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story identification - Accident on space station orbiting pulsar kills human crew but cat survives it


After reading this question about pet cats in space, I remembered a short story I read a few years ago (on the order of 5 years).


A space station is orbiting a pulsar so that the scientists on it can study the pulsar. There are only a few scientists on the station (I believe only two, and they may have been a husband/wife team) but they also have a pet cat on board. Unfortunately, there is an accident which results in the deaths of the scientists (it might have been a meteorite that punctured the station). The cat was in a different compartment at the time and survives the accident.


I don't remember how the story ends. I believe the cat is found by an astronaut investigating the damaged space station, and the astronaut attempts to rescue the cat by putting it in his suit. I'm not sure if the cat is successfully rescued, though.


I'm not sure when it was written, but I'd guess 1970s to 1990s. I'm not sure who the author is, either.


What is the name of this story and who wrote it?




Answer



This is "The Cat’s Pajamas" by Jack McDevitt.


The author's own description matches your question quite nicely:



Tell us a bit about your story. What’s it about?


A supply vehicle arrives at a pulsar research station, but finds the place has been destroyed by an asteroid. The only survivor is a cat. There’s no obvious way to rescue the animal. And to attempt it would be exceedingly dangerous. So let’s just leave it. Right? Everybody loves a kitten. They’d like to help it, but a rescue doesn’t look possible. And ultimately, how much are we willing to put on the line for a cat?



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