the cat
lying
comfortably on my lap
the puppy
playing
exuberantly with her toys
something happens
some kind of loud noise
now both animals are scared,
the cat has yeeted herself from my body,
and that is why i’m bleeding.
the cat
lying
comfortably on my lap
the puppy
playing
exuberantly with her toys
something happens
some kind of loud noise
now both animals are scared,
the cat has yeeted herself from my body,
and that is why i’m bleeding.
the puppy
newly recovered from surgery
still overexerts herself in excitement
and panic
whenever the cat comes near
and i don’t know how to help her see
the cat will still be here when she is healthy
the tiny tail wags
from a puppy who sees a cat
whom she hopes to befriend,
and the larger tail whips
from a cat who isn’t necessarily mad,
but definitely doesn’t want this friendship
as much
as the dog
wants it
and we poor humans
no tails to show our emotions
we must rely on (unreliable) facial expressions
and (unexpressive) english words.
poor
us.
the puppy wants so desperately
to play with the cat
that she’s taken the hisses and bats
and invitations
and copied those acts
so now
the cat defends
and the dog reacts with enthusiasm
that the cat is not anticipating
and defends harder
which the dog takes to mean
playing harder
until she gets so excited
she spins
and zoomies
herself
away
the cat is exploring
the downstairs
once more
the first time(s)
since the puppy arrived
she’s finally comfortable enough
to be in the same floor level
as the spastic young dog
but only because
the dog is
all crated up
what will happen with the puppy has free reign
of the downstairs
again?
the puppy
plays with her ball
not a care in the world
meanwhile
the cat
cares deeply
about the food
that has yet to be
hand-delivered
to her
the puppy
and the cat
are not mortal enemies
they may, in fact
simply be
frenemies
(though,
perhaps
that’s all from the cat’s
perspective
the puppy
100% believes
they’re besties
or at least could/should be.)