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Mango

The Cat Who Touched My Heart

By Megan ShoemakerPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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After a long day of work, I was finally able to come home and relax. However, once I had gotten comfortable in my bed, I heard my mom calling my name. I was a little reluctant to go at first, but everyone knows it’s not a good idea to ignore your mother. Once I found her, I asked her what she needed. Her response was, “Could you do me a huge favor and take the trash down to the curb?” Ignoring the fact that it was cold and dark outside, I agreed to help her. I grabbed the first pair of shoes I saw and started my task. I was about halfway down my driveway when I heard an unfamiliar whining sound. I’m a very anxious person to begin with, so hearing odd sounds in the pitch-black caused me to become quite alarmed. Scared of what I might see, I slowly turned my head towards the direction of the sound. However, all my fears melted away when I saw a small cat run onto my porch. I quickly brought the trashcan down to the curb and then slowly crept towards the cat, making sure not to startle it. Once I got within ten feet of it, I put my hand out and tried to lure it in. To my surprise, the cat came right to me. Although, my heart broke once I got a good look at it. He was a tabby cat who couldn’t have been any older than two years. He had golden eyes and long white whiskers. His body sunk in under his ribs, alluding to the fact that he was severely malnourished. I immediately ran into my house to get him some cat food, praying he wouldn’t leave while I was gone. Thankfully, he was still there when I got back. I sat the small bowl down in front of him, and he instantly started eating. I spent the next ten minutes watching the cat chow down the dry food. Once he was done, he came over to me and started rubbing against my legs. I could tell that the cat had previously lived in a home because he wasn’t afraid of humans. Every part of my brain was focusing on how I needed to help this cat. I felt as if he had stumbled upon my house for a reason. Fearing that he would give my current cats fleas or a disease, I couldn’t take the stray into my home. I refilled the water and food bowls, and then went back into my house. Before I went to sleep that night, I prayed that I would see him again tomorrow.

The next morning, I went outside and tried calling for the cat. To my surprise, he ran right up to the porch and started rubbing against me. I sat down on one of the steps and began petting him. The more time I spent with him, the more attached I got. I realized that I loved this cat, so I decided to name him after something else I love. I named him Mango. I begged my parents to let me take the cat in, but my father didn’t want any more animals. I offered to pay for all the medical cost that shots and neutering would require, but my dad still said no. My parents did agree to let him be an outside cat. Although, this didn’t please me. I had come to love this cat so much that I didn’t want to risk anything happening to it. I had fears that it would run into the road or an animal would attack it. What is the cat supposed to do when it reaches freezing temperatures and snows? I decided that the only thing I could do at this point was to build him a shelter. The shelter included food, water, soft blankets, and a few old cat toys. I set it up on the porch and was glad when Mango crawled into it and laid down. I felt rejoiced knowing that I had done all I could for Mango. Every day I came home and saw him in the shelter, a smile spread across my face. However, one day Mango stopped showing up. I looked all over my neighborhood for him, but I had no luck in finding him. Instead of assuming the worst, I’d like to believe Mango found a pretty girl cat to run away with. Although I had only known him for a few short days, I developed an overwhelming amount of love for him that I will carry with me for the rest of my existence.

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About the Creator

Megan Shoemaker

I’m a sophomore in college who loves animals and is studying psychology!

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