I cant believe I found this movie. I used to watch this movie every year faithfully when I was 6 or 7 yrs old. I cried each time. And I mean I CRIED - bcz I connected immediately & directly with the entire movie - character(s), surroundings and especially the cat. J.T. was from harlem, i grew up in the Bronx, NY. I lived in poverty just as he did - he kept his cat in a stove in an abandoned building. We used to turn our ovens on daily to keep the apt warm bcz we had no heat. My bedroom window faced the back of another building and alley, and in that alley lived a large poor family that always had stray cats. These cats used to breed litters of kittens & I used to always go to their house to play with the kittens. I was ALWAYS bringing a kitten home - always a black kitten - and would beg my mom to let me keep the kitten but she'd always say no. The one or two times she let me have the kitten, after some time, she'd wind up telling me I had to get rid of him. To this day I have a resentment towards her for that - I remember too the stupid boys on my block used to hurt and kill cats - swing 'em by their tail off rooftops or chase the dogs/cats till they got hit by cars. I used to cry all the time, especially because I experienced so much sadness when I saw the stray cats in my neighborhood who I wanted to bring home but couldn't & I'd see these kittens/cats every day. I would play with them, give them what I can to eat. I grew into adulthood acting and feeling the same way towards cats/dogs - feeding strays, feeling sadness because they are strays, wishing I can bring every last one of them home, I'm one of the biggest animal lovers you could know. When J.T. took care of his cat I swear I related so much to him ... the ending of the movie I would cry so hard and I'd be sad for days. This movie stuck me deeply - to the point now, I'm 46 yrs old & still think about this movie, happened to look it up to see if I can purchase it somewhere & found some leads (I hope). I'm definitely buying the DVD & I guarantee you when I watch it again I will be crying just as I did when I was a kid. Today, I am happy as hell to say I own a cat (smiles) - and my cat is black .... just as the kittens were that I used to always bring home & the same as J.T.'s cat (minus the white markings, my cat has a white tip at his tail) .... I still love J.T. and his cat .....