The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat’s days were numbered.The doctor had said there wasn’t anything more that could be done,that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.
The man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed.The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear rolled down the Man’s cheek and landed on the Cat’s forehead.The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look.
“Why do you cry, Man？”the Cat asded.“Because you can’t bear the thought of losing me？ Because you think you can never replace me？”The Man nodded “yes.”
“And where do you think I’ll be when I leave you？”the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. “Close your eyes, Man,” the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told.
“What color are my eyes and fur？” the Cat asked. “Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown,” the Man replied.
“And where is it that you most often see me？”asked the Cat. “I see you…on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds…on my favorite chair…on my desk lying on the papers I need…on the pillow next to my head at night.” “Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is close your eyes,” said the Cat.
“Pick up that piece of string from the floor——there, my ‘toy.’” The Man opened his eyes, then reached over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it. “Now take each end of the string in one hand,” the Cat ordered. The Man did so.
“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death. Now bring the two ends together,” the Cat said. The Man complied.
“You have made a continuous circle,” said the cat.“Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string？” The Man inspected the string and then shook his head “no.”
“Close your eyes again,” the Cat said.“Now lick your hand.” The Man widened his eyes in surprise.
“Just do it,” the Cat said.“Lick your hand,think of me in all my familiar places, think about all the pieces of string.”
The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop,and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed.The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.
The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. He opened his eyes and through his tears looked over at the circle of string he still held clutched in his hand.
One day, not long after, there was a new Cat on his lap. She was a lovely calico and white…very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same.
男人非常傷心。他知道貓余下的日子不多了。醫生說已經沒得治了，他只能把貓帶回家，并盡可能地讓他在剩下的時間里過得舒服些。
男人把貓放在腿上，嘆了口氣。貓睜開眼睛，呼嚕呼嚕地叫著，抬眼看了看男人。一滴眼淚從男人的臉頰邊滑落，落在了貓的額頭上。貓有點不高興地看了他一眼。
“你哭個什么啊，伙計？”貓問道，“因為你無法承受將要失去我的念頭？因為你認為永遠都沒有什么能代替我？”男人點了點頭。“是啊。”
“那么你認為我離開你以后，會到什么地方去了呢？”貓問道。男人無望地聳了聳肩。“閉上眼睛吧，伙計，”貓說。男人疑惑地看了他一眼，但還是聽話地閉上了眼睛。
“我的眼睛和毛皮是什么顏色的？”貓問。“你的眼睛是金色的，你的毛皮是濃郁而溫暖的褐色的。”男人回答道。
“那你最常在什么地方見到我呢？”貓問。“我經常見到你……在廚房地窗臺上看鳥……在我最喜歡的椅子上……躺在桌子上我需要用的文件上……晚上睡在我腦袋邊的枕頭上。”“那么，無論什么時候你想見我，你只要閉上你的眼睛就可以了。”貓說。
“把地上的那段繩子撿起來——那里，我的‘玩具’。”男人睜開眼睛，伸手撿起了繩子。繩子大約有兩英尺（約0.6米）長，貓曾經能夠玩著繩子自娛自樂一玩就是幾個小時。“現在用兩只手捏住繩子的兩端。”貓命令道。男人照做了。
“你左手捏著的那端就是我的出生，而右手的那端就是我的死亡�，F在把兩端連在一起。”貓說道。男人又照做了。
“你做出了一個連貫的圓圈，”貓說，“這個繩子上的任意一點同其他點有什么不同嗎？比繩子的其他部分更好或者更差嗎？”男人審視著那根繩子，然后搖了搖頭。“沒有。”
“再次閉上你的眼睛，”貓說，“現在舔舔你的手。”男人驚訝地睜大了眼睛。
“照我說的做吧，”貓說。“舔舔你的手，想想我在所有我熟悉的地方，想想所有的繩子。”
要舔自己的手，男人覺得很蠢，不過他還是照做了。他發現了貓所知道的秘密——舔爪子能讓你平靜下來，并讓你能夠思考得更加清楚。他繼續舔著，他的嘴角開始上翹，好多天來第一次露出了微笑。他等待著貓叫停，可是沒等到，于是他睜開了眼睛。貓的眼睛已經閉上了。他摸了摸貓溫暖的褐色皮毛，可是貓已經去了。
男人用力地閉上了眼睛，淚如泉涌。他看到貓蹲在窗臺上，然后是他的床上，然后躺在他的重要文件上。他看到貓在他腦袋邊的枕頭上，看到他明亮的金黃色的眼睛還有鼻子和耳朵上深褐色的毛發。他睜開眼睛，透過淚水看向他依然捏在手里的繩圈。
不久以后的某一天，他的膝上有了一只新的貓咪。她是一只可愛的白色花斑貓——與之前那只他深愛的貓是那么的不同，然而又是那么的相同。
