Mr. Thumbs

To some, he was a mutant.

To others, he was a cat with thumbs trying to get by in a harsh world.

Life on the streets is hard.

He was constantly searching for his next meal.

At times he ate dog kibble to stay alive.

He had to be cautious about who he trusted.

Not all humans are good and there are other animals out there that could harm him too.

He watched from a distance.

He observed me from the safety of the bushes in my yard as I feed and pet other cats.

He plotted his move carefully.

Until one day when it was raining, he decided it was time to show himself to me.

I heard this desperate meow from the bushes and an orange and white cat appeared.

I comforted him and gave him food and water.

He let me pet him and even rubbed against my legs.

He was friendly and wanted me to know he was there.

The storm had him trembling and he cried out for help.

I brought him in the house.

I set him up with a space in my laundry room.

He didn’t know me very well and was afraid of my intentions.

He had heard horror stories from other colony cats and was afraid of being trapped indoors.

On day three of captivity, he used his thumbs to open a window and escape.

I went looking for him.

I even had a black and white cat friend with me to search for him.

I wanted to make sure he was not hurt in his jump down from the roof.

Mr. Thumbs was a smart cat.

He avoided me like the plague for months before I was finally able to prove myself to him.

He let my boyfriend and others pet him.

But he would not let me touch him.

He did not want to be catnapped.

Once I gained his trust he started plopping on the ground and letting me rub his belly.

He met me each day after I got out of work and I fed him Kitty’s Dinner each night.

A year and a half passed.

I became very bonded to this cat creature.

He had thumbs which were unique.

He had furry little mittens and I was smitten by them.

I made jokes about him being owned by a neighbor and spinning yarn in there basement made of his own fur.

He was the cat who spun the golden yarn.

He was worth money.

He was one of those magical spinning cats.

Cat spun yarn goes for a high price on Etsy.

Then February came.

Mr. Thumbs was used to coming into my back stairwell to eat his dinner.

The weather seemed colder this year.

There were nights he didn’t want to go back outside after eating.

He wanted to hang out and visit with me longer.

After several nights of him not wanting to go back outside.

I asked him “Do you want to come in where it is warm?”

He meowed to me.

I opened the door to me home and set him up with a litter box and food.

The rest is history.

I took him to the vet.

He had illnesses I was unaware of and I spent the next three months nursing him back to health.

He is thankful for his indoor life.

Each day he rubs against my legs, meows to me and purrs.

I took him in the week David Bowie died.

And due to the timing and fact that he looks like a white cat that was sprinkled in Stardust, his new indoor name is Ziggy Stardust.

He really is a rockstar and has the sweetest most caring demeanor of any cat that I have ever met.

He gives half of his Kitty Dinner to one of his indoor sisters and slept by my feet while I was sofa bound with the flu.

Mr. Thumbs has opened the window to my heart.

And this time he is not plotting to escape.

This poem is featured in the book "Passing Skeletons".

"Passing Skeletons" is a collection of poetry written by Amanda Zylstra. This collection has various themes including relationships, mental illness, addiction, and death. Each poem is filled with vivid descriptions, metaphors, and truth. This collection contains poetry written over the past 20 years and is the first published collection by this author.

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