By Caroline Clemmons for Bea Tifton
I wanted to title this "Coming Out of the Closet" but didn't want to misrepresent the post's subject matter. Ha ha. You see, we recently moved in with our youngest daughter. But let me back up a year or two.
One morning after a fierce rainstorm, we found a beautiful cat pressed so close to our patio door you couldn't have slid a thread between them. Softhearted Hero puts out food for the stray cats and other critters, so he fed the cat. She was afraid of him, but gobbled the food eagerly once he stepped away.
Obviously, she had been a house pet at one time and either got lost or was abandoned. She must have cried so much she damaged her vocal chords. Instead of a meow, she has a sort of croak or bark.
She continued to haunt our yard a couple of days. Hero asked neighbors, but no one claimed her. Our next-door neighbor on the west said the cat had been living in his greenhouse, but he didn't want her there. We invited her to come into our home, which she did. Before we could get her to the vet and let her around our other cat, Sebastian, we kept her in the laundry room. She appeared grateful and made no attempt to run back outside when the door was open. Since she didn't have a chip and no one claimed her, we named her Jasmine and made her a part of our family.
Those who are pet owners know that each pet has an individual personality. Jasmine is shy and sweet, but she is afraid of almost everything except us and our other cat. As a result, she's spent a lot of time under our bed. Now that we've moved into a house with a couple of dogs in addition to ours, she found a new place to hide--the back corner of our walk-in closet.
Each of our pets is a rescue that becomes a valued family member. Jasmine is no different. I'm pleased that she has started to feel more at home, which I decided because she comes out of the closet (there's that phrase) more and more often. She even ventures into the other rooms, especially when the dogs go outside to frolic in the back yard twice a day. In addition, her personality appears to be blossoming. She is more loving and confident.
Life is a process of small incidents woven together to make life's blanket. Jasmine is a part of our family and out story. Do you have pets that have added to your life?
While I'm here, let me wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
I love cat stories! I remember a woman telling that the only time she saw her cat was when she ran the vacuum cleaner and the cat escaped from its hiding place. She said that meant she didn't see it very often.
ReplyDeleteWhen my old dogs died, the puppy I had was lonely. I wasn't ready to get another dog, so I got a seal point Siamese cat to keep him company. Alexander bonded with Bear, the dog, instead of me. When the cat was little, he would get into stuff. I would tell Bear, "Get your cat out of my stuff." Bear would run over and pick Alexander up by his neck and take him out of the danger zone.
ReplyDeleteHow cute!
DeletePet foundlings are special. Loved your story, Caroline.
ReplyDelete