The story below is about Filthy the cat, an abandoned kitten found wandering the streets.
But because of his sickly appearance, no one wanted to go near him. In fact, he was called “Filthy” by the people who noticed him.
In the residential complex where I lived, everyone knew Filthy. He was our official alley cat. In life, Filthy liked three things: fighting, eating out of garbage cans and… love, shall we say.
Combined with a life outside, these three passions had left their mark on him. Already, he was missing an eye, and where it should have been, there was only a hole. On the same side, he was also missing an ear, his left leg must have been badly broken at some point and it was fused together at an odd angle, giving him the impression of always wanting to take the next turn.
Filthy must have been a dark gray tabby cat, except for the scars that covered his head, neck and even his shoulders. Every time someone saw Filthy, they had the same reaction. “What a FILTHY, that cat!!!”
All the kids were told not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, chased him away with water jets, kicked him out when he tried to enter their house or slammed the door on his paw when he didn’t want to leave.
Filthy, too, always reacted the same way. If you watered him, he would stand there and get soaked until you got tired and let it go. If you threw things at him, he would come and curl his long body up against your feet as a sign of forgiveness. If he saw children, he would run to them meowing like a crazy and rub his head against their hands in a desperate search for love. If you picked him up, he would immediately come and chew on your shirt, your earrings… anything he could find.
One day, Filthy wanted to share his love with the neighbor’s huskies. They didn’t react very well, and Filthy was badly injured. I heard his cries from my apartment, and I tried to run to his rescue. But by the time I got to him, it was clear that Filthy’s sad life was nearing its end.