I have this cat…

I’ve always been a cat lover.  Growing up I wanted a cat, but Dad wouldn’t allow it.  One time an elderly man in our neighborhood offered me a kitten which I gladly cuddled all way home.  When my father saw it, he returned me and the kitten to the man and angrily scolded him for giving the kitten to a minor.  “She may be a minor, but she has more sense than you,” the neighbor stiffly replied.

When I married and moved away, I was free to own a cat. I named him George.   I hadn’t made many friends yet where we lived. My husband worked night shift. George would perch on top of the couch and place one paw on my shoulder while we watched TV together.  It was a lonely time.  George was good company. 

Back to the garden cat.   I thought this cat would go back where she belonged, but she followed me everywhere.  She appeared well fed. Someone had been taking care of her.  I called around the neighborhood, but no one claimed her.  As empty nesters, my husband and I didn’t want pet responsibility, so we took her to a shelter.  A few days later, a call came from someone I had obviously missed, missing their cat.  I gave the lady directions to the shelter.  The next day the fluffy furball was back in our yard.  I promptly called the owner who told me not to feed her and she’d come back home.  Right.  Tell a mother she can’t feed a crying child…or a meowing cat.  More calls to the neighbor produced a perturbed “Clearly, this cat wants you more than me, you can have her!”   I was delighted.  My husband, not so much, ruled she must stay outside. I named her Carly.

This cat stole my heart and steals my spare cash. Been to a Vet lately?  Shots, flea treatments, boarding when we vacation, cat food and cat treats.  But she gives me such joy.  She crouches near wherever I am working in my garden and curiously watches whatever I am doing. We have a carport and she has a warm igloo to sleep in when it’s cold. Every morning she peers into my sunroom window waiting to be fed. She follows me when I walk out with coffee to watch the sunrise, sits in my lap, and softly purrs her peace.

I don’t know why people–or pets–pop into our life when they do.  But l believe in a God of all comfort who sees us in our dark and lonely hours. A God who lifts us and gifts us with exactly who and what we need, when we need it.  The summer day this cat appeared in my garden, not only was I suffering from a severe illness, I was grieving the death of my father. 

Perhaps an unseen angel called the cat to my side. Who knows, maybe Daddy sent me a parting gift, wrapped in gray, that refused to go away.  

ConnieLakeyMartin, Editor
HEART
www.nostalgiapress.com
5/13/2025