Okay, I've been really good friends with this kid I know for a while. He was the first cool kid I met when I moved to my old town, so we hung out a lot.

I'd go over to his house to listen to records and hang out all the time, and he had two cats. One was a fat indoor-only cat named Quicksilver, who was basically a lump who'd bump his head against you all the time and bite and claw at your hands and ankles.

The other cat was an outdoor cat. They'd had her for 15 years and she lived outside her entire life. I've never gotten the entire story, but the poor thing was barely fed and lived and spent most of the winters and cold nights in a wooden box they had built and lined with old towels. They always kept her fed, but she was always so so so skinny and looked really rough. Whenever I went to knock on the door, she'd come running over and meow until I reached down to pet her.

I offered to take her home quite a number of times, even though we weren't really supposed to have cats in the house/apartment (my dad and I moved quite a few times thoughout my time there).. like I said, I've never gotten the full story on why she was outside in the first place, but all my friend kept saying was, "My dad hates her, so she lived outside." He also always told me that she "didn't mind living outside, she's used to it." Apparently she'd have to be used to it.. 15 years of living outside must be pretty rough, though.

Anyhow, my friend and I talked the other night via AIM and he told me that the cat had died a few weeks ago, and they buried her under the tree in their backyard and "tossed a rock down to mark the spot."

It still really hurts that I wasn't able to take this cat, I think my dad and I could have given her a few awesome last months before she passed away.

What bugs me even more is this guy was vegetarian for YEARS (I'm not sure if he still is or not), which I don't understand at all. I guess not all vegetarians/vegans believe in animal rights and treating animals in the best manner possible.