“Minnie’s a hep cat now.”

Cab Calloway

No one I know is aware of Minnie’s background but I met this particular Tabby not that long ago when the kitty was homeless. Homelessness is not only a human affair, pets share these realities with their owners and perhaps it is easier to discuss this problem using a kitty as the subject rather than a person.

When I first became acquainted with Minnie, she was officially Skinny Minnie having been out on her own for who know’s how long but she hadn’t eaten properly for some time by the looks of her. A little girl who lived in the community let me know of the kitties plight. Little girls are often kitty sensitive but this kitty would not eat the food she left out. Minnie was not a Moocher, she was definitely a Hep Cat so it was not until I made friend with her that she would come and dine on the kibble I brought her. She was also very fond of Cab Calloway tunes which we found we both had in common and we became fast friends.

After that it whenever I went out Minnie tagged along, she was outdoorsy and rather proud, the question was would she adapt to being inside or would she freak out and run away. I carefully brought her inside, prepared to be ripped to shreds. Fortunately for all parties she did agree to indoor life and a lovely widow adopted her and the two of them are very cosy and happy today.

Homelessness, inflation and despair is now the norm in western cultures. For many years now housing insecurity and ever growing numbers of people being left homeless for no fault of their own and with no end in sight is adding to the ever increasing stress in our communities. The homelessness crisis is largely ignored by governments and the media but we all know it is very real and it affects all of us daily. It is important not to add to the despair by being unnecessarily cruel to those who are truly vulnerable and instead put energies into working together with others to fix the systematic and legislative ills that are creating these hardships for all of us.