It wasn’t I who chose it; rather, it was the cat that chose me.
On August 15th, 2017, in Hangzhou, the night was pitch – black, with howling winds, flashing lightning, and pounding rain. It was already past 11 p.m. when I got home, completely drenched like a soaked monkey. As I opened the door of the apartment unit, I heard a cat’s meows coming from beneath a van at the entrance. I turned my head and glanced over, spotting two tiny, glowing “bulbs” staring at me in the dim glow of the streetlamp. I promptly rushed home to fetch a cat food can to feed it.
The cat food can was leftover from the time I took care of a friend’s cat. When she came to pick up her cat later, she left behind a bunch of cat supplies, saying she was too lazy to carry them and left them for me, just in case I ever decided to keep a cat. At that time, I said I was on the verge of starving myself, so there was no way I could afford to raise a cat. I was certain it was out of the question. However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. I hadn’t even gotten around to disposing of the remaining box of cat litter, and here I was, having this situation thrust upon me.
Back to the story. After watching the cat finish the can of food and tossing the can into the trash, the little fellow came right up and started rubbing against me. I was only half – wet before, but when it emerged from under the van, well, it was as soaked through as I was.
Well, I’d done half a good deed and one bad one. I fed stray cats every day, yet I’d never brought any of them home. Of course, I couldn’t break this “tradition” with this little cat. So, I petted it and stroked it, but once I was done, I thought it should go on its way. (Oh, men ️) At that time, I thought that even with the rain, it was still 30 degrees in the middle of the night in August in Hangzhou. It wasn’t going to get cold, but it would probably take the cat some effort to lick its fur dry.
I was still so naive back then.
When I got home and checked my phone, I saw that the food delivery guy was 583 meters away. So, I thought I’d get the takeout first and then take a shower. I changed into dry clothes and sat there, happily waiting. When the delivery guy arrived, he told me, “Your cat is outside, locked out.” I peeked out and saw, jeez, this cat had quietly tailed me all the way to the door?! It was truly a stroke of fate. I usually took the elevator, but that day, I suddenly felt like taking the stairs. After all, the seventh floor wasn’t too high, and I had no idea I was being stalked by a fierce little feline.
So, what could I do? Since it had come all this way, I couldn’t just send it back downstairs. Thus, I let the cat in.
Once inside, it was as if it had returned to its own home. It scratched on the cat – scratching board left by others, took a dump in the cat litter box, and then came over to rub against me. I sat at the computer desk, my hands crossed beneath my nose, looking straight ahead, pondering what on earth I should do. I felt like I’d been “ambushed”! Then, this cat leaped onto my lap.
So, two wet forms huddled together. And in that fleeting 0.01 – second moment, I made up my mind to keep it. So, there’s some truth to the saying that cats can manipulate human minds.分享
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