a sad lesson

A male tabby cat had been stealing food from our cats' dishes for at least a year, and we used to always shoo it off when we saw it. it was a nuisance, and it miaowed too loudly. when we came home we would often see it flee from the bushes in our front garden; occasionally it slept in the kennel. it had been getting thin recently so sometimes we took pity and fed it. about three days ago it ran into our house looking for food, and, outraged, i chased it out and shut the door. the next day my mum found it curled up on our front doormat. a few hours later the council came and removed it.

i am devastated at the death of this lonely cat. when it was alive we had never really considered it as anything other than a pest; when it had died we suddenly realised that it was a creature in need that we didn't help even though we were its only hope. the cat dying has made me think of the multitudes of suffering people and creatures to whom we turn a blind eye every day. i personally am determined to learn from this.

sorry, sorry, cat. i hope you can rest in peace, and forgive us.