Laurel (31:19)
Hi, Bastet. How are you doing today? Oh, do you like your. Do you like your kibble? She was very independent but affectionate. Calico. She was friendly with people, but she wasn't really a lap cat, you know, very inquisitive. Wanted to know what was going on. Liked to go outside and hunt and roam. But she would always come back in at night. There were a lot of cats in this neighborhood. Cats have always come to me. That sounds kind of silly when I say it, but I have often had cats just turn up on my porch, injured or sick or starving. I take them in for a few days. I, you know, get them stable. I find them a home. Over the years, I've found homes for probably 20 cats. That's been my whole life. One night, I was at home. I was working on a painting. Had my watercolors out. The best at was hanging out with me in my room like she normally was. Around 10pm I started getting thirsty and hungry. I wanted some juice. Fridge was totally empty, so I just had to go out to the store. It was a warm summer night, humidity that late at night, there Was nobody out on the streets. There was no traffic. You could see all the stars. I decided to take a shortcut through the neighborhood. Down this little trail that goes through the woods and over a bridge. So Bastet followed me out the door and onto the porch. But then she hesitated at the steps at the top of the porch. After a little bit of hesitation, she followed me. But she wouldn't go past the corner. She stayed on the corner and meowed at me, which was very odd. I thought, okay, she just wants attention. I'll make sure to pet her a bunch when I get back. So I left her and continued my walk as soon as I got out of her line of sight. And then a cat came out from my neighbor's yard. It was one that I recognized. Gus was a very elderly tabby. You know how some cats, when they get old, they don't exactly get chubby, but they sort of sag. That was Gus. He was like this old saggy cat. He followed me for a little ways. He never followed me like that before. Before I got to another corner and he stayed at the corner. But then as soon as I got out of his line of sight, another cat popped out and this kept happening. They were cats that I recognized, but they weren't always cats that I was really friendly with. Like, some of them weren't cats that normally would come right up to me or follow me around. I was kind of thinking like, oh man, what is going on? Like, what's gotten into them? Like, did I leave catnip in my pocket or something As I was walking at one point, this pair of black cats comes out of the bushes and just flanks me, one on each side. It was Mr. Squibs and his brother, Scruffy. Mr. Squibs was a velvety black cat with big golden eyes. Scruffy looked exactly like Mr. Squibs, except less well groomed. They weren't trying to get my attention. They clearly weren't interested in getting anything from me. Treats or pets or anything like that. They were just walking with me. They were looking around, mostly ahead, off to the side. The whole time I was walking down that block. It was unnerving to. It sort of set off alarm bells in my head. Once or twice was normal, three times was odd. But by the time the fifth cat had come up and followed me, I was like, all right, this is. This is definitely strange. By the time I got at the trailhead, it'd only been maybe 15 minute walk. I saw a cat there that I didn't recognize sitting right at the entrance, in front of that concrete post, Almost like he was waiting for somebody. He was fluffy and this sort of pale, creamy orange, Kind of like a creamsicle. I knew I had never seen a cat like that in the neighborhood. As I got up close to him, he came up to me and let me scratch his ears and rubbed around my legs. As I started walking down this trail, he kept winding around my feet. You know how cats do when they're. When they really want attention. Like, you can't take a step without this cat running in front of your foot. That's what he was doing. I could hardly walk forward at all. Tried scratching his face, and he didn't really seem to. To care about that. He was in front of me. He was underfoot. Every time I took a step, it just got more intense the further I went. I started to get kind of wigged out. I told myself at first, it's just the cat being very affectionate. He just wants attention. Cats do this all the time. But I couldn't shake this feeling of unease. As I got closer to the bottom of the trail, where there's that bend, I thought, well, if this cat really is trying to get me to stop, all I have to do is turn around and walk the other way. So I turned around and I started walking back uphill. But the second I turned around, he stopped. He just tagged along right behind me, like a dog at heel, almost. He didn't get in the way once. I thought, okay, this is. This is really strange. The cat was herding me back up the trail. I thought, well, I want my orange juice, but I can wait. So I went all the way back up the trail, and he didn't let me out of sight. When I got to the trailhead, he just sat there watching me as I walked away, Just like he had when I'd approached in the first place. The whole way home, every time I turned a corner, cats would come out and follow me and walk alongside me. Mr. Squibs. Scruffy Gus. As I got back close to home and I turned the corner, I saw Bastet was waiting. She hadn't even sat down. She was standing there staring in my direction like she'd been watching the whole time for me to come back. She ran straight up to me and wouldn't leave my side. She followed me right back into the house, and I latched the door behind me. I was like, this is ridiculous. I got scared by a friendly cat. What is wrong with me? Several months later, school started back up again. I was sitting in the study lounge area of the library with some classmates. One of my classmates happened to mention that she'd heard there was a stabbing, that a girl had been attacked while she was out walking at night on the trail at the bottom of the footpath. I thought, oh, my gosh, I walk that way all the time. She said, it happened in July at night. And I remember this weird night with the cats. That was the only time I'd been out walking that way that late over the summer. It had to have happened that night. It was hair raising, chilling to think about, would I have been the one to cross that bridge? And then I realized the cats were trying to herd me away from danger. I think that there was somebody waiting who had bad intentions. They were looking out for me. Dogs adore you. You meet a Labrador, it's going to be your best friend no matter who you are. Cats, they're not going to care about somebody they don't have a relationship with. When you meet a cat, you have to prove yourself to it. They can tell when somebody looks out for them and they return that favor. I've never seen that big fluffy orange cat again. But if I ever did, I would give him a scratch in the ears and a big can of tuna.
