Attention seeker

The little pitter-patter
Of paws running through the hall
I see her come in this direction
Playing with her ball.

Now the ball has rolled away
The cat has lost interest
She slumps down suddenly on one side
Time for a little rest.

I call her name, first once then twice,
“Apollo, you lazy cat!”
She gives me a look and then rolls over
Not having any of that.

She won’t respond to all my efforts
The toy I throw, ignored
Why won’t she just notice me
When I’m alone and bored?

Quite the little attention seeker
When she wants to play
Or when she wakes up from a nap
And at mealtimes, every day.

But occasionally, to my disgust
The way it’s been today
I become the attention seeker
And I’m scornfully turned away.