On zigzag maps and the path category of an inverse semigroup

We study the path category of an inverse semigroup admitting unique maximal idempotents and give an abstract characterization of the inverse semigroups arising from zigzag maps on a left cancellative category. As applications we show that every inverse semigroup is Morita equivalent to an inverse semigroup of zigzag maps and hence the class of Cuntz-Krieger $C^*$-algebras of singly aligned categories include the tight $C^*$-algebras of all countable inverse semigroups, up to Morita equivalence.