let the cat die

i can't remember exactly when it was, but maybe a week- 10 days ago i was walking to the trax station to catch the train to work. as i approached the platform, there were two ladies freaking out, pointing down at the tracks. i got closer and saw that there was a cat stuck on one of the railroad ties. as i got to the cat, the warning bell started ringing letting us know the train was coming.

i'm SEVERELY allergic to cats. and i hate them. in fact, i probably would have left the cat right where it was if nobody was around (probably speaks to my true character); but i couldn't just walk by and let those ladies watch that cat get liquified. so when the train was still about 100 yards away, i reached down and pulled the cat up and held it like a football so that it wouldn't run right in front of the train as it passed. i was holding this cat for maybe three seconds when the train came whizzing by. the cat completely freaked out and scratched my hands all to hell. i dropped the cat and it ran off into the darkness. my hands were bleeding and my shirt was completely covered in hair. by the time i got to work about an hour later, i was completely miserable- my hands were swollen and stinging, i couldn't stop sneezing, my eyes and throat were itching like crazy... it was awful. it took me about two days to fully recover.

i really believe i made the wrong decision that morning. had i left the cat on the tracks, the train likely would have killed it. sure, those ladies would've probably needed to consult a grief counselor, and maybe would've suffered some ptsd, but now what's gonna happen? that cat is gonna go make baby cats somewhere that nobody is going to take care of. and how many of those baby cats will get hit by cars, get diseases and scratch your kids... i should have let that cat die.