I'm not sure about the cat in general, but I do think that the "timeline" of how quick the cat will die is symbolic. Stone asks the guy at the shelter how long and the guy says 10 days. you see this look in stone's eyes about time running out. possibility he is equating it to Nas and the amount of time he has with…

its interesting that only one of the men on the street "teases" nas about being muslim. makes me wonder about the friend.