Jane and her cats

Jane and her cats
Jane is an old American lady who loved cats. She had a respectable pepper-colored cat that she called -Tooty- and a beautiful snow-white cat named -Frooty-. She took care of them and provided them with food and a warm home. In fact, -Tooty- and -Frooty- were living a very happy and safe life. When Tooty goes out into the street to use the bathroom, Jane watches him until he comes in and she does the same thing with Frooty the white cat. She once knocked on my door and respectfully asked me to enter through the window and open the door for her because she had forgotten the key inside and she told me sadly that her cats have been without food since the morning. So I entered the window cautiously, fearing that I would fall and break a rib´-or-a limb. When Tooty saw me sneaking in from the window, he ran away, and the Frooty ran behind him, perhaps thinking that I was a thief who wanted to harm them. I opened the door for the old woman and she hurried up without wasting time to put food for her cats. As for me, I excused myself and returned home.
Jane once told me that she had three children. One is in prison because he killed his wife and the other lived alone, sober one day and drunk for ten days. She had not seen him for three years, and had a married daughter who visited her during Christmas only. Moreover, she received retirement pension and government assistance, which was sufficient for her and the two cats.
On a cloudy day, Old Jane knocked on my door. When I saw her, I thought she had forgotten the key inside the house again and left her cats without food. But she said to me with unprecedented eagerness, asking me if I had seen the pepper cat, Tooty. I answered, “No.” where could I see Tooty? She turned around several times, and then said with sadness and anxiety: Tooty went outside last night and did not return. I said with sympathy:
- Don’t worry Jane, your cat probably got lost but eventually will return.
She left with the look of lost mind, running down the street and looking behind the trees, shouting nervously:
- Tooty. Tooty, where are you?
I said to myself, “poor woman”. Shortly after, I saw the animal shelter police car in front of Jane’s house, talking to her and getting the details of the missing cat, hoping they would find it for her. After a few days had passed, they couldn t find Tooty. She thought that he had been run over by a car´-or-a neighbor had kidnapped him. One evening, I saw Jane sitting on the porch of her house, and the white cat sat next to her, sad and quiet. She once told me that the cat was eating less as a sign of her missing Tooty and her health had worsened.
One afternoon, as I was leaving my house, I saw the old lady sitting on the porch with her head bowed down, and when she saw me, she called me and said to me sadly while crying:
- My other cat died two days ago of grief for Tooty, I took her to the pet cemetery and now she is resting in peace there and I will visit her grave every week.
I told her sympathetically.
- We are all on this path. Every being must die one day.
Then I left to work. I was surprised by the old woman’s extreme sadness over her cat. And I remembered what is called the attachment theory in psychology. If a person becomes attached to a person´-or-animal, he´-or-she would unite with them and life becomes dependent on them.
It had not been two weeks before I learned that the old lady was in the hospital in a critical condition. She never left the hospital, but died there out of grief for the cats.
After a while, I saw her daughter and son cleaning the house in order to sell it, and they did not bother even to visit her in hospital.
So I said to myself, People die while others enjoy their wealth. That if we consider her humble house as wealth. I also learn that a person might replace love for his´-or-her children with a cat´-or-a dog, because love is implanted in human souls just like hatred.

October,23,2023
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Kalil Chikha
is an Industrial Engineer who lives in the U.S. and writes on a wide variety of topics. He published many books in Arabic, such as short stories, literature review and criticism.

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