A cat pours his body on the floor like water.

Phelps’s line captures, with comic precision, the cat’s characteristic boneless grace: when a cat lies down, it seems to liquefy, spreading into whatever space it occupies. The simile “like water” emphasizes fluidity, adaptability, and an almost physics-defying relaxation—an animal that can be alert and poised yet instantly become a soft, shapeless presence. Beyond observation, the sentence also hints at an aesthetic ideal: effortless motion and ease, a kind of embodied nonchalance that humans admire and envy. Its charm lies in the vivid verb “pours,” which turns a familiar domestic scene into a striking image.