Misfit Part 2

I could feel the weight of his disappointment deep inside as soon as I closed the latch on the door of his cage. A sensation I can say I have never experienced before from a nonhuman being.  An unusual guilty feeling came over me as I walked away out of the shelter to go home knowing that I was free and yet the cat who I played with and loved for the last 30 minuets would be left behind a cage door without one.

From the moment I first walked into the shelter I was very unsure about what to expect, unsure about how Misfit would react towards me, and unsure about how I might react towards him. I looked around at each cage and as I slowly read the name Misfit on his cage I was greeted with a big meow and his paw out of the cage door, he welcomed me. I nervously put my hand towards his small paw and to my surprise he put his paw in my palm and kept it there. I instantly felt a sensation of not only relief but also acceptance; as if Misfit was telling me it was going to be okay. There I was thinking I would be coming to the animal shelter comforting a fearful cat but instead he reassured and comforted me.

As someone who never had a cat before and have had few experiences with cats, many of which were unpleasant, for the first time I was enthusiastic to know that I could not only reach out to this cat but also spend real time with him. Before I opened his cage, I took the time to watch him and think about how I would feel in the cage. I wanted to put myself in his adorable little paws.  He was so eager to get out, so eager to play, and so eager to be loved by me. Despite being locked up in a cage all day, Misfit was sweet, kind and very lively.  He had already done for me in the few minuets of interaction that I

would have ever thought imagined. Misfit was the first cat who wanted to know me. I not only was instantly attached to him, but I was also able to feel sympathy for him and every other cat. How could any being with so much energy be locked up without freedom? How could any being with so much affection towards others be without a home or someone who loves them back? I felt pain and distress for Misfit. I couldn’t help but think he deserves all the freedoms and more that I have.

When I opened the doors of his cage, he let out another loud meow. I couldn’t help but think that was his way of saying “thank you”.  I was hesitant to pick him up but he walked right over to my hand once again reassuring me that he trusted me. How could he trust someone he didn’t even know? I would have a hard time doing exactly that. Before I realized it Misfit reminded me of my spirit animal the White Tiger, who always taught and showed me new things. He soon became impatient with me and was ready to get out. I lifted him up into my arms and he purred. I was

honored by his purring and held him close to my heart as I carried him to the playroom.

During my short visit with Misfit, I was able to extend my sympathetic imagination to him, something I never thought I could do towards a cat before. I imagined his loneliness and how he honestly believed that every person who walked into the shelter would take him home with them.

 I had always been a dog lover and had an easy time connecting with them and even to other human beings. I easily felt sympathy for these beings without even trying to. Before I interacted with Misfit, I had a hard time connecting with cats or even feeling anything at all for them at all.  He had shown me from the very start of our visit that cats have so much love to give to everyone and anything.  After my visit with Misfit, my views on cats and all other beings, human and non-human, has changed. I feel very connected to all other cats, dogs, and domestic or wild animals that deserve to have their freedom.  Thinking twice about all the other animals in the zoos that, unlike Misfit, have no chance of ever leaving their cages. How I feel about a connection between human beings seems to be bittersweet.  I do not know where Misfit came from, but it is obvious that he once had a home, where someone once loved him. While I was in the shelter I could not help but to be angry and hurt by all the owners who had dropped their cats off in the shelter, “leaving behind the lovesome creatures who would never leave them, had they once given them their hearts.”¹ The more time I spent, the less sympathy I had towards human beings and

	the more I felt connected to non-human beings.

            As I walked away leaving Misfit alone back in his cage, back without his freedom. I could feel that I was letting him down. I felt to better than the person who may have deserted him. It felt almost as he could talk and he was saying, “Do not, I beg, abandon me, I have a sure fidelity. I’ll return your love for me, I have a sense of true devotion.” ^2. I did not want to leave him behind, although I knew I could not take him home from the start, something he did not know during our special time together. I left with melancholy, mixed feelings, and hope that he would find the forever home he deserved with the love he needs.