i am a cat too

i probably shouldn't ask, but
why can i go on one counter
in the kitchen but not the other?
and why not in the sink?

i know there's a good reason, but
why am i allowed on top of the fridge
but not inside, or underneath
or in between the fridge and the stove?

it's all the same space to me, you see.
free to wander and wiggle and be,
we cats think you humans don't like to be free
so you build walls to define what should be:

walls to keep this from that, and
walls to separate my place from yours;
walls for seconds and minutes and hours;
walls for holding up windows and doors;

walls to keep yes from no, and
walls to separate my way from yours;
walls that keep you from reaching your goals;
walls that break down with the right kind of force.

we cats are into breaking walls
no matter how tall or devilishly stout,
and if not through, then over or around--
no walls have been built that can keep us cats out.

and if there's no way to go through, 'round or over
we cats simply walk right on top of 'em.
the view from walls is wide and complete;
for seeing, there's no better strategem.

but we really like breaking them the best.
tee hee...
did i ever tell you about the time
i got trapped in the fridge
while clawing cabbage?
oh, never mind.

miao for now
tnt

reporting and analysis by t.n.tallywack, celebrated catculture conoisseur





we cats love friday cat blogging;
we can't get enough of tributes
and worship and love and such.

i, tnt, have personally chosen
the best of the friday cat blogs
for you, so you needn't waste time

not that any picture of any cat
is ever anything close to a waste
since cats are so amazingly fine

but anyway, i'm here to say
that we cats like this one best
(for this week of november 25)
not only for its regal portrayal

but because it reminds us cats
of the siamese cat song, which is
the only finer thing than "is that all there is"
that peggy lee ever sang.
now you see that!
peggy lee, we cats love her, she
made us lose our sense of verse.

so, to be terser,
we also like this one.

we cats always like
to watch other cats
"bring the cute," any day.

who woulda thunk
this untraceable meme
could start such a craze?

who started it? let's see...
there are varying reports.
on second thought, who's to say?

we cats are not surprised
because we know by heart
the universe's ways;

its wild and wooly
taffy-pully
ever wily ways.

xo
tnt

while stalking knots and tangles
i fancy myself a panther
wrangling spiteful snakes,

or a free-floating astrocat
dangling on this or that star,
far from mauls and mangles.

but a minute or two in the jungle
and i feel no longer hungry
for that kind of makeshift rite,

for at night i wend and windle
through wild lands near and hinter
with a panther by my side,

and we are one yet two together,
not birds but of one feather
in the dreaming half of life.

So tangles and knots i do stalk
in my waking style of wrangling,
just to ice my little cake.

Luscious lucid visions forever
flood my dreaming style of waking
while stalking knots and tangles.

leap!
i land on his head.
dive!
i slip to the bed.
roll!
i fall to the floor.
jump!
i reach up for more.



i heard about the cat circus
from the great cat mind
when i was but a fur ball.

i thought that i might run away
to see what i could find
in the life of a cat who does it all.

but luckily for me
my human likes to play
so i needn't wander away
'cause where we two live happily
it's the circus every day.

jump!
i land on his shoulder.
roll!
we grow somewhat older.
dive!
we merge into one.
leap!
our lives are nothing but fun.

we cats are always we
because we see
that we're connected.

you humans are connected too
but you won't see that's true
so you think that you
are I and me.
see?

as cats, we cats are often asked:
do cats truly like humans?
do cats really hate dogs?
are cats actually gods?

and the answer to them all
is yes and no and maybe so
because cats don't go about
solidifying truths.
absolutely not. we cats
take truth for where it's at.

now normally i shouldn't be
telling you this, but we cats
have no special powers that
you humans couldn't have too.

yes, we can speak with our minds,
and yes, we find ways around time
but rhyming is harder than that!

one thing that's tricky to say
is how we cats turned out this way.
like you, we have many ideas:

some of us say we came from the moon
and some say we came from the sun

some say we cats were made for fun
and some say we're the serious ones

some say we cats came in from the wild
for food, and made ourselves mild
to get along well with the human brood

some say we cats came from outer space
from a star where space cats rule the place
and watch earthbound cats from afar

i say that cats simply are.
we are all stars, all true,
like you humans, we cats
have a widening view...

now watch us stretch
and twist and curl
to rejoice in the mysteries of the world

the cat connection
expands and extends
from the central void to the living end.

xo
tnt

Categories: cats, spirit

four statements and a decision in the case of the honorable lady s and incomparable countess m against known scoundrel tetsu neko tallywack

the statement of lady s

he came at me first.
of course i rebuffed his advances!
what else was i to do, i ask you!
my honor and the honor of the countess
were foremost in my scope of cares at the time.



but the countess is not as--
shall we say "refined?"--as i.
she would persist in teasing
the cat when she knew it might lead
to further pawing. in fact,
i began to suspect
that she wanted it.
the pawing, that is,
the pawing of that dreadful creature...
and those sharp swords that pulse
in and out of those immense, hideous paws...

...oh i can't, i can't!
i really can't remember any more.
my nerves are delicate you see,
and we, I mean she, well, you see,
i fainted, so i was not privy
to the occurences that
immediately followed
my fully warranted collapse.
though i am yours most sincerely
should there be anything else
you'd like to know.


the statement of countess m

first allow me to thank the unseeing eye
for allowing me to survive the ordeal.
though i am but a doll i rely on the
continuance of experience for my sustenance.
though bedraggled i remain true, and i say
it was not the cat's fault. i say
the shrew my aunt the lady s should hang
for what she's done to me. yes, she!

you see, i'm beyond shame now!
the devil take her for all i care,
and blaming it on that poor kitten,
how dare she! she has always coveted
my ivory complexion,
hers being naught but a mask of paint.
and now, as you can see, it's ruined.
and i am allied with the cat in
my indignation and disgust with
the shrew my aunt the lady s,
and i say take her away to the place
you take liars and tramps and thieves.

and send me back to my villa by the sea,
if you please, without her.
and i expect it to be first class,
the voyage i mean, which you will
certainly be paying for, thank you so much!

here, kitty kitty!
here, kitty kitty!
oh where is that darling kitty?
i do know he likes me despite what he did!
(glancing in the mirror)
i don't look all that bad, do i?
tell me the truth!


the statement of tetsu neko tallywack


did she tell you the one about
the vicious dust bunny too?
i was just playing.
i thought you all knew.
tee hee ha ha pee pee poo poo!
you make me laugh, you really do!

and those dolls, they're crazy you see.
they see things that no one could see
and talk as if it were all just reality.
but me, i like my own, thank you very much.
reality i mean, which is silent and golden,
and i just wanted them to shut up,
and it was really just a matter of
an even draw when it came down
to which one i would have to abuse
as a lesson in golden silence observation.

hiss hiss, i went, paw paw,
and the shrew her aunt the lady s
fell to the floor with a thud.
but my human came and swept her back up
and countess m was obviously next.
three fine swipes, some clawing and
a few love bites--really, that's all they were!
that's all it was, and she doesn't look that bad.
she's just a doll after all.
it's not like anyone sees her except
the shrew her aunt the lady s,
my human, the other human and me.
you see, the case is silly!
we're all friends now, just ask my human!
no really, you'll see!
ha ha ho ho tee hee and wheeeeee.....


the statement of an innocent human interloper

well of course i picked up the doll
when i saw that tetsu had knocked her down.
how was i to know it would lead
to the horrible mauling of the other?
the sweet, damaged dolls!
in fact, i had no idea until just now
that my dolls had inner lives.
my cat, of course, i knew about.
i talk to him, you know.
and i know about his blog, of course.
he says he puts me in a trance
and uses my brain and body
to do his bidding.
it's nonsense, of course.
he must type while i'm asleep.
right?

oh, yes. the countess m?
well, i didn't find her
until it was much too late.
unfortunately, those things happen
when you have a kitten in the house.
i scolded him lightly and let it be.
and put the dolls away in a safe place.
but maybe they're not so happy there.
maybe they are all friends
like tetsu said.
i really don't know
but i'd like to think it's so.


the final say-so of the kitty court

we hereby declare
that tetsu neko tallywack
is innocent of all charges
and that all cats everywhere
are innocent of all charges
brought upon them by dolls.
go, fellow felines
and maul dolls with impunity.
it is your right as creatures of catdom.
miao for now!

Categories: japan, japan, film, poetry

i scratched his face and he bled.
those are razor sharp, he said -
and showed me the back of his fist.

i clawed his back and he hissed.
he didn't know that i'd missed -
i was going for his neck.

hee hee ha ha ho lo
i take it as far as it goes
tee hee hiss hiss poo poo
a cat can only be true

his doctor told him watch out
what on earth was he talking about?
cat scratch fever, no doubt

my human just shrugged and said
i'd just as soon be dead
as keep my cat out of my head

hee hee ha ha ho lo
he takes it as far as it goes
tee hee hiss hiss poo poo
my human is true like me too

when i look very deep in his eyes
i hear his unrealized sighs
his mind is as silly as mine

when he feels very deep in my mind
our mortal coils unwind
and life is no tough road to go

hee hee ha ha ho lo
we take it as far as it goes
tee hee hiss hiss poo poo
we live in our own little zoo

hee hee ha ha hiss hiss
there is nothing together we miss
tee hee poo poo ho lo
and life is no tough road to go

and life is no tough road to go
and life is no tough road to go

xoxoxo
tnt