The Cat

      It showed up randomly on my back porch last night, right outside my back door. It’s as if it were waiting for me, specifically, expecting me to come outside. It made no noise, at least no loud noise. Instead, it just rubbed my legs and feet, while purring quite loudly, more than normal for a cat. It was very affectionate. That was not unusual. What was unusual was the uncanny way this cat could seem to understand me, and the way it followed me around almost like a puppy. Cats don’t usually listen well nor do they follow people around much. They’re known to be very independent creatures with the most training that can be done being litterbox training. Additionally, it seemed to have an ability to touch the core of my emotions and elicit empathy to a degree that is beyond that of a normal random encounter with a random critter. I was naturally empathetic towards animals anyway, but typically didn’t bother too much with their affairs as long as they seemed relatively healthy and not in any immediate danger. This particular cat seemed healthy, and didn’t have the usual wear and tear on it’s body from living on the street. It seemed possible this cat had a home, or at least a good routine for survival which kept it free from conflict and danger, and well fed. It was lacking a collar of any kind, so it was difficult to say for certain.

     This cat was unique though, in many ways the least of which not being it’s ability to elicit my empathy and emotions. Even strays never really warmed up to or were that affectionate with me as this one was. It was relatively intelligent, and seemed very loyal in the way it followed me around. I couldn’t resist letting it in my apartment for a brief time, and it followed me from room to room very reliably. It listened to my instructions when I told it to stop clawing at my blanket, and even was well behaved enough to avoid chewing on the random wires around the apartment for my electronics as well as my headphones I was wearing. It seemed comfortable and quite at home. Unfortunately it was only temporary and the poor thing couldn’t call my home mine, since my landlord did not allow pets in the apartment. At least, the original landlord didn’t.

     The new owner purchased the building roughly 6 months ago, and the subject of pets hadn’t been approached since. I suspect that the same rule applied though, pets are rarely allowed in rental properties and those that do make it extremely difficult most of the time. However, these days I’m making great effort to live within the realm of possibilities. Life is more about possibilities, what can happen. That’s where happiness and success are found. So, although it broke my heart, I had to put the cat back outside and deal with the pain as it looked up to me with that pleading face and scratched at the back door, desperately wanting to be back inside and at my side. It brought to mind the image of a witch’s familiar, and if that cat could possibly be that to me. It did seem quite odd how the universe seemed to deliver this potential companion to me, the day after I was thinking about a cat I used to have and how I missed having a small furry companion. I did not want to turn down such a gift from the universe so readily, and definitely didn’t want the cat or universe to think I rejected it. I’m not, I just don’t want to get kicked out of my apartment either.

     I had planned, if the cat returned, to speak with my landlord, or at very least keep it as an outdoor cat and bring it inside on cold and rainy days – or whenever I thought I could get away with it. My hope last night was, and kind of still is, that it will understand. If it’s really my familiar or something like that and is that intelligent, it will understand and stay around. I could bring it with me to Washington when I move, and would do so if the cat did end up adopting me – like cats do, they adopt their owners, not the other way around.

     So, today, the cat has returned, sort of. Last I saw it was laying on the neighbor’s back porch. She had obviously been tending to it, feeding it and giving it water. It remains to be seen if this cat’s loyalty extends as far as providing food, shelter, and attention, or if it really is a companion sent to me by the universe to be a friend. I guess time will only tell, and all I can do is live in the moment and the realm of possibilities and see what happens.