I only saw this movie once, 30 years ago, when it was first broadcast as a TV-movie. This is an excellent movie. It portrays a very poor family, and a little boy (J.T.) secretly adopts a cat. He doesn't want his mother to know he's been using their grocery money to feed the cat. It has a tear-jerker near the end, but then a happy ending with a small surprise. Great movie, I'd love to see it again.