TGIF
They say you can’t train cats.
Not so…
I have successfully trained Miss Kitty to do one thing.
She now tries to jump off the bed before she throws up her dinner.
This is a major accomplishment, especially when I’m also in the bed.
This means, however, that somewhere between my bed and the bathroom there is something I don’t want to step in.
I haven’t trained her in the use of paper towels and the Fabuloso bottle…
I’ve also been unable to train her to wipe her paws off before getting in bed, thus I have slept in cat litter since 2009.
She also has trouble in her later years with the cat box itself…she digs a proper hole in the litter, then hangs her backside over the end of the box.
This requires more paper towels and Fabuloso.
I spend hours each week cleaning up her messes.
She is picky about the food she often regurgitates…it costs more to feed her than to feed me.
Some would say that such trouble and expense is not worth it.
You will never hear me say that.
You will never hear me say I no longer want this cat.
You will only hear me say that I love this cat, no matter the cost or inconvenience.
She is my friend, she brings me joy…she’s worth it..
I tell you all of this with only one purpose…to remind you that Jesus feels the same way about you.
Miss Kitty chose me, but Jesus chose you.
You make your messes intentionally, but the blood of Christ has cleansed what Fabuloso can’t touch.
The bond between us is unbreakable because it is bound by blood and covenant.
You bring Him joy.
You are loved.
You matter.
Try to hit the litter from now on…you’re covered even if you miss…and you will miss…
Make your own application…
Michael,
S
uch a nice way to start a Friday morning, knowing that Jesus loves me! It’s easy for me to beat myself up when I am not at my best, and this reminder came at a good time.
Chiquita, my former cat, had similar problems to your kitty the last couple years of life. Yet, we muddled on and made the best of it until she obviously couldn’t go on any longer (that was about a year ago). I couldn’t imagine life with another cat, and then someone contacted me about a cat that really needed a placement quickly (after two years in a cage at a shelter and no takers). Ally and I are doing splendidly, although it took her three months to trust me before she came out from hiding. We’re like that with Jesus, too. We can always trust Him, but sometimes we (I) hide. But, when I emerge, I always feel a little silly because He has nothing but good for me.
Off to another day of zooming with the kiddies!
Linn,
Well done!
Bless you for adopting a new friend…
I remember when the time came to put Axle to sleep. My daughter said that when she put him on the exam table, the cat went over to the pad and lying down, he looked back at her as if to say, “Yes, it is time – goodbye and thank you for being my friend,” and he closed his eyes. The vet saw to it that the end came gently.
Love these stories, Michael….. this one reminds me of cleaning up after my children when they were small. I just kept telling myself that I will miss these messes when they’re gone. Funny thing – now that the kids are older we get to tell them funny stories about their messes… 😉
My mom always had cats. She always got them as kittens, and trained them rigorously. They were always Siamese, and they were always the best behaved cats I’ve ever known. (She even had one of them trained to reach her paw up, receive a piece of food on her paw, and eat it from her own paw.)
Em,
Miss Kitty just told me it’s not time yet…I do think cats and owners know when it is…
Owen,
When I was a kid I had two trained Siamese…Baby and U Thant.
They were amazing.
I had them for years, then my family blew up and I suddenly found that I had to move to another town and couldn’t take them.
Right before we left, they both disappeared.
I was devastated.
On the way out of town I saw them sleeping in red silk beds on the librarians front porch…
That’s really sad, Michael, sorry to hear it…..so, what would have been better? To not know at all where they went, or seeing them at someone else’s house? Just curious how you felt about that……
I had a cat that had to be put down (had an infected growth on his neck), his name was Charlie. I was 10. My dad took him out to the back woods (we lived on 19 acres, mostly BC bush) and put him down with a .22 . I remember crying a lot.
Owen,
I was crushed, but relieved.
They were alive and well and had a good home.
What I didn’t know was that at the end of that car ride out of town I would become a stray myself…dumped in a place I had neither the skills or experience to handle at 16.
I’ve always believed that I will see them again…and I will.
The lion and the lamb will someday be friends….
I have a long list of animals I’ll be looking for also. It includes one cat btw – Ghillie, a Russian blue who helped me play the piano, stolen by a neighbor and kept inside.. Learned about it years later…
Em,
There is a glorious day coming that never ends…
Most days I find it hard to believe that Jesus loves me as much or more than I love my Skye baby. He (Skye) is 21 yrs old, very very stubborn and set in his ways. I too, have been sleeping in cat litter since we adopted him 6 years ago. Jesus loves me, hard to accept, then I look at Skye and see how much he loves me, and try very hard to equate the love I see in those cat eyes to the love Jesus has for me. I too will hide from that gaze, but I know that between Jesus and me there is a bond, unbreakable…just like between Skye and me. Now if I could just come out from under the bed, and get that into my heart….thanks Michael
MIchael,
They do tell us when it’s time. Chiquita was so clear the morning I picked her up and she “youched” quite clearly and loudly. I got her comfortable as the vet said that if she was okay when not handled I could have one more day. It was a day all about her, and she responded as if she knew. The next day was hard, but I knew it was okay because she told me so.
I couldn’t back out
of the drive-thru – still Starbucks
said that I matter.
$6.40