It was dead.

[Madoka literally traded her own life for a cat, because she did not survive that timeline.]

[but she can't help but feel strange, either. why did it take her a moment to remember something as life-changing as the reason she became a magical girl? she shakes her head.]

It ... sounds pretty silly, doesn't it? But I guess, in the end, I would have been happy with any wish I chose. I think what I really wanted was to be strong enough to help others.