Chapter 3: How Okra, the Cat, Got his Name

Just because it's on the floor doesn't mean it's edible!

Chapter 3: How Okra, the Cat, Got His Name

Janelle Meraz Hooper

Okra got his name when he was a kitten and Sally dropped a piece of deep-fried okra on the floor. He’d snatched it and took off running before Sally could pick it up. He thought it was a piece of fish. When he’d bitten through the crust there was no fish inside. Just something slimy and green. What a nasty surprise!

Jamaica could have told him if he’d been there, but he was in Sally’s office at the time. Jamaica didn’t know what Okra would do without him. Sometimes, getting that cat through the day was a fulltime job.

And sleep! Okra would sleep all day if he didn't have Jamaica to call to him. Sometimes, he slept so soundly Jamaica would have to fly over and bite his tail to wake him up. Once, he bit his ear, but he found out that waking up a big cat was a lot more fun if he wasn't so close to the cat’s biting end. Jamaica knew Okra hadn’t meant to frighten him, but a cat was not a bird. He’d learned that much since he came to live with Sally.

Mostly, Okra ignored Jamaica’s attempts to make friends with Jupiter. As long as they stayed out of his bowl whatever they did was all right with him. This lunch thing that Jamaica kept talking about was going to be a big disaster. Broccoli and seeds? For lunch? What was that crazy green bird thinking?

At least, Jamaica wasn’t planning on serving any of Okra’s food. The one thing the birds never did was try to eat any of the food in his bowl. And he never tried to eat any of theirs. Besides, what would a cat want with broccoli? Even when Sally gave them pizza, she took the pepperoni off first. Boy, were those birds dumb. They never complained. The pepperoni was the best part! Didn’t they know pizza sauce was just tomatoes? And tomatoes were just vegetables? Whenever Sally tried to give him any of that vegetable stuff, he just ate around it. He’d already decided if Sally ever tried to feed him any of that stuff in a can she called pickled beets he’d bury it under her pillow. That stuff really was for the birds! When it came to food, Okra’s motto was: A cat is a cat and a bird is a bird….and they have different stomachs. That was his thinking.

But if the birds were happy with seeds and vegetables, that was their business. He never said anything to them about it.

All in all, they got along pretty well. And even if they had a day when they didn’t, they could always agree they all liked Sally. She took very good care of them, and they loved her a lot. She rarely left them alone unless she had to go to work or out to lunch with one of her friends. And, before she left, she was always careful to close and lock all of the windows on the first floor to keep the neighborhood raccoons and skunks out.

So, even though Okra knew he was in charge of the house, there wasn’t much for him to do. He might as well take a nap.

Next: Chapter 4, Jamaica Finds a New Friend

This is one of the first book videos I ever made, taken from the first version of “There’s a Mouse in the House!” This version, on Substack, is the revised edition. Why am I reposting these stories? I thought it might be needed by parents in these inflationary times.

While we’re chatting, there is no schedule for the release of these stories. I’m posting them as I get the time. My schedule has been very hectic lately. Frankly, I’m having quite a time with this new technology computers are requiring. I’m a writer, NOT a technical genius!