|
A Burgled Cat
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat
By Marcia J. Wick Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
~Anatole France I was twenty-eight years old, recently divorced, and recovering from a sexual assault at my workplace. I moved in with a friend temporarily for support and security. She and her husband lived in a spacious split-level home with a horse barn in western New York. Shortly after I moved into their downstairs bedroom, my friend discovered a litter of kittens in the barn, premature and abandoned by the mom cat. We carried the sickly brood indoors to warm in her utility room. Soon, the forlorn kittens snoozed in a laundry basket, cozy on towels fresh from the dryer. My optimistic friend contrived a formula and nourished the orphans by bottle. Despite her efforts, each night one of the kittens died. By the end of the week only one lonely feline, looking more like a rat than a cat, remained. (Keep reading) | 