Writing what will later be revealed to be a letter to his estranged father, the unnamed protagonist, a postman, questions how the world and his own life would change if cats disappeared. If he himself were to disappear, then the world would continue on unchanged. The postman is dying, and has had a strange week. The postman promises that the letter will explain everything, and will be long because it is his first and final letter, as well as his last will and testament.

After two weeks of feeling increasingly unwell, the postman visits his doctor and learns that what he assumed to be a cold is actually a terminal brain tumor. He has a maximum of six months left to live, but the doctor says he’ll be lucky to survive the week. The postman imagines running from the doctor’s office screaming, colliding with passersby, and falling to his knees. In fact, he listens calmly as the doctor explains his options, feeling numb and as though he is underwater. Slowly returning home, he is irritated that the buskers on the street are wasting their lives and deeply sad that he is going to die prematurely at 30 years of age.