Last night JoDee and I walked over to Tim Hortons for some late-night coffee. On the way back from playing real-life Frogger crossing the road, JoDee noticed a cat in the bushes. The cat noticed us too, and came over for petting and loving and whatever else we could give him/her. He/she was about 2-4 years old, well fed and beautifully marked with white and brown fur. Unfortunately, if he/she was a house cat, there wasn't a collar to let us know that "hey, I'm a house-kitty, so someone out there will be wondering where I am come morning". After a few minutes, we walked on, but the cat wasn't done with us yet. It criss-crossed our path, and followed us home. We weren't sure what to do at this point. Sure, the apartments allow us to have cats, but we weren't sure if this was a stray, someone's outdoor cat, or what. So, we went upstairs, and listened in heart-wrenching pain as the cat meowed outside our window. Other residents noticed the cat as well, including a dog who desperately wanted his leash to snap so he could play with the kitty in whatever low-to-the-ground limbo sort of play dogs and cats perform. This morning, I didn't see the cat anywhere, so I hope he/she went back to whomever takes care of him/her during normal business hours.

I'm not a fan of people letting their cats outside, especially without a collar. It's just too hostile out there, and these are domesticated felines. They aren't adapted to the outdoor world. That said, I'm sure that if this cat is a regular outdoor cat, that it's milking the kindness of strangers for all it's worth, like a professional beggar.