The Twelve Cats of Christmas

Every carol has a list. This one has cats.

The old song counts twelve days of gifts. Ours counts twelve days of cats, starting today, Sunday, December 20. A Maine Coon sits in the pear tree. Every day after that, a bigger group joins her in the same snowy courtyard.

Two Siamese talk. Three Manx mewing. Four Folds creep. Five Sphynx sprint. Six Bengals bound. Seven Korats kick. By Saturday the courtyard holds 28 cats.

The tune is old. It first appeared in print in England in 1780, in a children’s book. The pear tree stayed. The partridge, we decided, was a Maine Coon.

Keep the cookies up high and the tinsel off the floor. A cat’s idea of a present is the box.

Turn the page. The Maine Coon is waiting, and she has no plan for getting down.