Cat Sullivan

We never gave him a proper name. He was “Cat” or “Le Chat”, or some silly variation of one of those names. We all felt free to call him by whatever name his face or his curled-up, sleeping body inspired.  Cat lived in the ironing basket in a corner of the dining room, where he could keep an eye on Mother when she was cooking in the kitchen. He liked to visit the kitchen, especially when Mother cooked fish or chicken, and he also kept an eye, and a paw, on the colony of roaches that liked to roam the floors of the kitchen at night. We all believe that Cat was happy in the Sullivan home until he had to leave.  

Cat became a member of the Sullivan household the day Mike brought him home and, sheepishly, introduced him to Mother.  Mike worked nights, keeping guard over a construction site, and he had found Cat lying in a ditch on his way to his car. He had taken pity on him and, most uncharacteristically, had decided to wrap him in his sweater and take him home to his cat-allergic mother and asthmatic little brother.  The look in Mike’s eyes, along with the sorry state of Cat that morning, melted Mother’s heart. How could she ever say no to that look in her son’s eyes? How could she not take pity on that poor, defenceless little creature? 

The Sullivan family soon took to Cat. He was lovely and cuddly and a lot of fun! All but the Sullivans’ dog, “Happy”. She growled at him and chased him down the hall, knocking chairs and tripping up poor Mother whenever she tried to stop the bickering, which was very frequent, as Cat liked to lie in ambush under a sofa or behind a door and pounce at Happy when she lumbered by on her arthritic legs.  Happy had been adopted by the Sullivan family two years earlier. She was a senior dog that wasn’t used to cats and wasn’t used to sharing the love of the Sullivans’, so, understandably, she didn’t take kindly to Cat and his antics. Happy was happiest when she was out on one of her long and unhurried walks down the familiar streets of downtown Madrid, where the Sullivans live, far away from Cat and enjoying the undivided attention of Mother or Father.   

Mike and Cat became fast friends. When Mike got home from work, he would lie on the sofa with Cat on his chest and they would have long talks that went like this: “Cat, you are my cat and I am your master. Do you understand?” “M-e-e-e-eow!” said Cat. “Well then, Cat, since you understand that you are my cat and I am your master, stop peeing all over the place or I’ll have you neutered. Do you understand?” “M-e-e-e-eow” said Cat, who was hard of hearing and had a stutter. No matter how many long conversations Mike and Cat had, Cat didn’t stop marking his territory in the Sullivans’ home, so poor Cat had to go see the vet one day. The Sullivans warmed up to Cat again, now that they didn’t have to mop up so many puddles. 

One day, Mike decided that he wanted to try his luck in the Land Of The Free. He had every intention of taking Cat with him, but moving a cat across the big pond is no easy or inexpensive feat. Cat would have had to travel to London, where he would have spent two weeks in quarantine before being allowed to board a plane and travel across the Atlantic ocean to his master.  Mother and Father told Mike to go on his own and they would organize something once Mike was settled.  Cat watched Mike as he packed his belongings into two large suitcases, hopping into one of them every now and then, to see if it might be a suitable place for a nap, but Mike always scooped him back out of the suitcase.   

When Mike left, Cat missed him badly. Mother started talking more and more with Cat, who in the absence of Mike, now rubbed up against her legs every morning when she stumbled through the kitchen on her way to the bathroom. Mother’s days began by being tripped up by an old incontinent dog, and then tripped up again by a cat who stood watch at the bathroom door, meowing with a stutter, until she emerged and gave him his breakfast. Cat would attack his bowl of food and Mother would take the dog out for her morning constitutional. 

 Cat had a thing for suitcases. Perhaps because he thought that a suitcase might take him to master Mike? For whatever reason Cat liked suitcases, the Sullivans learned, soon enough, that letting Cat near their suitcases would lead to a round of last-minute laundry. They also learned that no amount of febreeze will get rid of the smell of cat pee.  As long as Cat lived with them, the Sullivans packed their suitcases behind closed doors. 

One day poor Happy said her final goodbye. She was hit by a car when she was crossing the street on her way home from shopping with Mother.  Cat missed Happy. He would lie in ambush and jump out at members of the Sullivan family, tripping them up and inciting harsh words from them. He went looking for Happy in all her usual hiding places, m-e-e-owing and sniffing after her, to no avail. Happy was gone. 

With no other Sullivan family member to keep him company when he wasn’t sleeping in the laundry basket, Cat spent a lot of time with Mother. His favorite place was the kitchen, where his favorite perch was the top of the refrigerator. More than once, Cat hopped down from the refrigerator, knocking over some bowl of food or startling Mother so, that she dropped whatever she was holding in her hands. 

Cat’s favorite pastime was watching Mother clean fish. One time he nearly got away with a big, juicy fish. Mother was cleaning sardines at the counter with Cat standing nearby, watching. She turned around and Cat snatched a fish, dragged it to a corner of the dining room and hid it. He went back to the kitchen to watch Mother until she counted the rest of the fish and turned on him, accusingly.  Cat ran out of the kitchen to protect his fish, but Mother took it away, scolded Cat, and put the fish into a pot to be cooked. Cat had fish for dinner that night and Mother kept a sharp eye on him whenever she cleaned fish. 

Jake Sullivan’s asthma started to get worse. He started having more trouble breathing and he started coughing more. His doctor strongly recommended that the Sullivan family find a new home for Cat, as it seemed like Jake was developing an allergy and this was making his asthma worse.  After all these years, the Sullivans had to find a new home for Cat.  Mother was sad, but there was nothing else they could do. Keeping Cat was out of the question.

Cat was adopted by a friend of a friend of Tim, the youngest Sullivan. Mother started talking to her plants; Father could prepare his coffee in peace, with no fear of it being knocked over when Cat leapt down from his perch atop the refrigerator. Jake’s breathing got better and he stopped coughing so much. The Sullivans could pack their suitcases in peace. There were roach sightings in the Sullivan kitchen once again.  They all missed Cat.

One day, the Sullivans got a letter from an animal shelter. The letter included a detailed bill.  Cat had been found roaming the streets and had been taken to a shelter where he had had to be treated.  Tim Sullivan called his friend, who in turn called his friend, who promised to drop by, pick up the bill and pick up Cat, but he never did. The Sullivans received another letter, with a larger bill from the animal shelter. The Sullivans paid the bill and released Cat for adoption. 

Mother cried. Jake was angry at his asthma and felt guilty for causing Cat so much trouble. Father ranted at anyone who would listen about the general lack of responsibility and reliability in the population. But Cat did not return to the Sullivan home. They missed him. To this day, Cat remains the Sullivans’ most beloved pet. Any mention of him will have them reminiscing with fondness, much laughter, and perhaps a tear or two.