I’m Little White, A Flame-Point Cat

A Siamese, Albino, Ginger mix, I like to fuss
Little Mama was a feral Tabby, I was newborn when Liz adopted us
And my sisters, Little Yellow and Big White
Barry and Liz loved us, they did us right
Scared, skinny Little Mama came crying for food, she couldn’t be a quitter 
With us three girls growing inside her, me the littlest of the litter
At first I was timid, Liz named me Little White
Smaller than Big White, my sis, until one heartbreak night
When she ate rat poison in a neighbor’s yard
Little Mama took it hard 
I still hear her single, plaintiff cry
Such a soft and sad “Meowr” goodbye
My other sis, Little Yellow, is the biggest. Gentle, calm
She sleeps hidden in tall grasses, is a playful balm
To the kickass-ity I took on when
Big White breathed her spirit into me, 
Bolstering my boldness infinitely
Little Yellow’s the street smartest of our family
Caught in a metal trap only twice,
First when Liz got us fixed (the bait smelled so nice)
Second when Barry’s mom passed, oh woe!
Her house sold, and Liz trapped us in a Catio
In a great big yard beside a small house rental
We hated being caged, we started going mental
Until two months later, when Liz set us free
Little Mama, Little Yellow and kickass me
Giant feral roosters spooked us, we left bufo frogs alone
But warm juicy mice put us in the zone
They hid beneath the house, quiet as only mice can be
Never knowing one cat’s audacity 
Was multiplied by three,
Little Mama, Little Yellow, and me 
When it came to mice, we didn’t ask twice
If they’d join us for dinner and eternity
For felines, moving’s stressful, but soon the rental sold
We told Liz and Barry, “Moving’s really getting old.”
Liz said, “Covid’s a bitch but we’re a family,
You three darlings and Barry and me,
I’ll try to find a Catio-friendly rental
So you’re not stuck inside and don’t go mental.”
“No!” Little Yellow said, “Moving’s against my will”
She evaded the traps, escaped to the hills
When the new landlord’s son trapped Mom and me
Little Yellow became a cat of the community,
The Filipino couple living in the house above
Adopted Little Yellow, showed her genuine love,
Fed her in their kitchen so other strays can’t take her food away.
Our new landlord helped put up a big outdoor Catio
For four good years it resided on their patio,
The landlord built a tunnel through our window to the Catio outside
What a lovely quiet place for Little Mama and me to reside! 
Until every stray cat started dancing on the rental’s roof
We wanted to dance, too, but we stayed aloof 
The skinny strays birthed kittens in outdoor storage closets
And drank from the landlord’s water faucets
They ate rats under wood decaying in his yard
They howled at us through chicken wire and tried real hard
To convince Little Mama and me to break out, come and play
Not knowing we were trapped. Then one fateful day,
Little Mama and me had to move away
Because Barry got sick and Liz also needed care,
The landlord tried to trap us there
With a 6-year lease before Liz’s friend Leilani
Said, “A cottage is up for rent in lovely Pohai Nani!”
So Liz had a tiny Catio built on wheels
Fed us inside, trapped us, said, “Girls, here’s the deal,
No outside Catios are allowed here, but every day you’ll see, 
Birds and geckos through the windows while watching cat TV.”
Liz and Barry let love show, built a cat tree beside the inside Catio,
We sleep on top, loving high places where humans cannot go
I purr and nestle between Liz’s blanketed legs at night
Liz knows we appreciate her doing us right
Sometimes she sings the warm kitty song,
And I purr along,
“Warm kitty, soft kitty, little ball of fur,
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.”

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