Nobody's Cat

On a quiet, tree-lined street in New York City lives a stray tabby cat.

- Fannie Peczenik

Shaun and Nikki call him Gattone, which is Italian for “very large cat.” Gattone likes Shaun and Nikki, who pet him and give him food and a box in their yard to sleep in. But when they try to lure him into their house by moving his food dish up the front stairs, Gattone is wary and walks away. He’s nobody’s cat, and he likes it that way. One night when a big storm is coming, Shaun suddenly picks Gattone up and tries to take him inside. Gattone doesn’t want to hurt Shaun, but he has no choice. He scratches and bites, and Shaun runs inside.

Soon after, Shaun and Nikki come back out and spread a makeshift roof over Gattone’s bed. Gattone is impressed and lies awake most of the rainy night, thinking. He knows he wouldn’t have been as nice. He vows to be a really good cat from then on. He also promises never to go inside the house, never ever. He is nobody’s cat, and he likes it that way.

Shaun and Nikki build a real wooden house for Gattone, where he stays for several years. It even has a heated bed for winter. Gattone keeps his promises, and everyone in the neighborhood is happy to play with such an extraordinary cat. He doesn’t chase birds. And he allows wild animals such as skunks and opossums to eat out of his dish when they sneak into the yard at night.

One night, Gattone hears quick footsteps and something little and scared eating hungrily out of his bowl. When he peeks out, a pair of green eyes looks back at him.

IT WAS A cat.

The cat was tiny, not even half the size of Gattone. She was slinking along the ground as though she was trying to make herself invisible. Gattone sat very still and watched her.

She was mostly white, with a few patches of dark gray stripes on her back. On her face, she had a dark gray tabby mask. Her tail had the same dark gray stripes. She was skinny, and her fur was matted.