A short story in which all the cats get together to decide how to celebrate Cat World Domination Day.
A Very Important Meeting
The Cats Start to Gather
At the appointed hour, the cats started to gather in the cat garden, grouping together under the roof in the shade. They stand in pairs or small groups chatting away with each other.
Treacle is Missing
Rolly, a dark gray tabby, noticed that his brother Treacle was missing and went to find him.
Inside the house, Treacle was curled up on the sofa alongside Stevie Mouse. Both gray cats, they had Mummy trapped on the sofa as she was trying to work on her computer, now in an impossibly small area. The cats filled all the space available and Mummy was happy to let them do it.
Suddenly, Treacle was awakened by the sound of tapping on the window. He looked up and there was Rolly, furiously waving at him. Treacle suddenly realized he was supposed to be at a meeting so quickly set about getting Mummy’s attention to let him out the front door. As Mummy was concentrating on the computer, this did not quite go according to plan. So Treacle yelled and jumped on furniture until Mummy put her computer aside and got up and let him out. As she opened the door, she stroked his back and said, “Love you, be careful,” as he shot outside.
Treacle is Late
Treacle ran down the outside steps and through the gate into the cat garden where the others looked at him with a mixture of impatience and amusement. Rolly rolled his eyes and shook his head. Treacle poked him playfully.
Getting Down to Business
Suddenly a hush began to descend upon the 15 waiting cats as Rabby, another gray cat, jumped up onto the feeding table. He banged one of the metal food dishes shouting, “If I could have your attention please”.
Slightly to one side of the others, Malteser and Lucy sat near each other. At nearly ten years old the brother and sister had been through this discussion every year. Malteser looked at Lucy and she winked back at him.
Ideas to Celebrate the Special Day
“Right,” said Rabby, “the order of business is to discuss how we would like to celebrate Cat World Domination Day, which is today”. A cheer went around the cats. The young ones, Niblet and Monk, both now a year old were sitting excitedly with their ears pricked. Nearly adult, they were now allowed to have a voice in the group discussions.
“Has anyone got any ideas on how we should celebrate our special day?” continued Rabby. There was a clamor of voices and paws in the air with voices shouting over each other and no clear message. Ideas included eating, sleeping, chasing butterflies or something similar.
There was also the sound of very loud snoring as Malteser had dozed off. Treacle went to poke him and wake him up but was stopped by the look Lucy gave him. He turned back to Rolly “Ouch…” he said, walking comically and making out he had knives in his back.
Niblet Asks An Awkward Question
Suddenly, during a pause in the mayhem, a little voice piped up.
“What does the word ‘domination’ mean please Rabby?” asked little Niblet.
“It doesn’t matter what it means, we are going to celebrate it,” said a voice. “Hear, hear,” said another. “Get on with it,” shouted another.
“But how can we celebrate something we don’t understand?” asked Niblet, clearly puzzled.
Moonboots, a beautiful grey and beige tabby cat stood up and cleared her throat. “Niblet has asked a very good question,” said Moonboots. “Who is going to answer her?” As she suspected, there was some general shuffling and downcast eyes and it soon became clear that no-one seemed totally clear what the word ‘domination’ actually meant.
Malteser Provides A Definition
Suddenly there was a catch of breath and a snort, and Malteser sat up and yawned. “Did I miss much?” he asked Lucy. “They have reached the point where they have forgotten what the word ‘domination’ means Malt – again,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
“Harrumph!” exclaimed Malteser, trying not to laugh. Seeing he was awake, Niblet shouted, “Uncle Malt knows everything. Uncle Malt, Uncle Malt what does domination mean?”
Drawing himself up to his full height, Malteser said, “Well, young Niblet. Put simply. Domination means having control over another person, people or place by using power or influence. I am sure your Auntie Lucy will correct me if I am wrong?” he said, glancing at Lucy. “Quite right brother, quite right,” said Lucy nodding.
“Ooh, ooh, ooh like when that big Tom cat was going to attack me and you and Treacle saved me from him?” queried Niblett. “Quite so, quite so,” said Malteser. “But that was domination by physical power and aggression, a negative thing.”
Is Cats Dominating The World A Negative Thing?
“So,” asked Rolly with a frown, “is it a negative thing then to be talking about cats dominating the world?”
“Good point,” said his sister Ella, a little grey cat with a ginger streak on her forehead. “Haven’t we been brought up to be good and love each other,” she said. “Why do we want to exert force to dominate the world? Isn’t there another way?”
Most of the cats didn’t take any notice of this concern, as they were now in full swing with plans to dominate the world by all available means.
Worshiped as Gods
“Remember we were worshiped as Gods in Egypt,” said Hogie, a ginger cat who had jumped up on the table to make himself heard. Again, lots of loud shouting over each other from the group and paws waving in the air. “We should be worshiped again,” he continued, to loud applause. “We should take control and start getting what we want, when we want it. And it starts right now”. There was another round of applause.
In a whispered aside to Rolly, Treacle said, “I could do with a bit of worship.”
“You could do with something,” said Rolly, smacking his brother playfully on the head.
“Anyway,” said Treacle continuing to whisper to Rolly, “where is this Egypt?”
“I think it must be the next village up Treac,” responded his brother. “Perhaps we should visit sometime?”
Treacle Figures It Out
Starting to get hungry, Treacle could see that this discussion was going nowhere fast. Looking up at the house, he could see Stevie Mouse staring down. As a house cat, because she can’t see properly, Stevie Mouse knew the meeting was underway but couldn’t join in. He could remember her saying to him this morning, “remember the detail of the meeting and tell me all about it later.”
“Remember the detail, remember the detail,” he was repeating to himself, composing in his head how he was going to tell Stevie about all of this. That was when he realized something. About the detail.
Treacle got up on the table and stood still until the other cats quietened down. “Let him speak,” someone said. “Go for it brother,” said Rolly.
A Point Of Detail
“Malteser, didn’t you say ‘domination by using power or influence’?” Treacle asked, emphasizing the word ‘or’. “Because I hear a lot of shouting about using power and taking over, but no-one so far has talked about influence”.
A collective “aaaahhhhh” went round the group of cats, who had quietened down again and were listening intently.
“Don’t we dominate by influence already? If I want something I get it. When I am hungry Mummy or Daddy give me food. If I want a cuddle I get a cuddle. When I want to go in or out of the house I ask and they open the door for me.” Treacle started to warm to his theme.
Sandy, a little orange tabby, was nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, when I get on the kitchen window ledge and pat at the glass the window is always opened and food put out for me,” she said. “I just have to do my little dance to catch their attention. They think it is cute so they feed me”.
“Basically, all we have to do is look cute, or maybe put up with some petting, and we get exactly what we want,” said Lucy, “We are in charge but Mummy and Daddy don’t realize it. If that isn’t the definition of domination by influence I don’t know what is.” She looked at Malteser who was sitting with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, nodding happily.
“In other words,” said Malteser, “Every day is Cat World Domination Day”.
A Decision Is Made
“So, having cleared that up,” said Tippy. “How are we actually going to celebrate Cat World Domination Day?”
“What did we do last year?” asked Hogie who had clearly forgotten.
“We all went and slept in the sunshine by the lake until Mummy called us for tea,” said Tippy.
“That sounds good to me,” said Hogie. Tippy asked for a show of paws and it was unanimously agreed that a visit to the lake would be the best way of celebrating the special day.
As the cats started to head over towards the lake, Treacle started to head back to the front door. Malteser said, “aren’t you going to join us lad?”
“I just have to tell Stevie Mouse what happened and then I will be there,” replied Treacle. He hesitated and then said “Malt, I was only a kitten the year before last, how was the day celebrated that year?”
Malteser was slowly walking away from him and called over his shoulder. “We went to the lake. And the year before and the year before…” as he disappeared behind the trees on his way to join the others. Treacle chuckled and headed for the front door to exert his influence and be let in!
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My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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