If you would like to hear Chapter 4 of Sharley’s Lessons performed by a reader, go here.
Cat, who “cameowed” in Chapter 4!
The real ruler of the chicken house! One of my sweet grannies: 
Cat
Sharley’s Lessons Visuals, p. 21
Cat was a pretty “purrrrfect” male farm cat who liked to hitch rides with my family members from the time he was a kitten. In this photo, he is sitting on an old clothesline post, atop the platform for a wren’s house. The wren’s house was removed after the mama wren flew into my mother’s hair while she was trying to tend to her prized morning glories. (You can see the vines in the photo.) Yes, Cat loved to perch, he loved free rides, and he loved attention:
Cat was waiting for me. We didn’t expend much thought on names for farm animals. “Don’t get attached” was Dad’s best advice. “They can be leavin’ your life just as fast as they entered it.”
The gray-striped male purred and firmly butted his head against my leg, hoping for my time and attention. “Hi, Cat. Nice kitty,” I said in my high-pitched, for-cats-only voice.
Cat unabashedly flopped to the straw and wriggled into several silly poses. I obliged him by massaging his round tummy. He closed his eyes, worked his paws, and purred loudly.
I set him on my shoulder. Cat had grown up riding my family members from place to place. His favorite mode of transportation was atop a head. But the head had to have a parka hood on it because Cat was a farm cat with all of his claws.
I let Cat ride to the next henhouse, then dipped my shoulder and stooped to drop him off. He hightailed me and swaggered off to lick his fur smooth again.
–Sharley’s Lessons, 2016 
rkvetter 