Chatters: One bad day

I came across this story some years ago, I believe it took place on the South side of Philadelphia. I’ve long since forgotten the name of the victim, so for the sake of the story we’ll call him Chatters.


This particular day, the bad one, Chatters spent the afternoon intermittently sunning and resting his eyes high atop a balcony railing. At three o’clock in the afternoon, cruel fate and a group of street toughs happen upon our resting hero—air gun in tow. For the sake of humanity, I’d like to think the ficus tree was their target, but dear Chatters was the unfortunate victim of an air gun shooting.

Knocked from his slumber, the gunshot caused Chatters to lose his bearings.
Chatters was falling.

Perhaps it was luck, or a quick prayer to Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of cats, but Chatters was able to land on the sidewalk below—bloodied and shaken, but alive.

At this point, one final unfortunate act betook dear Chatters. It’s hard to tell exactly what happened—maybe he was startled by a passerby, maybe he was just unaccustomed to being outside of the home, regardless, poor Chatters stumbled into the street and was struck by a passing car.



With the help of superb veterinary care, Chatters survived this ordeal, and it turns out a cat’s memory generally spans about ten minutes—he probably has no recollection of it all. I hear that he can still be found on that very same balcony sunning—blissfully unaware that tragedy could potentially strike at any moment.

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of long-time
Mean Cards contributor and friend, Cat Catman.
He had been battling cancer for two years.
This was one of his favorite stories.
He is missed.