A finicky feline who likes fabulous, fancy flavors? Why, of course!
My beautiful Camille, was such a cat.
Sure... She ate her kibble if she absolutely HAD to. But she was also prone to turning up her nose, which led her personal chef, Moi, to get creative.
Soon, the sound of the pantry door opening, would lead to her furry form darting into the kitchen and rubbing in grateful ecstasy against my legs, for the can of tuna I was opening.
As the cranking sound of the opener tore its way around that little tin circle, she would sit and lift each paw in the air, gently licking and washing her "hands" getting ready for the meal to be served. Her aloof demeanor told of her expectations of 5-star service.
I poured the "Tuna Au Jus" she had ordered off the menu, gently over the kibble, seeping that delicious flavor of the sea into every morsel. The aroma caught her sister Angel's attention, and soon there were two customers, hoping we had not run out of the Thursday night special.
When an opportunity to write a poem about an animal for the Writer's Loft's new anthology AN ASSORTMENT OF ANIMALS presented itself, I knew exactly who I would write about...
Here is her poem. My ode to my precious writing buddy, Camille, illustrated by the SO very talented, Robert Thibeault (Check out his work here!) FYI- This was the first time, my words had ever been illustrated. What a thrill! Bob brought so much more to my character, as all great illustrators do. Thanks Bob!
So Happy Poetry Friday, everyone! Much thanks to Kathryn Apel (Kat Whiskers) for hosting this week, and for her feline inspiration. Be sure to go to her blog to check out the many other beautiful poems. What a lovely way to end your week!
You can find my poem and many others from many amazing poets, like Josh Funk and Jane Yolen, in this delightful anthology, "An Assortment of Animals: A Children's Poetry Anthology" (link), illustrated by the Caldecott award winning- Brian Lies. (link)
Thanks for sharing your poem and this fun new anthology. Poems about pets are always winners with kids. And the big lump of orange fur in my lap right now is feeling like Camille is his sister from a different mother. He is ALWAYS up for a taste of anything we're eating and EVERY can that's opened is hoped-for tuna!
My childhood cat wasn't a picky eater for the most part, but once, when my father brought home the absolute cheapest, no-name cat kibble he could find, she finally reached her limited and refused to even sniff it. We knew that if Zipper wouldn't touch it, it had to be pretty bad! :-D
Camille was a queen! (I noticed you wrote about her in past tense? :( Has she been gone long?)
Our Maisy eagerly comes running whenever a tuna can is opened. I've never offered her the Thursday Night Special (if she had kibble with tuna au jus she would never go back!) but she always gets a sampling. :) Congrats on the inclusion of the poem in the anthology and what a fun illustration! — Karen Edmisten
So much fun, Cathleen! Does your Celine really have emerald eyes??? Wow!
Oh I love this, Cathy! So fun! --Marcie Flinchum Atkins