Just a Cat

Although dumping kitties on the street is unacceptable and terribly cruel, it’s becoming a regular practice for irresponsible cat owners at the beginning of the summer. Each year, innumerable kitties which have been pampered and allegedly loved all of their lives, suddenly find themselves wandering the rough and dangerous streets in the late spring. They are alone, frightened, confused, having absolutely no idea what they did wrong. They are unable to find food, escape danger, or survive on their own, so most of these stories don’t have happy endings. Giuseppe was the fortunate one.

His owners left him at the bus stop. He was nicely well-rounded, healthy, extraordinarily handsome and looked completely lost. Despite all of his qualities, obviously he wasn’t good enough for his owners to keep him. He was disposable. He was just a cat.

Sadly, he spent weeks waiting for someone who never came. A cat lover from the neighborhood was feeding him every day and trying to find him a new home. When she came to pick him up in order to take him to his foster home, he entered the carrier willingly, probably thinking his owners wanted him back. He was terribly disappointed when he arrived to an unknown place. Dismayed, angry and sad, he was growling and hissing, until he found a safe place to lie on...a computer desk. And he stayed there for days.

Little by little, Giuseppe began to realize that life was not so bad after all. He was sleeping on the bed, eating a lot and looking relaxed and content, in spite of the fact that he couldn’t go out. He even climbed through the window a couple of times, only to face the metal bars outside. What he didn’t know was that he would soon walk through the grass again.

And the day has come. Giuseppe arrived at my shelter and started living his life to the fullest. He happily walks around, sleeps in the shade and behaves as if he were born here. He doesn’t seem to have a care in the world as he finally knows he matters. He will never be “just a cat” again.