A Cat Who Acts Like A Dog

There is a man with a cat who behaves like a dog living in central London, or perhaps I should say there is a cat who behaves like a dog with a man living in central London because, apparently, the cat always leads the way wherever they go.

I have never seen him myself but Consuelo has twice, and perhaps you have too because he sells The Big Issue magazine, a publication sold by the homeless, all over town.

Consuelo came home one day last summer and told me about a man who walked down Oxford Street with a tabby cat on his shoulders. Two weeks later she found herself walking behind them down Endell Street, this time the cat was trotting along a few paces in front of the man. She caught up with him after the pair had walked onto a side street. She made excuses “I just couldn’t let you out of my site without asking about the cat.” The man shhshed her, whispering how the cat, who was squatting on a patch of grass, was going to the loo. In a short while they were free to speak openly without fear of disturbing it,

She guessed him to be a junkie with looks possibly older than his age. She said that she found him to seem a little aggressive

Consuelo is very charming and the man was only too happy to tell her their story. He had rescued the cat from a fight with a fox. The man nursed it back to health but found that, from then on, it followed him everywhere. He was scared for the cat being knocked down on the street and bought a lead but found that the cat would lead him. It’s true apparently, if you see the pair on the streets of London the cat will be leading the way.

The man’s eyes flashed and he asked, quite out of the blue, if Consuelo might buy a copy of The Big Issue. Consuelo, unluckily, had no change about her but the man took her to be lying and walked off, complaining.