This is ALMOST over the top, but the last sentence - "she had been such a good cat" - saves it and turns the tone to something almost dry or mockingly disillusioned.
This whole paragraph hits really nicely, understated, logical, but you can feel the transition, as Gavrilenko says, from boy to man.
That line stands out, a kindness now serving a greater goal later. Nice!
That's a really sharp, visual sort of imagery. Nice!