Swizzle Stick

Community Cat

We know a comely community cat,
we try to persuade them, to tame

them with food left at dusk & at dawn
on the porch, closer & closer
to the door, in our late cat’s silver bowl.

He, or she, has a tinkling tiny mew too
timid to be wild; a white stocking
on a two-tone coat; inquisitive
eyes green, alert to risk.

A two-second presence in the doorway,
A high-rising mew, retreat to safety,
return once the bowl has been filled,
the offering made; people indoors,
at a distance.

At the bowl, furtive, they gobble & watch,
fearful, suspicious, & fed.



Note: I came across the term community cat today while looking online for information & advice about stray / feral cats - I had not seen this term before: “Community cat” is an umbrella term that refers to any member of the Felis catus species who is unowned and lives outdoors. Both feral and stray cats are community cats.


April 9: The animal world