Cat and dog tag | Rat survival | This is amazing

Written by Susan Lane

The Cat and the Rat

I look down garden and what do I see
The cat playing dab with the grass and weeds
It was tea time, I gave him a shout,
He looked over and carried on playing about

I take a slow stroll to see what he’s at
I can still only see my cat
Nothing is visible from distance you see
Just lots of grass and a few weeds
That are under the cherry tree

The overgrowth it’s plain to see
Is hiding something exciting,
From him and me
He still dabs so I get closer
I can’t say I’m surprised
At what is looking back at me

It’s a young grey rat staring at me
Not really sure if I’m a friend or enemy
With nowhere to hide he makes a run
To get under the next bit of shade
Out of the sun

The boy follows, he’s quite miffed
I’ve let his new playmate go adrift
But never mind there’s another day
Plenty more rats
From the other side of the gate
Will come this way

The Cat and the Dog are in Cahoots

There are lots that have been here before
My dog decided that catching them
Was her lifelong chore
To chase and catch that invader for me
Because it kept eating the bird food
I hung on the tree

They invaded the compost bin too
Looking for anything that could be food
It was amazing to see
All those furry brown bodies
Trying to flee
Running around trying to avoid even me
The dog and the cat ignoring my calls
To stop their chase and sit quietly

The rats weren’t up to escaping this territory
Because the dog was out in the open
Waiting patiently
And the cat was hiding stealthily by the tree
They worked in tandem you see

And on this subject, they both agreed
Absolutely no way were they listening to me
They were rat catching extraordinaries
Doing their job as part of their fee
For living and being fed by me.

Now the rat has gone, what’s for tea
And don’t forget to celebrate
With a nice glass of Asti
Whilst we grant you the favour of
Watching us eat!
Cat and dog sleeping after their rat-catching endeavours with overlaid text "The Rat Catchers Having a Snooze" and "© Susan Lane 2025"

© Susan Lane. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the author.

ColourMine poetry, and the original photographs, are completely authentic to myself, Susan Lane – no AI, no plagiarism, all checked and verified by copyleaks

Apologies for the emoji presentation – I tested several, but this was the only one that worked reliably on ColourMine. Just click the box next to the emoji and hit submit, and I’ll know if the poem resonated with you. Thank you for sharing your feelings.

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