Slice of Life #30: Stress-Eating Cat

This morning,
Step-sitting with the cat,
(as is our tradition on sunny mornings)

We had a visitor!

A little boy
Who lives in the neighborhood
zooming by on his scooter,
Mom trailing behind.

We have a next-door neighbor with cats,
So mom was saying,
“Look for the house with the cats,”
When suddenly –
The little boy sees a cat
RIGHT in front of him.

Off the scooter he steps,
toddling over to Kittle,
My fluffy, sunbathing cat.

Mom is surprised and reminds,
“Ask if you can pet her first!”
And he does.

With my blessing,
Out thrusts his hand,
Clamping down on the cat.

She cowers,
Spoiled by adult care her whole life,
And jumps up the steps
To escape.

The toddler follows her.

To his mom’s credit,
She tries to intervene,
Telling him, “Gentle hands!
Cats are different than dogs!”
She turns to me,
“We have a bulldog.”

“Lulu!” The boy says.
Then turns back to his quarry,
Asking, “What’s his name?”

“Her name is Kittles,” I say.
“Kind of like Skittles.”

“Kittles…”
And he continues to chase her down.

Up and down the steps they go,
Until…

“Jack Noah, stop chasing her now or I’ll have to pick you up like a baby!!”

Tears come
As Jack Noah toddles down the steps,
Wisps of blond baby hair
Sticking out from his bike helmet.

They leave,
(To Kittle’s relief),
And away he scoots,
Mom trailing after him.

“Sorry, and thank you,” she says,
And we part ways.
“Stop at the alley!”
She calls to her son.

In the meantime,
Kittle is hiding under a bush.

When the coast is clear,
She crawls out,
Scans the area,
Then settles in
To chew on some grass.

I guess we all love a good stress eat!