I live in a townhouse complex in northern Johannesburg, and about 8 months ago, I noticed a rather scruffy looking long-haired grey and white cat darting around every now and again. As is usual for me, when walking to my car, I chat to all the animals I come across and tried to do so with this cat too. The cat was extremely timid, but after a while he allowed me to touch him, and I was horrified to feel a mere bag of bones under all the fur and mats.
 
It seems to be a growing trend that when people move out of a complex, they just leave their cat/s behind. I just do not understand this mentality – what is happening to the human race – how can someone or a family think this is acceptable behaviour? I can only think that something similar happened to this cat; his owner/s had moved on, and simply left him behind to fend for himself.
 
I have never been and never will be able to turn my back on an animal that is obviously in such distress. So I set about trying to put some meat back on those bones! At the time, I was reading a Linda le Plante novel and the main character had a cat called Nelson, and I thought the name suited this boy. Over the months, he slowly came to trust me and I also began to try to brush him and get rid of some of the mats. However, until a few weeks ago, he would never allow me to roll him over so as I could get to work on the mats under his tummy and throat. A major breakthrough has now happened, and I am allowed to move a foreleg to the side and work on the tum-tum. J

Whilst working on his tummy area, I have discovered two ribs with big nodules on them and I can only surmise the ribs must have been broken at some stage – I shudder to think how.
 
I have tried to introduce my cat, Jami-lee to Nelson, but at 17 years of age, she is not interested to have someone else in our household. I was worried at the onset of winter, as I had no idea where Nelson would get shelter; so I rushed off to the nearest pet shop and bought a nice little house for him and a warm blankie. Sadly, he would not go near it and to this day, I do not know where he goes to find shelter.
 
Nelson recognizes my car and my voice, and I will often turn around, and there he is, just sitting behind me, patiently waiting for a meal, a backrub and a chat. He is like a grey ghost that just appears, & just a fast, disappears again.
I now follow the same routine with him as I do with Jami-lee – they both get a frontline treatment once a month, get worming treatments every 6 months, and good food & fresh water every day. The only difference is that Jami-lee is indoor whilst I am at work, and Nelson lives outdoors.
 
As the years pass, it seems I understand my fellow man less and less, and seek the company of animals more and more. That people can be so dismissive of animals and their plight will never cease to astound me – they are not disposable. There are options to just simply abandoning animals.
 
I continue to keep an eye on Nelson – with admiration, I have learnt to respect his space, and marvel at his will to survive. I hope I make life a little easier for him.
 
By Cheryl Messina