just follow the cat

6th Data Point: even the rats will leave you alone

8:55AM (80°F), Thursday, February 18th

a highway underpass a few blocks from Louie's Bookstore & Café

Baltimore, Maryland

aNd SO i saY to yOu...

It is worse to shiver at night than to sweat.

Many people prefer dogs as their nighttime companions, but honestly cats are better suited for the task. Like dogs, cats will keep you warm. On most nights, a dog will curl up in the angle of your knees or sleep at your feet. But cats will locate the coldest part of your body and warm it with theirs like they're covering an egg until it hatches. That's why you find cats sleeping on people's heads and even on their faces. They are doing what they can to keep the world in balance.

Four days before her cat showed up, Cassandra Lailoni Antone had gotten a new wool blanket. It was a gift of sorts from the city of Baltimore to the population of people who live most of their nights on the streets. Since the blankets were distributed on Valentine's Day, that made the gift even more special because Cassandra had never gotten a gift of any kind on February 14th.

But truly, it was an ugly blanket – pressed gray wool threaded with colorful bits and pieces of recycled cotton, cardboard, and even plastic. It was so ugly, in fact, that you'd probably mistake it for trash if you saw it from a distance. And not the kind of trash that you pick through to find discarded treasures. Still, this blanket was a treasure all its own because it was a camouflage of sorts. To all who might have seen it, that blanket looked so trashy that nobody would ever want it. And if you live your days on the street and spend your nights in a small crevice below a highway bridge, nothing could be better. Because when you return each night, your small world (hidden by a camouflage of trash) will be undisturbed.

And here's where cats come in. Alley cats especially. For people who live and forage on the streets, they are much more helpful than dogs. You see, when you leave your warm wooly nest in the morning, a dog will follow you. They'll trail so close behind you as if it's your job to feed and entertain them. But cats will stay where it's comfortable. Not all day, of course. They have to eat, too. But they'll stay and guard your ugly wool blanket, your three pairs of extra socks, and the knickknacks that seemed important enough to keep until they get stolen by someone who needs them more. With a cat around, even the rats will leave you alone.

After wrapping her new wool blanket around herself, Cassandra Lailoni Antone thought she couldn't possibly spend a warmer night. But then she was visited by a small black cat with hair that was so badly matted that leaves and small twigs were kept securely in place. The cat paused at Cassandra's feet and then walked up to her head, then back to her feet, and finally up to her head again. Only Cassandra's head was left outside the ugly wool blanket, so the tiny cat curled up on her ear and fell asleep.

Cassandra had planned to return to Louie's Bookstore and Café that morning to see how many women came to collect on the fortunes she had cast for them. But God sent a cat to keep her company overnight, so she slept late instead. It is always better to sweat at night than to shiver.

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