For three years, this little black cat turned up at a housing block to be fed by one of the humans living there. Another human from the same street walked up daily to feed him at 6pm.He did well. He was seen mousing. His hair was glossy. He would sleep under a shrub in the sunlight in good weather.
The humans thought perhaps he belonged to somebody. We cats sometimes just go AWOL. After all, he had a collar. They didn't want to steal somebody else's cat.
Then this year his hair began to get matted. The humans started to feel anxious for him. A dry place was found for him at night, and he no longer seemed to roam away so much.
As the weather grew colder, they decided they had to do something, even if he did have an owner. He was picked up, taken to a woman who put him in her spare bedroom and took him to the vet the next morning. His matted hair was cut off; he was microchipped.
Underneath his hair, it was clear that he was very thin. Painfully thin. Desperately thin. Despite being offered chicken and sardine, he ate only the tiniest amount over the next 36 hours. He drank a lot of water but was still dehydrated.
On his next visit to the vet, it was clear that he didn't have much time left. He had kidney disease, a heart murmur, something wrong with his liver.
He purred when stroked. Arched his boney back up to the touch of a friendly hand. Then he was put to sleep for the last time.
Please, you humans, think of homeless cold cats this winter. Don't wait too long to help them find a warm home.
.jpeg)
