Funny cat tales in rhyme

From T.S. Eliot (whose book about cats became the musical "Cats") to Dr. Seuss, writers love to write about cats. If you are a teacher, try having your students jump into poetry writing by using as a subject "my pet." If a child does not have a pet or is unusually fanciful -- it could be "my imaginary pet from outer space."

Cat Poems and art
By Mo Conlan

Sheba

My cat Sheba
can be fierce or tender.
She especially appreciates
a really big spender
on tuna and toys and catnip.
She likes sunny naps
on a number of perches
until she feels summoned
to one of her searches –
birds, bugs or mice –
then a romp around the house is nice.
She gives me her paw
when something is wanted,
then paw with slight claw
if wishes are daunted.
When she wants to be fed
she makes it known, how?
A piteous loud meow.
When she wants to be petted,
she lands in my lap,
or she may climb aboard
wherever just suits –
top of the head or crook of arm.
I let her – she does no harm.
Then she makes a motorboat purr
as she kneads me and I stroke her fur.

~~~

Kitty and Mamma

Once Kitty caught a mouse
that got into the house.
Mamma gave a shriek!
Kitty dropped it at her feet.
The poor little thing
was still squeaking
and Mamma still shrieking,
but Kitty was so proud –
she licked and cleaned her paws
and flexed their little claws.
Sister carried the mouse
outside the house,
then Kitty took a nap
right on Mamma’s lap.

~~~

Jones

My cat Jones
was a bag of bones.
We tried him on Fit Cat,
we tried him on fish.
He just turned his nose up,
wouldn’t look at his dish.
“Try raisins,” a friend said,
“that’s what my cat eats.”
“Try broccoli florets, pickled pigs’ feet.”
We enticed him with tuna,
tried PB&J.
Jones just gave that cat look,
went and sat on a book.
The vet said, try this,
my grandma said, that.
“Try topping his food
with a big butter pat.”
Jones was bored and getting skinny,
when along for a visit came cousin Minnie
with a triple-decker ice cream cone
that I accidentally bumped and it fell splat!
Jones licked it right up and that was that.
Now, Jones will eat Fit Cat and tuna and such
as long as he gets ice cream after.
Is that asking too much?

~~~

Tutti-Fruiti

My cat Tutti-Fruitti – Tutti for short –
is an artist. “No way!” you snort?
It all started when I got the measles,
stuck at home and bored,
so Mom bought me paints and an easel.
Tutti jumped right up
and dipped her paw in the paint cup.
She scribbled and scrabbled,
dippled and dabbled
all over the canvas.
She favors yellows and reds –
her paintings look like flower beds.
The local curator of art
was given quite a start
when he saw art so fine
by a mere feline.
He arranged a big show–
“Art by Tutti the Cat.”
Now, what do you think about that?
Art dealers came
and rich ladies exclaimed,
“Paintings sublime by a feline!”
Tutti’s been on TV
and in the newspapers.
She has a private tutor –
now she’s eying my computer.

~~~

My Cats

I love my cats,
Daisy and Darwin.
He’s the one black as a hat
and, truthfully, fat.
She’s black and white and thin
with face markings like a grin.
They get along fine
most of the time –
sunning together so sweetly,
grooming each other neatly.
They like to run around the house
as if they were chasing a mouse
(like me and my little brother do).
But suddenly one will growl,
then hiss and yowl.
In a flash they’re fighting;
sometimes there’s even biting.
I give one a basement “timeout”
(try to pick whoever started the bout).
Their fights are over soon
and I find them tucked like spoons
together for a nap.
I love my cats,
but they’re slightly bats.

~~~

Cat hat

My cat is so sweetly purring
and cozy, with taffy furring.
I wish she’d use that heat
to warm up my cold feet.
Instead of that, she
sits on my head like a hat.
Drat!

If I were an animal, I would be a cat...

Darwin becomes an "only cat."

Don't forget to bring the cats...

Art Gallery ~ Cat on the Prowl

Art Gallery ~ I Love Cats

Read Cherryl Chow's cab blog...Paws for Peace of Mind.

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