A Clowder of Cats

By luigi_pagano

Mon, 02 Mar 2020
  • 755 reads
2 comments
 
We are told that the ancestor of cats
was an extinct weasel-like carnivore
that appeared in the late Paleocene
but it was not the pet that we adore.
 
Nothing like what we have nowadays,
it was primitive, five-clawed and wild.
Not something that one would cherish
or considered to be loved by a child.
 
The Egyptians were the first to tame
this animal that we treasure so much.
It can be independent but also loving
and is responsive to the human touch.
 
Cats have been known to have acted
as rat-catchers to protect food stores
but apart from being useful creatures
some of them bore the brunt of wars.
 
When in 1941 the Bismarck was sunk
aboard the ship was 'Unsinkable Sam'
so called because thrown overboard
he swam through jetsam and flotsam.
 
From the water the mog was rescued
by the crew of the H.M.S. Cossack
which sank near the coast of Gibraltar
having suffered a torpedo attack.
 
Once again the feline was picked up
by H.M.S. Ark Royal which went down
near Malta but Fortune smiled on Sam
who, for the third time, did not drown.
 
Having lived through three sinkings,
a conclusion was reached that meant
that he would not navigate any longer
and to a seamen's home he was sent.
 
Mrs Chippy, the cat on the Endurance,
was discovered to be actually a male
but that is not what he was famous for;
the reason makes it an intriguing tale.
 
After the ship got trapped in the ice,
it was decided that he couldn't survive.
He was shot, but a statue on his grave
kept for his master the memory alive.
 
I could name a few more whose deeds
and achievements have been noted
like Faith and Panda, queen and kitten,
on whom a London ecclesiastic doted.
 
They were found in a church basement
unscathed, and unfazed by the hits,
among the ruins of the house of worship
completely flattened by a bombing blitz.
 
It has been said the concerned mother
seemed to have the uncanny premonition
that the edifice in which they sheltered
was destined to an early demolition.
 
Domestic cats may have the reputation
of being disloyal but Sir Henry Wyatt,
sent to the Tower by Richard the Third,
and dying of starvation on a poor diet,
 
was saved by befriending a stray cat
who brought him such food as a squab,
a young, newly hatched, unfledged bird,
a kindness that made the courtier sob.
 
To conclude, let's appreciate and praise
this noble member of the animal kingdom
who is not only a devoted companion
but is also endowed with great wisdom.    

 

© Luigi Pagano 2020
Certificate U
Poem
Mutevoli pensieri
Historical Fiction

Comments

Submitted by onemorething on

I do admire how you can write such comprehensive poems. It must take a lot of research and skill. I always like too how you write with attention to detail and humour and it is, of course, one of my favourite subjects - cats! I think this is lovely. :)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

I very much appreciate your kind comment, Rachel. I seem to have been surrounded by cats all my life either directly or indirectly and I believe to have learnt so much that I can talk at length about their behaviour.
This is not the first piece I have written about them and perhaps readers are beginning to be bored by the subject. I thank you for being a loyal follower.

Luigi x