Member-only story
[WARNING: This post contains magical realism!]
It was a beautiful sunny summer morning. Lola and I stepped out to go for a Sunday stroll when, out of nowhere, a black cat strutted down the street, right up to Lola’s feet, laid on its back, and practically demanded that Lola pet its belly.
“You know that cat?” I asked, surprised by the forwardness of this feline.
“No,” said Lola as she crouched down to indulge the cat’s demand.
“Then why are you petting it?”
“A neglected pussy is a sad pussy,” she said. She has a way with pithy phrases. “Can we keep her?”
“What? No. That’s a feral cat. Who knows where it’s been? Who knows what diseases it carries?”
“Awe, come on Daddio. Please.”
“No. It’s an outdoor cat and outdoor cats belong outdoors.”
“I want to make her an indoor cat.”
“You can’t make an outdoor cat an indoor cat.”
“Yes you can, people do it all the time.”
“But why would you?”
“You know that being an outdoor cat takes like seven years off the cat’s life.”
“I’d much rather be an outdoor cat, free, than stuck inside, lying around all day, looking out the windows longingly.”