160/365: Cat Mystery

9th of June

My family’s schedule did not match yesterday Sunday which resulted for me catching the last Sunday mass alone at 8:00PM. 

There is just one church is celebrating the 8:00PM mass which is a walking distance from home so I walk myself to catch this last mass.  I was enjoying the traffic-less Sunday night while I’m taking the short cut way to the church along the residential areax when suddenly something broke my peaceful walk.

A dead cat is lying in the middle of the residential street that I’m taking.  It was obviously ran over by a vehicle because I can clearly see the head injury where the blood was still coming out. 

As you know, there are just few things that can make me stop and stare while I’m on the street and one of them is (stray) cat.  When it’s alive and needs help I usually pick them and placed on a safe place.  But this one is dead.   I was considering to pick-up the dead cat but I am aware that it is unhygienic if I won’t be able to wash my hand immediately.   I also don’t know where to put it plus that I will be late for the mass.

I did not notice that I had stopped and was staring at the dead cat for several minutes until one of the residents said something that it was ran over by a passing vehicle.

I left the dead cat as it is and walk the rest of the distance to the church with a heavy heart thinking and hoping that one of the residents would pick up the dead body of the cat so it won’t be ran over again by another vehicle.  I know it is dead but it’s cruel to think that it would be ran over and over again.

When the mass ended I was hesitant to take the same route on the way back because I don’t want to see the dead cat again.  I vividly remembered how it looks like.  The size (estimated age), the color which is the very common color of stray cats – white and orange combination.    The same color of the four cats who adopted themselves on our compound.  I also vividly remembered its head oozing with blood and that it's dead.

I finally decided to take the same route on my way back because that route is familiar and safe for someone walking alone. I was hoping that the cat already resurrected and now consuming one of its nine lives.  Yes I seriously believe that cats have nine lives not because it is true but because I just want the cats to have nine lives or more.

To my surprised I did not find the body of the dead cat from the spot where I saw it.  Also, the street seemed extra clean compared when I took it on my way to the church. When I walked some more miles the mystery of the missing dead cat body is answered. There was an on-going street cleaning and the cleaning people were not only sweeping the streets but pumping the streets with pressurized water hose.  Hmn... this is something strange.  I walk this route on the same instance but this is the first time that I see people cleaning the street this way. Plus it's a Sunday?

Past forward to today…

I came out of the office building an hour over lunch time to eat out. Look at what I found leisurely lying just outside the main entrance of our building.

Seriously?
A stray cat right in front of our building entrance fronting a busy road in the busy business district of Makati City? 

And yes it looks like the dead cat I saw last night….