Felix the Formerly Feral Feline

This poetry post is sheer self- indulgence. Or Felix indulgence. Because this wild cat who strolled into our garden the summer of 2016 probably never intended to audition to be a lap cat. But so has been his fate. And it is such a new development that I am reluctant to disturb him. So I am pinned down in bed, only one cup of tea down, with poetry practice to do. Without disturbing Himself. He is the complete cat who came in from the cold.

It has been quite the saga, which has captivated many of my Facebook friends as I chronicled each step forward and two scratches back. He started mid- summer 2016 as a cat burglar sneaking through the kitchen window stealing our cats’ grub. By January 2017 we were feeding him daily and had a cat kennel close to the house to keep an eye on his skinny, slightly mangey hide. By that October he was eating indoors from his own tray, sometimes clawing the hand that fed him,who was also trying to socialise him to petting. He had his own basket and would slide into the house at midnight to take up residence. In January 2018 he got into a fracas and injured his eye. He was in bad shape and I was able to bundle him into our little dog’s crate and get him to the vets. And he has remained, accepting that taming isn’t so bad. He was diagnosed with  feline leukemia that visit, so needs warmth, good nutrition, and fun as it turns out. Because he seems to have discovered his inner kitten and just wants to play all the time, racing up and down the garden, climbing trees, rolling over to distract Tony from his gardening task.

Throughout this saga he has accrued many fans. Friends from Australia we hadn’t seen in twenty years were ecstatic to meet him in his transition towards taming. Another from Wisconsin wants to check in on him during her annual sojourns in Leitrim. A client on her first trip to Ireland from Vancouver had him on her itinerary! Felix has gone global.

So today, a new poetry form to try, that I can tap onto the mini- iPad with one finger. (I am SO in thrall to this critter. But it seems a bit mutual.) I have never tried the limerick. So here goes.

Once there was a feral cat called Felix

Admirably posing for FB pics

He got quite the fanbase

From Vancouver to Naas

This formerly feral feline called Felix

And

The formerly feral feline Felix

Has converted to lap time and frolics

He has me pinned down

With his great renown

By so famously changing  dynamics.