Member-only story
Pets
My Favorite Cat Was Big Boy
He picked me to save him
“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” — Charles Dickens
Scheduled to Die
My spouse and I were dropping off cat food, cat treats, dog food, and old towels at the local shelter. The attendant asked me to bring the cat food and treats back to the cat room, as she would distribute the treats immediately while I was there. I followed her to the cat room.
We stood near the cat cages as she loaded the treat containers. I felt a paw tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see a cage with a big red X on it. In the cage was a black ball of stinky, smelly, matted dirt with bright blue eyes. The cat stuck his paw out and tapped me.
The attendant looked puzzled.
“That is one mean cat,” she said. “He doesn’t like anyone. He is so disagreeable that he hasn’t had a bath; no one can hold him. No one will adopt him. We figure he has been on his own for a very long time. He has been marked to be put down.”
“The cat is irredeemable?” I asked as the grimy cat tapped me on the shoulder again and meowed to get my attention.
She waved at me to move aside. As she moved toward the cage, the dirtball hissed and backed up. He made the classic ‘I’m…
