For SORCHA and anyone under the age of 50:

A neighbor was asked to care for his friend's cat while the friend was away on vacation. The very first day the cat died. When the vacationer called to see how his beloved Fluffy was faring, the neighbor said "The cat is dead". After he recovered from the shock, the cat owner angrily told his friend that he could have broken the news to him gently. "You could have told me today that the cat had climbed out on the roof. And tomorrow that you still couldn't get her to come in. Eventually I would have been prepared for the worst. But to just blurt out that she is dead was cruel". His friend agreed, apologized, and just before hanging up the phone said "By the way, your mother climbed out on the roof and I can't get her to come in".