I Posted A Picture Of A Cat

I posted a picture of a cute little cat,

When she dropped by for some yarn and a chat.

Why not a bear, or a moose, or a frog?

Why not a pooch, someone’s faithful old dog?

Why a cat and not a rat or a bat?

Or perhaps someone’s misbehaving and spoiled little brat?

Why not a turtle peacefully napping on a log?

Or what about little Susie’s 4-H prize-winning hog?

But instead, I shared a picture of a colorful cat.

And now don’t really know what to make of all that.

---

As usual, simply having a bit of tongue-in-cheek rhyming fun.  At the expense of cats today, it would appear.

My story character friend Little Red Bear and I both love critters and animals of all shapes, colors, and sizes.  It seems Little Red Bear collects a new animal guest every time his neighbor Farmer Turner visits in the stories.  Readers will recall that is how Swinestein came to live with Little Red Bear and Cinnamon Charlie in the first collection of stories, and we can tell you now that having just completed the “Sockwash Soup” story for Red’s second adventures book coming in the fall, Little Red Bear is in store for more “gifts” from Farmer Turner.

And yes, we are adding a new cat character to the stories — Barney the Barn Cat.  Maybe writing about Barney is what triggered this little poem earlier this afternoon.  Of course, Little Red Bear does not have a ‘barn’, per se, so not sure how we will resolve that yet. But we will.

Do you have a cat or pet(s) of some sort? The health benefits of pet ownership are well documented, including physical, mental, and emotional improvements, from enhancing social skills to decreasing a person’s risk of a heart attack. Not to mention helping children to learn responsibility caring for a pet. A number of studies have demonstrated that having a pet in the home can actually lower a child’s likelihood of developing related allergies by as much as 33 percent.

As friends know, I am as extremely allergic to cats as some are to peanuts and shellfish. Maybe we just needed a cat in the house when I was growing up. But as they say, that cat’s already left the barn, so to speak.  Or is that horses?  Must be thinking about Barney the Barn Cat again. For more information on the benefits of pet ownership check out Animal Planet’s “Top 5 Health Benefits of Owning a Pet”.

Thanks always for visiting with us today! If you are considering adding a new pet to the family, please remember all of the wonderful and loving pets awaiting a forever and loving home in your local animal shelters. Your new best friend may be just a visit away! — Jim  (and Red!)

---

If you enjoyed this piece, you may also enjoy → “I Will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart” 

(And if a new visitor — Welcome! To find out what we are all about here, please check out — “Welcome To My Writing Pages!” — and sign up to follow and be notified of every new post!)

---

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.” – Charles Dickens

“A kitten is, in the animal world, what a rosebud is in the garden.” – Robert Sowthey

---