Pitiful is the meaning of pathetic in this sentence because the cat is fully soaked in the rain which is a pitiful scenery. It make Natalee very emotional and sad. There are some people who can't see animals in difficulty and when they see it, they become emotional and sad. There are also some more meanings of the word pathetic such as moving and touching etc.
The reason for the expansion to the thirteen colonies was for religious freedoms as well as other freedoms. Without religion perhaps they may have neverbranched out.
