I'd share my meal with them, if they wanted it." His tail swished back and forth.

Suddenly the slightest of movements caught his attention.

Instantly he crouched. His head hung close to the floor. His yellow eyes enlarged to make room for the wide open pupils watching the dark hole. He was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

More movement at the hole.

Cat's sharp eyes caught the flicker of a pointed, whiskered nose barely poking out of the darkness of the hole. The mouse smelled the cooking odors also.

Cat poised in a lurching position, anticipating the mouse coming out of its hole. "It's now or never," Cat mewed softly. He moved slowly along the cabinet base, putting out one paw softly, noiselessly, then the other.

The mouse skittered out of its safe haven, not aware of Cat's presence.

Cat pounced, trapping the mouse between his front paws. He deftly swooped the mouse up and into his mouth in one motion, making sure Shirely knew what was happening virtually under her feet.

"Richard!" she screamed when she looked down. Between Cat's lips hung a frantically swishing tail.

Richard ran into the kitchen. Immediately he saw Cat with the tail dangling from between his lips.

Cat scurried off toward the interior of the house.

"Oh no you don't" Richard yelled. "You don't go making messes in this house. You take that thing outside to eat."

Cat looked over his shoulder, "Well, isn't this what you wanted me to do?" He darted into the bathroom.

Awkwardly bent over trying to capture Cat at a running pace, Richard slammed into the door frame.

"If I used that kind of language, you'd kick me out of the house for sure," Cat meowed as he jumped behind the shower curtain and into the bathtub.

He released the mouse from his jaws and watched as his toy's tiny claws tried to dig into the unrelenting porcelain tub. "Where do your think you're going, huh?" Cat reached out a clawless paw and deftly brushed the mouse back under him.

Cat enjoyed playing with his new toy.

Richard yanked the curtains open.

Cat looked up at him with squinted eyes and an almost smile on his face.

Richard stood with arms folded across his chest. A stern look shined in his eyes. "Where's the mouse, Cat?" he demanded.

Cat looked looked down as the mouse skittered from between his front legs. Cat retrieved his playmate with a clawless paw, again.

"What the...?" Richard said, surprised.

After a few moments, Cat gently, tenderly picked up the mouse as though it was a kitten. Holding the mouse by his teeth, Cat jumped over the edge of the tub and darted behind the commode, just out of Richard's reach. He let the mouse loose.

Richard lunged for the mouse as it quickly disappeared under the unitility door.

Cat looked smugly at Richard, held his head proudly, then pranced off. He went through the kitchen and into the den. He circled three times on the purple throw-rug laying in front of the fireplace. Cat curled and laid his head on his front legs. A feline smile crossed his face as he purred, "Guess as long as they have a mouse, they'll have need for a cat!"