The Mysterious Black Cat

Once a week Doris has evening hours for volunteers to come in and work at Shea’s. Usually a work night at Shea’s is pretty typical…we set up for a job, do the job, clean up, and go home. One night, however, something strange happened….

A few weeks ago I was diligently painting the frame and pediment above one of the fire exit doors in the balcony. It was a really warm night so I propped open the doors in order to get some fresh air. The exit doors are very tall so I needed a 10 foot ladder to reach the pediment. As I was painting I kept noticing a crinkling sound. I just assumed that it was the plastic tarp beneath me, rustling from the breeze that was coming into the building through the opened doors. So, without looking down, I kept painting…..

After a few minutes something told me to look down. So I did. And then I almost fell off the ladder in shock….Standing directly under me was a completely black cat, with green eyes, staring up at me. Now how would you shoo away a cat from a 10 foot ladder holding a can of paint in one hand and a paint brush in the other? Hopefully very carefully…which is what I did. The problem with that was the cat was not very scared and did not really seem too interested in leaving. So I carefully made my way down the ladder, making sure not to take my eyes off him (the last thing I wanted to have to do was tell Doris that I let a cat into the building and now had no idea where he was). Thankfully by the time I made it halfway down the ladder he decided that I was close enough and scooted out the door. Relieved that I had just avoided a disaster, I climbed back up the ladder and continued painting. Only to hear that noise again. This time I didn’t hesitate to look down. Sure enough, there was the cat . So, very carefully, back down the ladder I went. And again, when I got about halfway down, the cat ran back outside. This went on about 2 or 3 more times. After a while the cat stopped coming in. I glanced out into the alley, so sure that I would see him sitting on the fire escape stairs or milling around on the ground. But there was no sign of the black cat. Then I started to panic. Did he sneak in without me seeing him? Or am I just going crazy? Without any real way to answer that question…I went back to work.

After a few more minutes of painting…that noise. The cat! Knowing the routine, I made my way down the ladder. Only this time instead of stopping halfway I went all the way down. I needed to see where the cat was going. I needed to confirm that I wasn’t going crazy. And I needed to be sure that he wasn’t anywhere inside the building.

Lucky for me I made it to the doorway just in time to see my new friend scurry down the stairs and out of the alley. I will never know where he came from. Who he belongs to. Or what made him decide to pay me a visit. But I am sure that he isn’t roaming around inside of Shea’s…and I am NOT crazy!