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When Joseph was in Egypt
He stored the grain
From the seven good years
For the seven years of famine.
Altogether fourteen years—
Who guarded that grain
From the mice and rats
All that time?
Why do the Scriptures
That tell of the Lion of Judah
Not mention the cats?

The Israelites worshipped the pagan gods
Of those around them,
Thus the prophets railed against them:
Spoke against leaning on Egypt,
Warned of the influence of that land.
So why do the prophets not protest
The cats?

Though bulls were falsely followed
The mention of them was not censored,
Their usefulness was not dismissed.
Scripture mentions
Many other creatures
For good or ill.
But why would such a noble creature
(Or such a problematic one)
Not even be mentioned?

With delight I discovered
The Letter from Jeremiah,
The only mention of felines found
In the deuterocanon.
There, they are not idols,
Not foes of the true One,
Not even guards of grain—
Though they are in the pagan temples:
Playing,
Pouncing,
Knocking over the false gods,
As though they were cat toys.

To a Cat Portraits The Adoration of Idols