The calico cat came out to greet my granddaughter and me as we neared the East parking lot of the Irvington Community Schools on University Avenue. We were walking to what Myah calls “The Fountain.” Irving Circle was one of the places the four-year-old would willingly walk to with her grandfather, and the cat was often a stop on our way. The cat was known to many in the neighborhood near University and Oak and seemed to be well acquainted with the school students.
The first time that we saw the cat, Myah was excited, and I was wary; I am not a fan of razor wire claws. But the cat came from the front porch of a house that sits on the east side of the driveway into the school’s parking lot, walked ahead of us, turned, and laid down on the street in front of us. It rolled onto its back and presented its belly. I know that in some animals, this is an offer of acceptance, and I allowed Myah to kneel beside the cat and pet that offered belly. That first meeting added excitement to our journeys to the fountain, for Myah was ever eager to see the cat. One day, a man came out of the house that the cat seemed to frequent and told us that the cat’s name was “Street,” saying that he had found the cat wandering in the street and adopted it. Or at least, provided it with a place to eat and a porch to camp on. “I just named him ‘Street’ because that’s where I found him.”
Myah and her mother are no longer my roommates and I live too far away from University for us to walk to the fountain. On a recent visit to me, Myah said that she wanted to get a cat, but “mommy doesn’t like cats.” I told her of the time when her mother was young and her grandfather and grandmother had a cat, and how I had to climb into a sewer to rescue “Fritzy.” I did not tell her of the “Sofa Cat,” (Weekly View, April 14, 2022) the cat that I found under the sofa one day. Myah also told me that she didn’t know where Street was, and that no one had seen the cat for a while.
I spoke to Myah’s mother, and she had sad news about the friendly calico. The owner of the house that Street had been frequenting for about 10 years had some medical issues that kept him away from home for a time, and neighbors had been tasked with feeding and caring for the cat. Street has not been seen for some time, and Lauren told me that it hurts to walk by the house and see the gradual removal of the trays and bowls that had served as the cat’s buffet. That great calico had added joy to our walks when I was Myah’s roommate. We often slowed our pace after we crossed Oak street, hoping that the cat would come to greet us. I have pictures of Myah sitting on the ground beside the cat, her hand on its belly, the two of them sun-struck and beautiful.
Fritzy the cat, once freed from the sewer, would occasionally leave for weeks, then return wearing a different collar. He had more than one home; perhaps when he tired of the offerings at one house, he would return to the other. I hope that Street has found another home; the cat was a joy to Myah, her mom, and me.
cjon3acd@att.net