Looking Out For Others Is The Cat’s Meow

There’s a beggar I see on the corner almost every day on my way home from work. She has a cat that stands by her and poses with her and her sign. Her cat looks much better cared for than she does.

I don’t give her anything because I’m honestly too poor to.

One day, I see an ambulance parked near where she stands. I see her being loaded onto the ambulance. I don’t see the cat anywhere. I don’t know what possesses me to, but I park my car and wait. After the noises die down, I start hearing a “mrrrr” noise.

Her cat slowly creeps its way out of hiding, walks over to her sign, and lies on the ground. I pick the cat up and carry it to my car.

I take the cat to the vet to get it checked out. The cat doesn’t have a chip, but it’s not my cat, so I opt not to chip it. We get the cat some shots and a prescription for some medicine for fleas and ticks.

I care for the cat at my apartment for a while, waiting. Every day, I check to see if the beggar has come back.

A few months later, she’s back, though she looks very sad. I drive home, then drive back out to her, and deposit her cat in her arms.

I learn, for the first time, her name and her cat’s name. I also promise her that, next time something happens to her, I’ll try to care for her cat, and I give her my contact number.

So far, both she and her cat seem to be in good health.