Earlier this year, after wrapping up his shift at a mall in the Philippines, Justine Leo spotted a little cat who’d apparently been abandoned out front.
“She was crying and looked hungry,” Leo told The Dodo. “I felt pity for her, so I took her home.”
Leo
and his siblings had rescued cats before, and already had several at the house — despite some initial pushback from their mom.
“Early on, my mother hated cats, but she learned to accept them,” Leo said.
The cat Leo rescued after work that day, whom he named Meymey, would go even further in changing her heart.
A few months after Meymey joined the fold, Leo’s mother grew sick. As the illness progressed, she became unable to leave her bed. While her family members were at work, they worried about her spending so much time alone.
But then Meymey stepped in.
“She always comforted my mom after she became bedridden,” Leo said. “She was always by her side. My mother really loved it.”
Sadly, Leo’s mother passed away from her illness. But the bond of love Meymey had formed with her didn’t end there.
In the days that followed, Leo’s family held a wake for their mother at a local chapel. Leo brought Meymey along, too — not expecting what she would do next.
“She walked under my mother’s coffin. Then she jumped on top,” Leo said. “I made her get down, but she kept jumping up. I got emotional when I saw it, and decided to let her be.”
Meymey appeared to be saying goodbye.
To the family, Meymey’s behavior at the wake was deeply moving — and her feelings seemed clear.
“I think Meymey understood the situation with my mom,” Leo said. “She was always by my mother’s side, and that’s where she wanted to be one last time. It was touching to see how much Meymey loves her.”
Leo and his family are still mourning their mother, but the rescue cat hasn’t stopped doing what she does best — comforting the people who gave her a second chance.
“Sometimes, when I get home from work, Meymey walks up and comforts me,” Leo said.
The little cat Leo rescued all those months ago did more than win his mother’s heart — she comforted her through her illness, and now she’s helping the rest of the family heal.
