Pepper the Cat

He’s perched on a window sill
His shiny black coat being warmed by the sun
His emerald-green eyes dilated as he focuses on the scenery outdoors
A leaf blowing around on the ground
Catches his eye
His long black tail twitches with glee

He jumps down ever so gracefully
Stops when he hears a door close
Stares in the direction of the sound for what seems like hours
Ears pointed forward in anticipation

He licks his paw and cleans behind his ears
Living in the moment as he bathes himself
Being clean is important to him
Unless he finds a cool pile of dirt outside
Then he must roll in it and purr with delight

As affectionate and loving as he is
He’s also fierce and hot headed
He’ll go from purring while being pat
To lightly biting the hand that caresses him
He’s being playful, but is pushed away when he behaves aggressively

So he slowly walks to the front door and meows
Wanting to be outside to release the pent up energy
His little paw scrapes at the door, making a scratchy sound
He waits until someone approaches and then meows once more
They finally open the door to let him out

Once he steps outside, he becomes stealth and agile
Keeping low to the ground as he takes in all the scents
Being very still as he listens to the birds in the trees
They have no idea he’s watching them
He loves this part of the game

Something in the grass moves
And his head darts that way
While the rest of his body stays perfectly still
His little nostrils flare as he breathes…concentrates
Then he bows his head lower, chin almost touching the ground
His shoulder blades protruding like two small mountains on his back
Muscles begin to twitch
His shiny black fur stands on end

He waits for the perfect moment to pounce
So eager yet so patient
Then in a swift move he’s on the little grey mouse
Holding his paws over it
Feeling it squirm under him, fighting to escape
He’ll lift one paw to let it try getting away
Happy to let it run a few steps only to pounce on it again

Poor little mouse is terrified
But Pepper’s only playing a game
He’ll catch and release the mouse for a while
Until he gets bored
If he feels affectionate today
He might kill the mouse and leave it at the front door
A little gift from him to his owners
Or he may just let the mouse go
Perhaps injured a little while hopping away anxiously

Today he’s content with letting the mouse go
Besides, he hears the clanking of a spoon against a mug in the house
Someone is stirring milk into their coffee!
If he’s quick enough, he can get a little saucer of milk too
So he abandons his hunting game for now and meows at the front door
Someone lets him in and he makes it to the kitchen just in time

Rubbing against her leg, he meows
Makes his cute little kitty face and stares up at her with big, green eyes
And she falls for it, patting him on the head and saying:
“Does Pepper want some milk this morning?”
He meows again, more urgently “Yes! Yes I would like some!”
He follows her, rubbing against her leg
Meowing and meowing until she places the saucer at his feet
With delight, he gulps down the cool milk until it’s finished

When the milk is all done
He makes his way back to the window sill
After a morning of gazing outside
Hunting mice and drinking cold milk, he’s spent!
He gazes out the widow until he gets sleepy
Then he starts to give himself another bath
Once his coat is clean and restored to its luster
He settles into a cozy position
And lets his eyes close for a little nap

© Copyright – All rights reserved – Cristina Cole