The Cat Who Saved the World

As the climate worsens and human leaders ignore the situation, the cats move into action.

The planet grew warmer, the weather more intense, and all the animals agreed that someone had to do something. Individually, each species attempted to fix the problem.

The birds sang about the world’s beauty, and while many humans enjoyed the new, complex songs, the human leaders didn’t hear as they sat alone in their massive soundproofed buildings. The dogs increased their affection, but while the leaders enjoyed the extra love, they couldn’t turn away from the allure of money. The whales sank the leader’s yachts, however helicopters saved the decision makers.

The animals didn’t know what to do. Monkeys howled, the cows complained, and the horses refused to run, but the leaders didn’t notice, blinded by money. Each morning, the leaders woke up with a goal to get more, to have their bank accounts grow ever larger. Experts taught better ways to increase the efficiency of growing the bank account size. They didn’t have time to hear the environmentalists discuss the planet's problems. They never learned how to save the world.

When the sensitive fish and frogs screamed about the heat, all the animals gathered and agreed they needed to do something drastic. The carnivores howled to eat all the humans, but the smarter animals countered that humans had guns. The elephants, rhinos, and hippos stomped that they would destroy the human houses and buildings, but the leaders didn’t live near them, nor did the animals have the means to move closer to the major cities across the oceans. The snakes and spiders began biting humans, causing the leaders to poison the forests and wilderness to kill all of the snakes and spiders, which made the situation worse. The concern and meetings grew so intense that some humans even noticed the strange animal behavior.

Finally, an orange tabby cat yawned, stretched, and calmly interjected, ’We cats will fix the problem.’

The animals laughed at the little animal and told it to go back to sleep and leave the problem to the smart animals. The tabby licked its paw, yawned, and walked away with its tail high. The other animals taunted the backside of the arrogant feline. Even the great cats joined in the teasing. However, the tabby meant what it said and had a plan.

Cats picked leaders and went to work.

A pure grey cat picked an oil company chief executive officer (CEO). The oil company’s board of directors wanted to change their environmental policy to help cut down on CO2 emissions, but that would cost the company money. The CEO wanted to make more money and planned to stop the motion. Fifteen minutes before the meeting, the grey cat curled up on the CEO’s lap and went to sleep. The human petted as the soft grey crescent purred. Three minutes before the meeting, the CEO tried to move, but the cat refused to wake, instead rolling and demanding more petting. Losing their sense of time while enjoying the tranquility, the CEO missed the meeting. The policy passed, and the world improved.

The hairless beige cat chose an expert investor to purchase it. On the hour when the investor needed to invest in an overfishing fishery, the cat ‘accidentally’ walked across the computer’s keyboard, erasing an important file and causing the computer to restart. The investor missed the critical deadline, and the fishery didn’t get the critical investment and closed. The world's fish stocks grew larger as a result.

The youngest child of the President of the United States received a silver kitten for their birthday. The president needed to vote Yes or No on an important environmental issue. A Yes vote meant an environmental protection agency would receive more funding, while a No vote meant the agency would close. The President reached to vote No because an important donor demanded it. At the critical moment, the young cat, hidden under the Presidential chair, struck. As the President's finger moved toward the No button, the kitten leaped. The silver ball of fur nudged the finger enough that it pressed the Yes button, and then the kitten turned, and with the largest, cutest eyes, pushed its nose against the President's hand. Distracted, the President rubbed the kitten behind its ears and overlooked the button press until after the vote closed. The kitten succeeded, and the Environmental Protection Agency could better protect the world’s environment.

All over the world, cats nudged leaders, deleted computer files, delayed or distracted, and the earth, much to the other animals' surprise, grew healthier.

As the orange tabby cat curled up to sleep, the animals asked, “Why?”

The cat just smiled and enjoyed the warmth of the sun while one servant scratched behind its ears and the other opened a can of fish.