(Excerpt from an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, Copyright
 Paramount Pictures)

"Ode to Spot"
by Lt. Cmdr. Data

Felis Catus, is your taxonomic nomenclature
an endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature?
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications,
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.

A tail, quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

Oh Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.