written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Saturday, 6 December 2025

Hiding Place

My favourite hiding place is in my head, but I didn't think I'd get much of a blog out of that, especially at the end of a miserably wet Saturday. I decided instead to google images of 'unusual hiding places' in search of inspiration and this fine specimen of a kitty turned up. I couldn't stop laughing. 


I don't know if it's AI generated, real but staged, or quirkily natural, and to be honest I don't care. I love it and it proved irresistible as a prompt for the latest from the imaginarium. It's all about the poem this week, a humorous tale. I give you...  

Refrigerator Cat
thinks he knows  where it's at, claims to be seeking sanctuary -
asylum  if  you  like -  from the  household  of  dogs.  He's cool
with the concept of  'refugee status', sits smug in our Smeg but
only when it suits him, when he wants a snack. He goes in thin
but he comes out fat. I tell him he's just a gastronomic migrant.

He's feigns surprise, is offended  by that, but there's no denying
he's trying it on.  Says he's not fat, just fluffed up to keep warm,
though I know where the leftover smoked salmon went and the
chicken breast so artfully wrapped, as he claims with a neat lick
of his lips that  he only moved the liver pรขtรฉ to make room to sit.

It was a mystery at first, how the devil he managed to get inside.
Was it opportunism, the door left carelessly ajar? I would chide
the kids who denied they were at fault, though they took delight
in the antics of refrigerator cat, felt a sense of pride, told friends,
who’d come over after school in hopes of stroking his frosty fur.

It turned out the au pair as a joke had added his plaintive meow
to the voice-activated software of the smart Smeg’s door, so he
could enter but not leave whenever he chose, which was usually
when no one else was around. Now we’re all used to paw prints
in the butter, claw marks on the cheese, we’ve done a deal with

refrigerator cat. He can make a meal of anything on the middle
shelf as long as he doesn’t touch the rest.  We even leave treats
for him. He's just the best. And he has got a point about dogs -  
the Smeg is one place he can get some peace. As for our au pair,
the ICE man came for her.  Turns out she'd overstayed her visa! 







Thanks for reading, S ;-)

23 comments:

Ailsa Cox said...

Fab photo. More Refrigerator Cat please. I love the idea. ๐Ÿ˜

Tif Kellaway said...

I love refrigerator cat. ❤️

terry quinn said...

What else is in that fridge? Looks like specimens.
He is definitely trying it on.

Billy Banter said...

Deport Refrigerator Cat. Over 'ere, eating are food, don't speak the lingo. Kick the scrounger out! ๐Ÿ˜‚

Jen McDonagh said...

it's a hilarious picture. I look forward to the finished poem.

Mac Southey said...

Refrigerator Cat looks guilty as hell, and so he should. Great poem, so funny.

Louise Bowdell said...

He looks like a humungous beast. All that fridge raiding can't be good for the cat. I enjoyed your funny poem.

Ross Madden said...

Ha ha ha. ๐Ÿ‘

Debbie Laing said...

I loved this and I want one (a refrigerator cat just like that).

Rod Downey said...

Refrigerator Cat, what a hero with his frosty fur. Feline rights! Ha ha.

Amber Molloy said...

Bless his furry little features. This made me smile. Thank you.

Rosemary Moore said...

Gastronomic migrant sounds very naughty. Love this.

Sue Osborne said...

A really cool cat poem Steve.

Cynthia said...

Loved this, Eliot eat your heart out.Lovely
imagery —stroking frosty fur and claw marks on the cheese etc and you have cleverly made reference to ICE and migration but this cat too nice to be ICE

Writer21 said...

Love the last line!! Our cat was too fond of the warmth and cosiness for a fridge!

Binty said...

Bless refrigerator cat. I loved this.

Gemma Gray said...

That's very good. A cleverly comic poem with a subtle political message. Plus 'refrigerator cat' looks hilarious.

Deke Hughes said...

Enjoyed this Steve. A great photo of the cat and an inspired and wittily subversive feat of poetic imagination. Is that a nod to Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh at the end (refrigerator as flop house), as well as the obvious ICE roundup reference?

Nigel Tetlow said...

I enjoyed the poem but feel I should point out that Smeg refrigerators don't yet have voice-activated open and closing technology, unlike Samsung or Siemens fridges which do. Sorry for the spoiler.

Dani Merakli said...

Very funny. Refrigerator cat is so cool. Cats rule. ๐Ÿ˜ป

Ricky Zollo said...

Hilarious.

Cat Moore said...

Very funny. He's such a sweet beast.

Anonymous said...

Frosty fur. ❤️