ontheedgeofeverything

I came across an Instagram reel a little while ago that I continue to periodically think about. I wish I had saved it, but, alas, I did not, so my own explanation of the reel will have to suffice.

**Update: A lovely follower of mine shared the video with me. You can view it here.

The reel was a clip from a news station wherever this story occurred, and it featured an elderly gentleman who, to the best of my recollection, was in his 80’s. He lived alone, aside from a cat he named Fluffy whom he welcomed into his home a couple of years prior.

There wasn’t a ton of information about the cat’s origins, but it may have been a rescue.

One evening, the gentleman took a shower. He left his cell phone on top of the counter in a nearby room, and he had to remove his medical alert bracelet to shower, likely because it was not waterproof, if I had to guess. Upon exiting the shower, the man slipped and took a nasty tumble; his arm was pinned beneath him, and he was unable to get up.

This poor man lay on his bathroom floor, in tremendous pain, for 16 hours. He explains in the reel he figured there was no hope in terms of someone coming to assist him, until he suddenly remembered that there was another being with him in his home – Fluffy.

At the start of the video, the man explained how he often speaks to his cat and how it has become a little game between the two of them. He said that anytime the phone rang, he would look at Fluffy and say ‘Ring, ring!’ and never gave the interaction a lot of thought. When he remembered Fluffy was there with him, he called for him, and started yelling “Ring, ring,” over and over again. To the man’s disbelief, a few minutes later Fluffy appeared and placed the man’s cell phone on his chest so he could call for help.

Cats are kinder than you might think.

Photo by Manja Vitolic on Unsplash