I'm sorry, little cat · 3:35pm Nov 10th, 2023
There's a bunch of stray/feral cats that like to visit our house looking for food. Among them was this large black cat that my mom liked to call "Guardian". He was the friendly and vocal sort, and he'd jump onto a bench on our porch to get within petting range. I'm pretty sure he'd been visiting our house for at least a year and a half, probably longer.
The last time I saw him alive was yesterday evening after work. I was helping my mom set up some sleeping quarters on the porch for the cats, in preparation for winter. He was being his usual friendly self, meowing and rubbing up against me, and letting me pet him.
I got up at around 7am this morning to put some food and water outside like I typically do. Guardian was lying on his side in the middle of the road. He didn't even twitch when I approached him. My best guess is that a car hit him in the middle of the night. I told my parents about it immediately, but Guardian was gone by the time my dad got out there to move him. I'm pretty sure someone else saw him and moved him themselves, because there was no chance of his survival at that point.
Just seeing a cat lying like that, completely still, eyes unmoving, not even breathing... I don't ever want to see that again. Ever.
Rest in peace, little Guardian. I'm sorry.
...
I have to go. My mind's not in the proper space for anything right now, much less writing, and I don't think it will be for a while.
