The 60-Second Sabbath

Cats

  • A Day with the Cats

    I spend the day at home with my cats,doing exactly what they do:I sleep when they sleep;I eat when they eat(from my own dish on the kitchen floor);I play when they play;I remain on all fours,keeping as much as possibleat floor… Continue reading

  • Senior Cats

    They are now eight.How can a creature of eight yearsbe "senior"?They eat "senior" food.They go for annual "senior" exams. My other cat(companion of my adult life)lived to be nineteen.If eight means "senior,"what was she? I am fifty-eight,a week from fifty-nine.What… Continue reading

  • Morning Ritual

    Romeo, one of our two black Mumbai cats, walks over to his brother Willy, already stretched on the carpet in front of me. Romeo, too, lies down, and nestles his head into his brother's–Willy starts grooming him, throwing one front… Continue reading

  • To Die of Tenderness

    Is it possibleto die of tenderness? At times my heart so fillswith unexpected kindnessthat I fear it may burst. So many poets–with frightening beauty–bring to vivid lifethe inevitability of death. And then, in a second's time,I witness such delicate sweetness:one… Continue reading

  • Cat Food

    The cats I've hadexcitedly huntmice, moths, flies and grasshoppers,and will–to varying extent–consume them. I have yet to see themhunt downcows, chickens, calves and fish of any kind.And given their responseto the approach of a trundling toddler,I can only imagine them… Continue reading

  • Keeping Up

    "You have to e-mail," they said.So I started e-mailing. "E-mailing isn't enough," they said."You have to blog."So I started blogging, too. "E-mailing and blogging aren't enough," they said."You have to learn to Facebook." So I began Facebooking,along with e-mailing and… Continue reading

  • The Cat Shop

    There is a small shopin my obscure little neighborhood,staffed solely by cats. They sell cans of cat food, or course,and a variety of toys made of feathers, yarn and strips of colored foil.They also carry catnip,from the run-of-the-mill, Petsmart kindto… Continue reading

  • Both Cats

    Both cats merge on my lap:twenty-four total poundsof silky, satisfied blackness. So my question is:Am I sitting with a lap full of catsor a lapful of cat? This kind of question bugs me. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk… Continue reading

  • I Want to Be a Cat

    I want to be a cat, and not just any cat, of course: I want to be a cat owned by me. That would be a very good life. Willy plays in the study. As I write, I hear a… Continue reading

  • The Credenza Incident

    Getting ready for work one morning, I came out of the bedroom to find Willy half under the credenza in the dining area, only his back half visible. I stopped. He lay absolutely still until I said his name: "Willy?"… Continue reading