I'M THE ALPHA CAT, MAKE NO MISTAKE  


edited by D.R. Ransdell   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Black Favorite

Mama tells friends she has five cats,
each more precious than the other,
but at the pink house,
I’ve always been the favorite.
Mama loved my brother's fluffy fur,
but she’s always preferred me,
first because I’m more clever,
and second because I’m black.

Black black, all black,
dark black, lovely black,
black as a moonless night,
black black black.

Mama’s parents back in Illinois
had a pet named Dunkelheit,
but that cat wasn’t true Darkness.
He had a white patch on his chest
and should have been called Macchiato.

I’m blessed with purity.
Every bit of me is black.
Most humans consider me unlucky
and stay off my path. I like that.
It keeps people from bothering me.
But I’m not bad luck for Mama
because she was born in June
on the thirteenth day of the month.
Black Thirteen they might call us,
a perfect pair.

She snatches me up in the afternoons,
staring into my blackness.
When she holds me up to the sunlight
I know what she sees—
the whole spectrum of the rainbow
reflected in my rich, black fur.

Hear the video of my poem called The Cat Door.

Read our blog at pinkhousecats.blogspot.com.

I know it's good because I'm the one who usually writes it!

 

 

 

 
 
  
Bandit’s Profile

Occupation: Alpha Cat

Description: Black, black, black!

Distinguishing Trait: My wise look

Biggest Accomplishment: Concealing the fact that I understood how to use the cat door for three months. Instead I made Mama jump up and down to let me in and out!

Regrets: Spending more time with my brother Smokey before he passed.

Goal: Keeping Ping off my place on the bed.

Fear: Mama’s long trips. Auntie Carol is happy to take care of us, but she’s no night owl.

Advice: Always run away from small children. Never give them the benefit of the doubt!

Life Questions: Why hasn’t Mama found a companion who loves cats as much as she does?

Biggest Complaint: Vanilla toothpaste is awful, and it probably doesn’t help our teeth.

Best Friend: Every Pink House Cat

Travel Goal: Rome. I want to meet all those hot Italian felines!

Favorites

Toy: Horned toads

Human Torment: Eating only half a lizard

Spot: Mama’s pillow

Treat: Moist snacks

Friend of Mama’s: Auntie Carol. She’s so sweet!

Language: Italian. It always sounds happy.

Music: Mariachi music. It’s loud and peppy

Song: “No vale la pena,” which means “it’s not worth the trouble.” Also Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance #5, the mariachi version.

Day: Sunday. Mama is home most of the day.

Month: September. Mama is always home all month long.

TV Show: The Tonight Show. During the monologue, Mama sits still for ten minutes at a time.

Films: The Indiana Jones movies. That guy just won’t give up!

Actor: Harrison Ford

Musicals: Cats, of course.

Game: Pretending to vomit. Mama’s guests always fall for it!

Sport: Patrolling

Guilty Pleasure: Waking up Mama and pretending it was Ping