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Title: When One Lives with a Familiar
Original post of the article: What If All the Cats in the World Suddenly Died?
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 569
Credit: vita khorzhevska | Shutterstock
“Dirty Litter Box!”, came from the other room. Morris raised his eyebrows. That was a combination of words not usually heard in their home. It was followed by an outraged, “Why would anyone even write about something like this?” Perhaps he needed to investigate.
“What?”
“Just look at this.” Lyric stamped a paw on the Ipad screen on the floor and then growled when the screen changed.
Morris smiled, in his mind he could see his kitten hissing, running through the house to return and attack the Ipad.
“I KNOW what you’re thinking. I’m not a kitten. Fix this! NOW!”
“Try please.”
There was a growled, “Pllllleeeese. Sometimes I hate you.”
“No you don’t. You’re just frustrated. You’re cute when you’re frustrated.”
“Am not.”
“Okay.” Morris said and muttered, “but you are,” as he picked up the Ipad recovering the previous page.
Lyric’s, “I can hear you, you know. SEEE. Read that,” was followed with a hissed spit.
“Hmmm. Catches the attention all right.”
“Look at the photo of the dead kitten!”
“There’s a caption. ‘Kitten sleeping on its back.’ Not dead. The photo is of a sleeping kitten.” Quickly he scanned from the title, ‘What If All the Cats in the World Suddenly Died?’ through the rest of the article.
“Okay it says, and I quote, "Experts say that if all the world's cats suddenly died, things would quickly go to hell in a handbasket." "Cats, both pets and strays, may fool us into thinking that they depend on our food and trash for survival, but ... they're expert predators with adaptable hunting behaviors." "They are a significant predator of small animals, and can survive as almost solitary animals when the prey is scarce, while thriving in high density when the prey is abundant, ..."”
“Essentially the article is about how cats are responsible for controlling pests like rats and mice which eat grain and that without cats humans would have less food. Then there’s statistics supporting the impact of cats on those pests. That without cats, the increase of rodents would trigger a cascade of other ecological effects.”
It says, “"In this country, cats are much loved by many. While there are more dog-owning households (38 percent) than cat- owning households (34 percent), there are actually more domestic cats than dogs because cat owners own more of them." Hmmm, wonder if I should get another cat,” drew a growl from Lyric and a smile from Morris as he continued, “"Cats as pets have always been appreciated for the contact, relatively low maintenance, and pedomorphic (that means child-like) face and general morphology."” Putting down the Ipad, he turned to look down at Lyric. “See not a bad article at all. Makes one read through all the information supporting the importance of cats, even familiar ones.”
Lyric sat looking up at Morris.
With a sighed, “Okay,” Morris walked into the kitchen, reaching high up into the cabinet to retrieve the special small bowl that was Lyric’s and a can of canned salmon pate. Pulling the tab that resulted in the distinctive pop and swoosh sound of an opening can, he carefully spooned out the contents. There was a brush of fur against and between his lower legs.
“You could have just asked for food, you know.”
Lyric stopped to look up at him. “Now where would be the fun in that?” before he applied himself to the yummy salmon.
Original post of the article: What If All the Cats in the World Suddenly Died?
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 569
Credit: vita khorzhevska | Shutterstock
“Dirty Litter Box!”, came from the other room. Morris raised his eyebrows. That was a combination of words not usually heard in their home. It was followed by an outraged, “Why would anyone even write about something like this?” Perhaps he needed to investigate.
“What?”
“Just look at this.” Lyric stamped a paw on the Ipad screen on the floor and then growled when the screen changed.
Morris smiled, in his mind he could see his kitten hissing, running through the house to return and attack the Ipad.
“I KNOW what you’re thinking. I’m not a kitten. Fix this! NOW!”
“Try please.”
There was a growled, “Pllllleeeese. Sometimes I hate you.”
“No you don’t. You’re just frustrated. You’re cute when you’re frustrated.”
“Am not.”
“Okay.” Morris said and muttered, “but you are,” as he picked up the Ipad recovering the previous page.
Lyric’s, “I can hear you, you know. SEEE. Read that,” was followed with a hissed spit.
“Hmmm. Catches the attention all right.”
“Look at the photo of the dead kitten!”
“There’s a caption. ‘Kitten sleeping on its back.’ Not dead. The photo is of a sleeping kitten.” Quickly he scanned from the title, ‘What If All the Cats in the World Suddenly Died?’ through the rest of the article.
“Okay it says, and I quote, "Experts say that if all the world's cats suddenly died, things would quickly go to hell in a handbasket." "Cats, both pets and strays, may fool us into thinking that they depend on our food and trash for survival, but ... they're expert predators with adaptable hunting behaviors." "They are a significant predator of small animals, and can survive as almost solitary animals when the prey is scarce, while thriving in high density when the prey is abundant, ..."”
“Essentially the article is about how cats are responsible for controlling pests like rats and mice which eat grain and that without cats humans would have less food. Then there’s statistics supporting the impact of cats on those pests. That without cats, the increase of rodents would trigger a cascade of other ecological effects.”
It says, “"In this country, cats are much loved by many. While there are more dog-owning households (38 percent) than cat- owning households (34 percent), there are actually more domestic cats than dogs because cat owners own more of them." Hmmm, wonder if I should get another cat,” drew a growl from Lyric and a smile from Morris as he continued, “"Cats as pets have always been appreciated for the contact, relatively low maintenance, and pedomorphic (that means child-like) face and general morphology."” Putting down the Ipad, he turned to look down at Lyric. “See not a bad article at all. Makes one read through all the information supporting the importance of cats, even familiar ones.”
Lyric sat looking up at Morris.
With a sighed, “Okay,” Morris walked into the kitchen, reaching high up into the cabinet to retrieve the special small bowl that was Lyric’s and a can of canned salmon pate. Pulling the tab that resulted in the distinctive pop and swoosh sound of an opening can, he carefully spooned out the contents. There was a brush of fur against and between his lower legs.
“You could have just asked for food, you know.”
Lyric stopped to look up at him. “Now where would be the fun in that?” before he applied himself to the yummy salmon.
