Thoughts inspired by a cat Half a month ago, a cat came scrambling in off the balcony. It lives with me now. At first, its demands were simple: just a place to crash. So much so that on the first day it refused to leave — even though I had nothing to feed it. I opened the door and carried it out; it darted straight back in. I carried it out and quickly shut the door; it stood outside yowling at the door, dead set on getting back in. Later I got it some food, gave it a bath, bought cat food and kept its bowl full every day, bought cat litter and set up a toilet.