Local Cat Lady isn't Here for You

“...being a cat person is not only cool but an entire aesthetic.”

Ilana Kaplan, Vogue (2021)

Never trust someone who hates cats,

What they hate are enforceable boundaries

Secured by tooth and nail. But I say

Do not touch me uninvited.

Do not ask me to come when called.

Do not love me with conditions.

I am of myriad qualities: unapologetic

independence, unabashed playfulness,

unhindered affection. I am worth

loving my purr and respecting my scratch.

I am a companion with personality, a

worshipable deity, a belly rub with a bite.