I live next to the parking lot of a small shopping centre. If you look out of my window, you see a sidewalk and parking spaces. People always say it must be very noisy, but we hardly hear anything (good sound isolation). There’s also a small plus side: my cats love being at that window, so they can watch people going by. We sometimes recognise people shopping there since it’s a small town, small shopping centre, etc.

One evening, it’s terribly wintery weather: harsh, cold winds, rain… a time when one should be inside with a hot drink. I’m in the kitchen preparing dinner when I suddenly hear the whiny cry of a child. That happens sometimes; the house may be isolated well, but we do sometimes hear the outside world. 

Suddenly, my wife rushes in. 

Wife: “Where is the cat? Quick! He needs to be in the window, now!”

We have two cats, but only one can be picked up. And I trust my wife fully, so I grab the cat and hurry it to the window. Outside, I see a little girl, my guess is three or years old, pulling their parent with a — to me — whiny tone. The girl spots the cat, points happily, waves… and leaves. 

Me: “What just happened?”

Wife: “The girl wanted to wave at the cat, but the cat wasn’t here.”

Me: “How did you know?”

Wife: “It was her whine. It was the ‘wait-stop-this-is-very-important-to-me’ whine. You know, the whine you get when a kid drops their toy but the parent doesn’t notice and walks on, pulling the kid along. She pointed at our window, so I just guessed she was talking about our cat. The parent seemed to be explaining something, but the kid wouldn’t budge. I know that she has to learn that the cat might not be there one day, but it’s cold and wet outside. I couldn’t just let them stand there, with the parent struggling to get their kid home. Perhaps I undermined the parent this way, but now they don’t have to deal with an upset child in terrible weather.”

The child braved terrible weather and their parent… just to wave at my cat. And of course, my cat didn’t care one bit about it!