#Caturday – A Cat Named Spot
I never watched much of Star Trek – The Next Generation, although I very much enjoyed most of the episodes I did catch. I am especially enamored of Deanna Troi, on whom I have a shameless girl-crush.
Our #4 Daughter tells me that the android, Commander Data, had a pet cat named Spot, so I looked it up.
The cat started out as one kind of cat, but became, without explanation, a different sort of cat. The cat also started out as a male but became, again without explanation or apology, a female.
~Obi Wan finger wave~ This is not the consistency you’re looking for.
ANYWAY, there’s a piece about Spot, with a very nice picture, at this “non-canon Star Trek Wiki”.
Spot even has a fan site, and at least two Facebook pages.
Data wrote a poem about Spot and inflicted it on recited it to the Enterprise crew. Their reactions are priceless.
In case you can’t view video, here’s a transcript:
Ode to Spot
Felis Cattus, is your taxonomic nomenclature,
an endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature?
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A non-poetic character attempts a poem.
MA
