Through The Eyes of a Cat

The morning light shines on the other side of my rested eyelids. They rise, and the golden light of day floods my senses. My limbs stretch out and away from each other, pulling my muscles out and prepping them for the fun-filled day ahead. I roll onto my stomach and gaze out across the yard.

Green grass and bushes grow wildly everywhere, calling my name, enticing me with their plush goodness, always a new adventure to be had in them. My ears twitch this way and that, listening to the morning sounds. Birds sit in the trees, entertaining me with their songs. I look up and watch them intently. Lifting myself off the ground, I keep my eyes glued to the birds.

A bee zooms by my face, catching my eye. Claws extended, I swipe at the bee in every attempt to get it to the ground. The fuzzy black and yellow insect buzzes along, evading my attempts at grounding it. After a bit, a flash of black and orange flutters by. A butterfly moves gracefully away from me, but I chase after it, batting at it playfully, careful not to hit it down or hurt it. A motorboat purr comes out from my throat as I pursue the flying bug. It flies up and over a brick wall, and my fun comes to an abrupt end. A new sound fills my ears.

My human emerges from the house. Adorned in thick gloves and dense denim jeans, I know what today is. Today is yard work day. My kitten-like meow catches her attention and she approaches me. Stroking my head and rubbing behind my ears, she coos softly to me. After only a couple seconds, she stops and heads to the back of the yard to fetch the giant green bin that she fills with leaves and other plants every time yard work day comes around. I lie down and watch her for a minute or two, then prance off to find something else to do.

Mid-prance, I drop to the ground and tumble from side to side, coating my fur with pieces of dead grass. The tickling sensation infiltrates my pores and crawls deep inside my flesh. My end rolling position happens to be on my back, and my eyes dart around, looking around at the world from a different point of view. Upside down. I see my back yard through this perspective often, but every time, it looks so different. A smile crawls across my face as my eyes take in the view. I roll on my stomach and shake the pieces of grass from my coat.

I leap onto the brick wall that separates my yard from the one next to it. I scan the yard, looking for a potential napping spot. A soft grassy area catches my eye and I bound towards it. I skid to a stop and flop down in my spot. There's a comfortable difference in temperature - one half of my body lying in the warmth of the sun, the other half resting in the shade of the house. I become completely oblivious to the sounds of my human's yard tools as I drift into a deep sleep.

A few hours later, the heat of the sun brings me out of my dreams of a cat paradise. Gnats circle my head annoyingly and I beat them to the ground with a forceful swat and an angry hiss. I rocket through the doggy-door in the wall for me. I look around at the stretch of hallway before me. In the corner sits a rather vulnerable piece of string, waiting for me to come pounce on it. The temptation lies there patiently. I bunch my limbs together and tense my muscles. The tip of my tail flicks violently in all directions. With one movement, I take the string in my ferocious clutches and mangle it with my claws and teeth.

Night falls. I've snacked on some tuna and hard cat food and had my fill of playing with the string. I prowl into the living room and sit in the doorway, completely blocking all entrance to the room. The red and orange glow of a fire toasts the living room and entices me with its warmth. I watch it burn for a few moments more before creeping towards it. I sit down in front of the flame and warm my fur contentedly. My eyelids hide my eyes as they close and take in the glory and enjoyment of my life; the life of a feline. As if they have a life of their own, my legs stretch out in front of me, lowering my body to the ground. I pull my hind legs in and wrap my tail around myself. It swishes slowly, happily, back and forth, side to side. My mind winds down and prepares to go back to dreamland once more.

You haven't truly lived until you've seen life through the eyes of a cat.

Aww! I love cat stories. Just had to review ^_~

It's a little odd that the cat finds birds, a bee, and a butterfly all in a row. Sounds like you're trying a little too hard to make it cute. If you focused in on just one or maybe two of these creatures and developed the experience really well, it might have a more powerful effect and be less distracting.

My end rolling position happens to be on my back, and my eyes dart around, looking around at the world from a different point of view. Upside down.

So cute! ^///^ I love it when cats do this! Wow, I sound really stupid. I guess cats can make me do that sometimes. xD

A smile crawls across my face as my eyes take in the view.

Do cats smile? ._.?

A few hours later, the heat of the sun brings me out of my dreams of rolling balls of yarn and abundant fish.

Kind of an annoying cliche here.

had my fill of the string

It sounds like the cat ate the string, which probably wasn't what you intended ^^;

The red and orange glow of a fire is reflected back into the room via my eyes.

This seems to break character because the fire is something only someone outside of the cat could see.

You haven't really lived until you've seen life through the eyes of a cat.

Wonderful ending. Cats have a way of seeing the real beauty in life that you conveyed really well in this piece. It was a pleasure to read, and I hope you'll post something else soon! ^w^

Along with unicorns, cats are some of my favourite animals.

I rocket through the doggy-door in the wall for me and look around at the stretch of hallway before me.

A little too much info in this sentence here. Break it in two at the "and."

In the corner sits temptation, waiting for me to come pounce on it.

Um, pardon? I got lost hearing the cat's name for something before hearing what it actually was. It's usually a bad idea in general to do that.

Not that many nit-picks here. Good job!

General comments:

I find you lose the vivid imagery you had in the first couple of paragraphs. We don't get as much of what the cat feels both physically and emotionally once the owner comes outside. Since your MC isn't human, you really have the freedom to put those sensations in.

As for the general tone, I find you could add in a bit more of a cat's "kingly" attitude towards life. It's there in the first bit but, again, you loose it.

If you have any questions, send me a PM.

~Rosey

Thanks for the critiques! They're always so helpful. I'll fix those straight away! I'm so glad you liked it n_n I see where you're coming from, so I think I'll be able to fix them It's so nice to find fellow cat lovers! Thanks so much!

This is truly what cats do. In this short work, you have perfectly summarized the day to day events of a cat. Both of mine operate in almost the same ways.

Oh! You forgot the part about waking up its owners with the late night rounds. At least, that's what my cat does.

And unless there is a mirror, the cat would not have seen the fire reflected in its eyes. It might have heard the fire, or saw it itself, but would not have seen it. However, should you wish to keep that part, make it so that the cat's owner mentions that.

Cute work

Okay! I fixed the fire - eye thing. I hope it works now And Trikky, about the 'smiling' thing: this cat does Lol. I couldn't think of another way to describe it, so I just said that it's smiling. It kinda adds that whimsical fantasy-ish aspect into the playful life of cats. Almost like personifying the cat; making it seem almost human by smiling. Thanks for pointing it out Thanks all for your reviews

Can you post this as the beginning of a storybook? It could be fun.

Um, sure I need to think of the storyline, but sure. I'll get started on that asap! Thanks so much for the suggestion!