2.12.05

a cat-astrophe

Simmons had seen a lot in her 12 long years. Having squandered a good seven of her lives in a misspent youth full of ragged fights at night with other felines, and another in a mouse chasing scam she'd rather not talk about, she now toed the line in an attempt to make the last one last. Eating the Iams for mature cats which her human pets put out for her was only one of a very long list of changes she made to her lifestyle.

It was, in fact, not a bad life at all. When it came right down to it, being able to sleep most of the day in a soft yet bright sunlit window is what most kittens dream of. And no one of right mind ever turned down a good backrub while watching television in the evening.

This was the situation up until that fateful day in February. Simmon's awoke with an urgency in the pit of her stomach.

"Naps in the sun, aren't what I want to be remembered for", she thought.

So Simmons walked outside on this sunny winter day and glanced across the road at the old barn in which she spent so many of her glory days hunting for mice. Maybe this feeling was nothing. Maybe she just needed to get it out of her system. Perhaps one last adventure was in order.

Hopping of the deck as if she were just a kitten, Simmons strode toward the barn across the street. The cold air whipping past her hair energized her with the thrill of the hunt. An excitement which she hadn't felt in years.

Leaping onto the near side of the road without a glance in either direction, Simmons soon realized her mistake. The screeching of the green car's breaks were the last sound the old cat heard.