Man approaching “scared and frozen” avenue cat unprepared for what he finds

An animal lover has recalled the second he went over to pet a cat mendacity on the street, solely to come across an sudden shock.

Josh Rickard, who lives in a metropolis within the Canadian Prairies, likes nothing greater than going for a protracted walk within the night and the chance it presents to interact with a few of the native wildlife.

“It’s not unusual to come across all kinds of animals similar to deer, moose, foxes, and coyotes in addition to the neighborhood pets,” Rickard instructed Newsweek. “I’m a cat lover (I’ve two of my very own) so I at all times have time to cease and pet one and make associates.” However, one specific encounter could have him pondering twice about approaching a stray pet once more.

If there’s one pet the web loves greater than most, it is cats. Feline followers will spend numerous hours gazing at images and watching movies of their furry associates.

But that is not time wasted. A 2015 research revealed within the journal Computers in Human Behaviour discovered that watching cat movies offered viewers with an vitality increase and generated constructive feelings whereas lowering detrimental ones.

The outcomes got here from a survey of near 7,000 individuals who have been requested to reply questions on how cat movies have an effect on their temper. It confirmed that folks felt much less anxious, unhappy or irritated after participating with cat-related media.

The constructive emotions generated by the content material additionally outweighed any worries or guilt over spending time on this method.

All of which could clarify why Rickard’s image of the “cat” that he encountered out on his trails ended up incomes hundreds of upvotes after being posted to Reddit below the deal with u/Mandatory_Antelope. However, it is more likely that they discovered what transpired to be completely hilarious.

As Rickard defined: “One night time as I used to be out, I noticed what I assumed was a pure white, long-haired cat throughout the street from me.

“Usually, once I encounter an unfamiliar cat, I squat down and maintain out my hand so it involves me. Often they’re pleasant. That night time I did the identical. I obtained low and referred to as out to it in a reassuring tone.”

However, when the cat failed to reply, he turned involved. “It gave the impression to be scared and frozen in place simply taking a look at me. I continued to attempt to coax it and took a few steps ahead. Again nothing. Finally, I stood up and commenced to cross the road, however after only some steps I started to really feel one thing was off,” he stated.

It was solely when he lastly obtained near the “cat” that he realized the reality and commenced to snort out loud. It wasn’t a cat in any respect.

“I had spent the final couple of minutes talking to a white sandbag that was holding down some form of drainage hose,” he stated. “I used to be really upset that I didn’t get to satisfy and pet a brand new cat that night time, however I had gained a fairly shaggy dog story to inform.”

Keen to share his expertise with fellow feline followers, Rickard snapped a photograph on his cellphone and shared the outcomes to Reddit. It turned out others had performed precisely the identical.

“I used to be driving and noticed a bit of kitty on the facet of the street that upon nearer look realized it was only a bag,” one person wrote, with one other commenting: “That’s okay, I are inclined to candy discuss plastic luggage now and again.”

A 3rd added: “Y’all simply made me really feel higher in regards to the surprisingly excessive variety of inanimate objects I’ve pspsps at,” whereas a fourth confessed: “I as soon as spent a stable quarter-hour kneeling down pspspsing at what I considered a cat. I used to be with this woman I used to be making an attempt to this point on the time and I instructed her all animals appear to like me. I used to be so embarrassed this cat would not method us and much more embarrassed after we gave up and walked towards that grocery bag.”

Rickard stated the sandbag remained there for just a few weeks, throughout which era he “made a degree to say hello” each time he walked by it on his nightly walks.

“It took me abruptly at how unhappy I used to be when one night time it was gone,” he stated. “I had grown affectionate to an inanimate object. I ought to have named it Wilson…”

Thankfully, due to his Reddit put up, Wilson has been enshrined into the web as a warning to anybody approaching what they may suppose is a cat.