The Cats are Fed

Harold always said I was good for my word, ever so dependable. I prided myself on knowing people could always count on me. God rest Harold’s soul; it was just Miss Kitty and me. Miss Kitty, my fluffy orange tabby, has been by my side for ten years. We’re both old and grey, she and I. After Harold left us, we moved into a quaint apartment where we met Maude.

Maude and I became fast friends because she lived right across the hall from us in our apartment complex. She was also a widow, but she had two cats, Charles and Oscar. Luckily for us, our cats became fast friends as well. Living here for over five years, we’d all become like family. We’d have dinners at each other's place and watch trashy daytime television together (the perks of being retired). The most important part was having someone you trusted to watch your cats, which I just so happened to be doing for Maude.

A knock echoed through the apartment.

“Come on in, Maude, the door is open”.

Maude ushered her cats into my apartment. I watch her two tuxedo male cats saunter in, as if they owned the place.

“Good morning, Maude,” I say as she brings in with her a few cans of cat food and a bottle of wine.

“Morning, Sue, I can’t thank you enough for watching my babies while I travel down to see my newest grandbaby. I’m so excited. I would take the cats, but of course they don’t travel well… unless it’s across the hall,” she chuckles.

“Maude, no need to thank me. We take care of each other. Also, I told you, I have more than enough food for all of them. It really wasn’t necessary to bring any,” I say.

“Just consider it an extra thank you, you’ve got three mouths to feed now instead of just one,” she winks at me. I grumble and take the cans from her.

“I brought you some wine too, that’s the real thank you,” she says, setting the wine on the kitchen table.

“Fine, but I did get you a gift to take to your new grandbaby. Spoil him rotten for me!” I handed her a small blue-wrapped present.

“You shouldn’t have Sue. That’s too kind of you”. Maude takes the gift and starts to tear up.

“Get out of her before you start to make me cry too,” I say and wrap her in a tight embrace.

“Bye, Sue, thanks so much,” she says as I open the door for her. I give her a wave and tell her I’ll send photo updates of the cats.

I’m so happy for Maude and so glad knowing she can count on me. She said she’d be gone a week, but I told her no need to stress, I can watch the cats as long as she needs me to.

I watch Miss Kitty welcome Maude’s two cats, sniffing one another and gentle licks of hello. They head off into the sunny living room to bask in the morning sun. The two boys are as comfortable here as they are in their own home, I smile to myself at the thought.

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A few days have passed, and I’ve provided Maude with cute pictures of the cats here and there, and in return, she’s sent a few of the new grandbaby.

It’s mid-afternoon, and the cats and I are snuggled in on the couch. I’m about to watch some trashy TV when the fire alarm goes off.

The cats scatter like it’s the Kentucky Derby. The high-pitched squeal makes me clasp my hands over my ears, and I curse at myself for not remembering the quarterly fire alarm checks. I even got an email and text from the apartment complex. I’m so scatterbrained. I normally put Miss Kitty into a separate room to help reduce her stress and anxiety. I’m sure Oscar and Charles would have appreciated that too.

I can faintly hear maintenance knocking on the door over the sound of the fire alarm. I go to open the door so they can check to ensure the alarm is indeed working, which I can definitely confirm myself, it is. They quickly assess that the alarms are working and in functioning order, and then thankfully shut the alarm off before leaving.

The cats are all hiding in various places around the house. I’m sure they are just as stressed as I am. I decide it’s a good time for that wine Maude brought me.

I pop the cork, fill a glass, and bring the bottle with me to the couch. I call for the cats, telling them the coast is clear and they can come out now. I sit back on the couch and drink my wine, letting it calm me into a nice, relaxed, sleepy state. I’ve refilled my glass two times, and before I know it, I’m startled awake by a spilled glass of wine in my lap. The cats have made their reappearance as I glance at the clock and see it’s dinner time for them. They follow me to the kitchen as I grab a towel to wipe the excess wine off me, spilling the rest of the wine that was in my glass.

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When Maude couldn’t reach me on the phone for three to four days, she rushed back home. When she arrived at my apartment, and I wasn’t answering the door, she phoned the apartment management, knowing they had a master key.

The apartment manager came and knocked on my door, but I didn't answer. He tried the door handle, only to find that the door was locked. He brought out his master key and undid the lock. He told Maude to wait at the threshold while he went inside.

I was always good for my word; the cats would be fed. I was so happy Maude could count on me.

Maude heard the manager gag and watched him sprint out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him. “Do not go in there, Maude. I have to make some calls,” he said, taking in huge gulps of air, trying not to throw up. She could tell from his face something was seriously wrong, and that’s when the smell of iron and copper filled her nose.

The police arrived quickly and entered the apartment with the coroner. They’re saying it was such a tragedy, but I don’t agree.

Oscar, Charles, and Miss Kitty were stuffed as ticks, they were so well fed! The cats started with the soft membranes on my face: ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. They were still hungry, bless their hearts. I don’t blame them. They moved on to my fatty tissues on my abdomen before finishing off my thigh muscles. Luckily, the cats were fed, despite being covered in my blood. It took Maude a long time to get my blood out of the white fur of Charles and Oscar. They were both stained pink for a few weeks.

Apparently, I’d fallen and hit my head, slipped on some of that damn wine I’d spilled. I’d suffered a brain bleed, and due to my blood thinners, I bled out quickly. I was dead before I realized it.

Maude took in Miss Kitty; it was an easy transition for my girl. That’s the great thing about having people you can depend on.

Maude said the cats never gave up the craving for raw meat and would often nip at her in her sleep.