Cat Tails: Wishing on a star

Miss Rudy was outside looking wistfully at the sky, wishing that her life could be different. Here she was, living in a beautiful home with two congenial cat companions and a loving Daddy who gave her cat treats and brushed her glorious fur every day. There was a cat door she could use to get in or out if no one was around, and she'd trained her humans well about opening the back door for her. Nice cat beds, plenty of food - what more could she possibly want?

Rudy thought about her dreams for her life. When she was a tiny kitten she thought she'd grow up to be the world's best mouser. No other cat would catch more mice. Then when she was adopted by the Mommy and went to live at the barn with Grey, she had dreams of being a companion to a champion rodeo horse. Well, Grey was retired, and although he liked to talk about his glory days, they were long past. And even that came to an end when he stepped on her. She thought she was a goner, but it had turned out to be a blessing, because she then came to live with Peep and LT and didn't have to live outside anymore.

She'd never had the opportunity to be a mother. A visit to Tibet had taken care of that. She didn't think she would have really wanted to be bothered with litter after litter of kittens, but it might have been nice to have one or two offspring, particularly if they had her beautiful coat. They would also be company for her in her old age.

She'd never had a great love. Oh, there had been cats who had admired her sumptuous coat and striking coloration, but there was no real chemistry between her and any of them. For a long time she thought that was because of that little procedure done in Tibet, but she had seen how much LT had loved Ginger, and he'd been to Tibet for a similar procedure, so it couldn't be that.

Rudy thought of her other dreams. She'd have liked to compete on a best pets competition like the ones they had for chefs and clothing designers. She could stay at the studio or assigned apartment and be taken care of in the manner she deserved. She would show the world how beautiful she was, and how she could pose for a photographer for cat food ads, or as a lovely accent in a photo of really classy furniture. But there was no "Top Cat" competition, just a stupid old cartoon about some cats with no fashion sense.

She wasn't a homebody like Peep, who had happily tried to take over the housekeeping the first summer that the Mommy had gone to NASA. She was a pampered kitty rather than one who did the pampering. She also wasn't a snuggly kitty like Val's cat Emma. Emma was an undercover cat who wanted nothing more than to have a body next to or under her. Rudy preferred her freedom - she liked to lie on the little table in the kitchen where she could see anyone moving around anywhere in the house. People were welcome to pet her as they walked by, but that was enough for her.

It finally was dark enough for the first stars to appear. But what to wish for? Something more, something different, but what?

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight...."