Neighborhood Watch

Joey found the first cat glassy-eyed and unable to keep its head up under Mrs. White’s hydrangeas. He blamed a virus, but when the stubby-legged tabby staggered and collapsed on the sidewalk he knew one of the neighbors was poisoning the strays. That summer quilts covered Joey’s windows so he could sleep during the day. At night, he chain-smoked in the shadows of evergreens, lurked behind garages. Twice Ms. Wilson woke up to find her sliding door open. Mr. Whitmore took out a stop sign—someone cut his brake lines. September, three kittens squeezed out from beneath the Parker’s shed.

Photo credit: Nico Nelson