Sweet Ray,
by Mollie Hunt
He hugs you.
He loves you more than food.
He walks where you walk,
He gets in your face.
He loves you more than play—almost.
He climbs around your neck,
on your shoulders,
watching you work,
but doesn’t stay long.
He’s a busy boy.
He jumps on your back
when you clean his box,
and chases the string on the broom.
Be quick with cleaning!
In his cat box, he makes a mess,
happily flinging litter everywhere
like pellet confetti.
He scratches all vertical surfaces:
chair, table, shelf.
He covers his food with his blanket.
Covers his litterbox too.
No predators will find him.
He doesn’t aspire to heights,
feels at home on the ground
or the rocking chair
for a bath and groom.
He’s a clean one.
He’s in your chair before you can sit.
He’s on your lap with his nose in your face,
green eyes searching: Are you the One?
He loves you more than food.
Sweet Ray is a four-year-old silver tabby boy whom I fostered for the Oregon Humane Society. I was the last of a string of foster parents who had nursed him through a lengthy recovery from horrific wounds inflicted by a farm machine. To make matters worse, there was something about Ray’s constitution that inhibited his healing ability. But throughout his five months of intensive care, Ray won the reputation of being the sweetest boy around. When Ray was finally cleared for adoption, it took only one day for him to find his forever home.
Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also published a little book of cat poetry called Cat Poems: For the Love of Cats. Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, and Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like her cat lady character, she is a grateful shelter volunteer.
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