A Cat’s Story

One night, a kindhearted man was walking his dog in the rain and heard mewing sounds coming from a pile of garbage. His dog was barking and laser-focused on a certain spot. The man knew there was a live animal in there. He called his friend who was a cat rescuer, and she came over right away. The woman started digging through the debris and followed the sounds to one large black trash bag. Inside the bag was a litter box with a lid. The opening where a cat could go in or out had been sealed with a piece of cardboard. Duct tape was wrapped round and round the plastic box from top to bottom, making sure that it would not open. The woman tore off the cardboard to find a black-and-white cat sitting in an inch of water. The woman was amazed at how friendly she was. This sweet old cat, someone’s pet, was simply put outside for sanitation to take her away.

Instead of taking her to a vet or surrendering her to a shelter, the person chose to put her in the garbage.

The cat was in terrible condition. Her fur was mostly hard clumps of matted hair, soaked in urine. The woman took her right away to another animal hospital. They did some testing, put the cat on pain medication, and ultimately recommended that she bring the cat to us. We did a medical workup, and an abdominal ultrasound revealed an inoperable situation. It is heartbreaking to say that we were presented with a terminally ill animal.

We didn’t even know the poor cat’s name.

We wish we could say that she had a happy ending. It was upsetting for all of us to deal with. To honor her memory, we chose to tell her story. She deserved a gentler and softer world. We were consoled that we were at least able to provide her some care and affection in her last days