Little Blessings That Meow

They say that all good and bad news come in sets of threes.  Well, almost  six years ago, I received bad news...
in three bigblows:

I lost my beloved cat of 18 years, Mooshka, to lung cancer.  I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and while I was hospitalized during that horrific week, and was told to avoid stress at all costs, I had to put my other cat, Floofie, of 18 years to sleep because he'd had bowel disease and the vet said it would be inhumane to keep him alive..  It was a horrible time for me.  And even to this day, I hate that I had to make that decision all alone to put them to sleep. 

Six years later, I get a phone call from two of my friends, Jen and Millie, who told me that they found a kitten.  She had been abandoned by her mother. She was a calico (black, orange and white) with the bluest eyes and only 2 weeks old.  I told them, "Oh, I can't. I just can't."  Five minutes later I get a text telling me that they posted a picture on Facebook and it was love at first sight.  That night she was home with me...a big red splotch in the middle of her forehead.  I was planning a solo trip to Sedona,  Arizona, also known as "Red Rock Country."  Therefore, I appropriately named her Sedona.

Two weeks later, her eyes turned green and so did her mood.  She began biting, jumping on me at night, an dit was becoming painful.  A trip to the vet later, I was told by him that she needed a play mate...and the search began.  I promised myself I would NOT do it again...I would not get attached to another animal- I sould not be financially responsible - I would not be vulnerable to ever having to say goodbye to another pet again - it was sheerly painful.  I literally almost fainted when the first one died. 

Since I was a child I had a BIG and SENSITIVE heart for animals.  My family makes fun of me to this day because I brought home any and all stray animals to my home when I was a child.  When my mom would say, "Judy, mama, there's no room for any more,"  I would lose it. I would cry with the lower lip trembling and everything, and I'd say, "PLEASE, PLEEEASSSE Mom!  Where are they gonna go?  They're going to die....we can't let them die.  Do you want it to die??"  I am grateful to my mom for allowing me to exercise so much compassion at an early age...and to this day I don't regret it.  So back to finding Sedona a playmate.

I drove to the no-kill shelter in Jersey City, and began my search for the perfect playmate kitten.  There were so many kittens and cats alike...and my inner child wanted to take them all home.  There were many kittens just a couple of months old, all spunky and vocal.  But in this cage, there was a kitten hiding way in the back.  She was quiet...and she was white, light gray and light beige.  I asked the man about her. "Oh, that's Frenchie.  Someone adopted her, but never came back. She's shy...she was abused in her last home."  That's all I needed to hear.  Frenchie was on her way home.

Sedona is spunky, feisty, vocal and she loves to play fetch, believe it or not. It is not enough to her to just play with toys. I have to toss them high in the air and she jumps each time catching it with impressive marksmanship.  She still bites, but only once in a while.  She bullies Frenchie sometimes, but ffor the most part, they love each other. 

Frenchie is shy, timid, afraid, traumatized..lol.  But after a few months, she loves to sit on my lap.  She goes limp in my arms when I carry her, which I understand is a characteristic of the Ragdoll breed in cats.  Frenchie also opens her mouth to meow but nothing comes out, and it always makes me laugh. The best thing about her is that she always shows me her stomach and lets me rub it for hours as she purrs; which I understand is a show of complete trust...something Sedona won't let me do.  As quiet as Frenchie is, when Sedona does bully Frenchie, she surpirses both of us with a lion's growl, not a hiss... a growl!  LOL.  And Sedona is extremely affectionate in the morning. I always wake up to her head resting on my hand.

My point?  I don't have a husband, or a live in boyfriend, or a roommate...and there are times when I get lonely.  Coming home to these little creatures completes my day just enough for me to be reminded that I am loved unconditionally. That's what pets do for us...they are God's reminders that we are loved unconditionally.  Sedona and Frenchie are my little blessings that meow. 

Tomorrow, I will blog about Frenchie's recent brush with death.  She's home now, and she's purring on my lap with her stomach turned up!  Amen.