Witness to a cat's traumatic experience

Looking at my watch, I knew I had to go so as to get home on time for The Phantom of the Opera on TV. I was reading a book then at a park last evening, smiling occasionally at kids who were jogging with their parents when something caught my attention.

An Indian man wearing a torn t-shirt and a sarong, who looked like he'd not taken a bath for quite some days and looked somewhat drunk or deranged, had stopped walking just about a car's length from me. It was not him but the cat that was leashed by him in a raffia string that told me something was wrong.

The cat was just a little bigger than a kitten. It looked so frightened and gave a meow that I still vividly remembers. It sounded like the one and only attempt it could give to call for help. It sounded so desperate and yet so weak and helpless. It shrivelled and refused to move even though the man was tugging the string.

Meanwhile the people in the park continued to jog by. Only two boys stopped for a moment. They too knew that something was wrong. But not knowing what to do, they went on jogging after a while. I was tempted to "get on with my life" too. After all, I've got a great tv program to catch.

I started rationalizing to "I", "Maybe this man lives nearby. Even if this man is homeless, he may just want to keep a cat for companionship. C'mon, just move on, get along. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. It's just a cat. Give this man benefit of doubt. Maybe he just don't have money to buy a proper leash and don't know enough to do it right."

But I have begun to trust my heart since some years back. I have begun to work on guarding my heart above all else, to protect it from being hardened. And I know that every decision I make makes a difference to the condition of my heart and my becoming.

Looking embarrassed, the man quickly scooped up the cat with one hand and walked on. The cat looked overcome. I felt sad. But somehow he was uncomfortable holding the cat, so he let it down and started to tug at the cat again. I told myself, "I must do something about it. I can't walk away from this, bluffing myself that nothing's happening. A life is involved." But I didn't know what to do. I was afraid too.

I deliberated, "If I call the police, he'd be gone before they arrive. It's Sunday, what animal welfare society can I call for help? If I confront him, he'd just say some lies and try to get away with it. If I become more assertive, he may get aggressive with me. He doesn't look stable and I'm worried for my own safety." Meanwhile people continued to stroll and jog by. No one had even slowed down to take notice.

I called my friend for help. Her family keeps lots of animals. They'd know. She told that no one should leash a cat with a string and I just had to confront the man even should it get ugly. Just then I saw a man walking, with his two dogs, toward me. I quickly hang up the phone and asked him for help, thinking, "He's an animal-lover. He'll have a heart for the cat. He'll help." But I was wrong.

Trying to walk off, he gave me a lame excuse that he couldn't speak Malay. What Malay! He's an Indian, you chicken! I insisted and so he lamely spoke a one-liner to the Indian man in half English and half Malay, in which I couldn't understand, to which the Indian man said in English, "You dog-lover. I cat-lover." The man smiled and walked off with his dogs! Did they know what they were saying to each other?! I believed they were both glad that they "let each other off."

Anyway I went on to tell the Indian man, "You can't tie the cat with a string. It's painful for the cat. It's wrong. You can't do that." So he replied me, "Ok. No tie. I carry." And he once again scooped up the cat with his hand and walked off quickly, still holding the raffia string that's leashed to the cat's neck. I felt like I was watching a criminal running away. "O God, help! What am I to do?"

He definitely had a problem holding the cat, for he let it down soon after and started to tug at the cat again. So I ran up to him, still not knowing what next to do when a woman, about 50 years old, showed up out of the blue. She authoritatively shouted at him, "Hey, you stop! Cannot! No! You cannot tie the cat like that!"

Just then another man, with his family, walked by and shouted, "Ya, cannot, you will kill the cat!" And they walked off! Oh... sometimes when you need a man's help... sigh... I remember once sharing with friends, "There's a book for men entitled Tender Warrior: God's intention for a man. Sometimes I find that men are neither tender nor warriors. Sigh. When are they going to rise up as tender warriors?"

Anyway, with this woman showing up, suddenly the cat gained strength from hope and started to struggle with the man in trying to get out of the string-leash, hence causing more pain to itself. The woman quickly carried the cat into her embrace and removed the string from around its neck as she said to the Indian man, "You cannot do that. The cat will die! The police will catch you!" I started thanking her for coming to the rescue.

The man tried to intimidate her by bringing his face really near to hers and said, "I live nearby here." Then he started to untie his sarong, as she replied confidently, "If you want to keep the cat, you bring a box to carry the cat the next time. Not a string." He tied back his sarong and walked off in opposite direction as she walked away with the cat. Soon both of them were out of my sight.

I was 30 minutes late for my tv program but I was so glad with my decision. I have learnt much through this episode from each character in the story. But more than that, I saw a glimpse of the horror of abuse, intimidation and fear; the need to protect my heart, to surrender and to fight; the value of life and freedom; and the power of hope and love. Makes me think of the 3 shows that I just watched: The Shawshank Redemption, What a Girl Wants, and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.