Back in the present, Ove argues with Parvaneh that he won’t keep the cat in his home. However, he loses the argument and takes care of the cat, even though he insists, “I’m not running a cat repair company” (151). The next day, Ove takes the cat with him on his morning walk. Since there is still snow outside, he has little socks for the cat to wear (provided by a veterinarian friend of Parvaneh’s), which Ove thinks ridiculous: “A cat wearing socks—it can’t be natural” (151).

Ove brings the cat with him to the florist’s where he buys Sonja’s usual flowers for her grave. The cat proves to be an obnoxious creature. For instance, when Ove tries to get it to sit on newspapers in the car to spare the Saab’s seat, it keeps pushing them off. The cat also licks Ove’s steering wheel and seatbelt while he’s in the florist shop. To prevent further damage, he brings it outside with him to Sonja’s gravestone.

He tells Sonja: “‘This is the Cat Annoyance. It’s living with us now. Almost froze to death outside our house. […] He looked like that when he came,’ he clarifies, a sudden defensive note in his voice” (151).