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| Missing a Tail image courtesy photobucket.com |
“Mama come quick! The mother cat has moved all the babies except one!” was the alarmed cry from one of my children.
We were on a weekend vacation up in the mountains. Excited to explore, my children had discovered a deep hole where a wild mother cat had hidden her kittens. She must have sensed their discovery, so she had moved them to protect her litter from my sweet, curious kids.
But wait! Not all were missing. Back in the bottom of the hole there she was almost hidden..
There she was so tiny and so black, this little one that was left behind. Her eyes still closed, she was so small, so weak and helpless.
Apparently the mother cat tired after moving so many kittens, or for some reason of her own she did not take this last baby with her. Perhaps it was that the mother cat perceived something wrong with this baby.
Was something missing? - Yes, this kitten was missing her tail.
We took this new kitten home with us and began to feed her with a small doll bottle. As she grew, her eyes finally opened. She couldn’t have been more than two weeks old by then.
She was missing a mother, but I became her ‘Mama’.
In the mornings, she would sit on my fuzzy bedroom slipper as I fixed breakfast for the children. She was black as ink, so we named her ‘Inky.’
In every way but one, Inky was a normal cat. There was one conspicuous difference; she was missing a tail!
The Manx breed of cat is tailless. They are excellent hunters, which we soon discovered. There was nothing weak about this cat!
One of my daughters loved to hold Inky and sing to her, and little Inky would purr back her own song.
In Zephaniah 3:17 (New King James Version) it is written,
“The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
What a thought! In our weakened state, God loves us and rejoices over us! As I think about it, I am reminded of what Jesus did for us by taking our weakness and causing us to become something lovely and strong. Jesus did not see in us any imperfections that we think we have. He loves us just as we are.
Inky was loved!
My husband made a wooden travel case for her, and she willing used it for her bed. It was her sanctuary.
For nineteen years, Inky lived and traveled with us. From house to house she went as we moved to Oklahoma, and then returned to California.
One sad day, her soft meow let us know that something was wrong. Her eyes spoke to us that she was in pain. A trip to the Veterinarian enlightened us to the fact that her kidneys were failing, and that it was time to let her go. The tears welled up!
It is heartbreaking to lose a pet that has been such a part of the family. Over the years, we have lost many pets and sometimes we say, “Never again.” Then, after time has passed, our hearts begin to soften and are opened once again to welcome a new family member.
As a side note, have you ever wondered if animals will be in Heaven? My sister-in-law always says, “This was a good Christian Cat, so why not?”
The scripture tells us that the Lion will lay down with the Lamb, and to me this is a very good indication that animals will be in heaven. I believe they will be there - - all the pets you and I have loved and lost. Yes, we will see our pets again. I believe that my little Inky will be there in heaven, waiting for me.
7 comments:
A chance finding of a cat that became part of all of your lives. And your heart broke for your beloved pet. That's a great story and lesson, we all are missing something... Christ in us. It is His love and goodness that will bring us home... and I too think you'll see Inky again...
"A Christian kitty. I love it!" Vicki K
Lovely story, Hazel. I love animals so my eyes got "moistered" at the end of the story.
I think that all creation will be present in heaven, because when God created everything He said it was good. But I think everything will be in their purest state, like when they were created, before the Fall.
Now, if our pets will be there, I don't know, but I certainly hope so!
What a lovely story, Hazel. I love animals, and I too have a pet (a sweet dog named Lady) who I love and I feel like she's part of the family.
Regarding heaven, I think all creation will be there, in their purest state as it was when they were created (as it was in the garden of Eden). I believe there will be cats and dogs there, but I am not sure if they will be the same pets we had here. But I sure hope they will be there!
I hope some of the pets I've known and seen will meet me there. I also hope that Susie's will be there. They blessed her so much as she has been dealing with her physical issues for so long; the pets showed such love and concern and care for her. And her heart broke as they died. For her sake, to be met by her dear ones when she reaches heaven... besides mom and dad and many other friends ... she will be jumping for joy.
I love your blog. This made me think of my Brandy a very little dog. I was sitting on the steps, my husband came out and said Brandy is having a heart attact. I ran got her medicine gave her the drops. And styed with until she died.
It was a very touching and inspirational story. We too have a cat that we adopted from a der old lady, a neighbor who moved to the nursing home. And we fell in love with this cat and now I am her mama too:)
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