When you live with the cat,
which is to say when a cat
allows you to live in her home,
you quickly learn a whole
new language, a few words hers,
mono- or bisyllabic, words for yes,
food, brush, clean up my litter,
and in our case even thank you, rarely used.
And you expand your own vocabulary
as well, for English is often ill-suited
to describe the actions of a feline roommate.
To catify is far simpler than explaining how
a cat will adopt an article of your
clothing left on a chair, arrange it
to her liking, place her scent on it
and ultimately refuse to give it back.
I could go on with other terms
but our cat is telling me it is
time for dinner now, or else.