Winter. Time to eat fat and watch hockey.
-- The Speaker (Lines 1–2)

Importance: This opening declaration showcases the speaker's disenchantment with the season. Although winter is often considered to be a season for energy conservation, this poem takes place in February (late winter). In other words, the speaker has spent months eating fat-rich foods and watching hockey games indoors since the freezing temperatures keep them from spending too much time outside.

It’s his way of telling whether or not I’m dead. If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am He’ll think of something.
-- The Speaker (Lines 5–8)

Importance: The speaker refuses to be charmed by the cat's call for attention. Instead, the speaker depersonalizes their interaction by implying that the cat would connive a way to meet his needs even if the speaker were dead. Despite this dark outlook, the cat still provides connection and physical affection during a time of isolation.

It...
-- The Speaker (Line 13)