Book Clubs and Cats
Thank you all so much for the congratulations about A Gift of Grace hitting the CBA bestseller list again this month. I was stunned when I heard the news myself! Congratulations to Beth, Barbara and Kathy for An Amish Christmas’ continuing to stay on the CBD list! That is wonderful news that An Amish Gathering received a 4.5 stars from Romantic Times! I can’t wait to read it!
This past week I was honored to write a guest column for Suzanne Beecher in her on-line book clubs. My column ran in her Zondervan Breakfast Club a well as other secular book clubs.
I had written the column in September, and it centered on the cats I’ve owned throughout my life. I feel it was a “God thing” that my column was featured on Monday, October 19, because my family and I were saddened to lose our precious 12-year-old cat Ashlee to kidney failure on October 17. I say it was a “God thing” because I received email messages from readers about the column, and when I share with them that I had lost Ashlee, their responses were uplifting and comforting. I truly believe God was helping me through my loss by the friendships I formed through that column.
While we’ve lost Ashlee since I wrote the column, we also gained Rico, a nutty kitten we adopted about a month ago. Ashlee was my mother’s cat, and she misses her dearly. We’re planning to add another cat to our family, and I’ve found a beautiful homeless tabby named Crissy through a Humane Society website. We may go “meet” her later this weekend. I’ll share in update with you next Friday.
For now, here’s my column from October 19:
I'm a lifelong cat lover. I remember the car ride bringing home my first cat when I was two. Spooky, was a big, fat calico. Despite my parents' best efforts to keep her in, she was an outdoor cat, leaving me gifts--birds and squirrels--under my swing set.
After Spooky, we had Pepsi, a moody, disinterested tabby, who spent her time in her favorite wingchair or under a bed.
While I was in college, my parents and I adopted Bonnie and Clyde, two loving lap cats. Soon after we adopted them, I met my future husband, Joe, a dog lover. He insisted he was allergic to cats, but I soon cured him of his allergies.
When Joe and I purchased our first home, my mother gave us a special housewarming gift--Gracie and Les--black and white "tuxedo" cats. Our kitties came from the same breeder as Bonnie and Clyde. Not only were they companions, they were our babies before we had our human babies.
At first, Gracie was standoffish. She trembled and spent most of her time under our bed. I would leave her a bowl of food and come back to find it empty, the only sign she was alive under the bed. After some time, she came out from under the bed, stopped her shaking, and slept between us at night. Les was my shadow and shared my pillow. Actually, I shared it with him since he overtook approximately three quarters of it! He would sit at the door and await my arrival in the evenings.
Unfortunately, both Gracie and Les died much too young. Les was only six when he became gravely ill, and the veterinarian told us there was no hope. I'll never forget how Joe and I sobbed on the phone when I told him the news. Gracie died in 2008 of cancer, and again, we cried. Gracie and Les will never be forgotten.
Currently, we're blessed with three cats we've nicknamed the Three Stooges. The eldest is Ashlee, a twelve-year-old tabby with a heart of gold. My four-year-old son carries her around by her neck, and she has never hissed or snapped at him. She sleeps with my sons, meows in response to questions, and begs for Cool Whip.
Jet, our male tuxedo, is five years old and twice the size of his sisters. However, he's afraid of everything from strangers to plastic grocery bags. The only things he isn't afraid of are his sisters, whom he enjoys terrorizing.
Our youngest cat, Molly, I found on the local Humane Society website after Gracie died. I chose her because she reminded me of Gracie. Molly is a two-year-old tuxedo. She loves to play and is often seen throwing one of her small Beanie Babies through the air like a football player. She enjoys "helping" me make the beds by rolling in the sheets. She wrestles with her brother, jumping on his back and making him cry. Joe wasn't thrilled when I brought Molly home, but she quickly stole his heart. He and Molly chortle to each other, and she sleeps between us. She hides behind furniture and pounces on us, standing on her back legs like a squirrel. Her throne is a wooden serving tray with a towel on our kitchen table, where she supervises meals, sneaking sips of iced tea when she thinks I'm not looking.
If you asked Joe, he'd tell you he's still a dog lover. Yet, deep down, he's converted. Just ask Molly.
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Such a sweet column on your cats, Amy! I love cats and dogs but (don't listen, Joe) I have dogs because I'm allergic to cats. I get my cat fix by visiting friends and playing with their cats.
Pets are such great companions. My two dogs are pretty old and I'm not looking forward to a time when they aren't here.
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Thank you, Barbara! Joe would love a dog someday, but I think we need to wait until the boys are older and will help with the care.
Love,
Amy
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Ah, Amy...I am so sorry to hear about your loss. As a cat lover myself, I know your pain. Right now my family has 3 cats that we adore. Two of them are quite old (for cats anyway). One is 17.5 and the other is 16 years old! We know our time with them is limited. Each is developing health problems. I can't bare to think of life without either of them. Our youngest is 8 now, so she's not a "spring kitty" either! She is the one that I'm the closest to. A year ago she became very ill & we thought we were going to lose her. For over 2 weeks I fed her with a syringe & gave her water that same way. She was so pitiful, it broke my heart. But, thanks be to God, it seemed to help her and she snapped back. She is a beautiful long haired gray tabby. She, like yours did, waits by the door everyday for me to get home from work! They bring so much joy to our lives, don't they? God bless.
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Thank you for your note, Cathy! I hope your kitties live long, happy lives. I can't seem to get mine to live past 12. I'd love to have one last until 18 or so. I'm glad yours are doing well now. I've always thought pets were angels in disguise. They bring us such comfort and joy!
Love,
Amy
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You've touched my heart with this wonderful article about your cats. I have shared my life with several "fur people" throughout the years, and have loved and lost many. Each one is special in his/her own unique way. There are no two alike. Presently we have a black and white female, Roxy, who is on the overweight side. She is such a happy girl, she purrs so loudly that she squeaks. Our other sweetie is a black and brown tabby, Emmie. She's the runt, but watch out when she decides she's boss! I'm a quilter, and on "Fursday" each week my friend joins me and the girls at the dining room table to stitch and chat. My "fur" girls have now decided that if they can visit with us while we're stitching, they can also join the family during meals. I keep a "sticky roller" right by the table to get rid of the hair, but I'm trying to retrain the girls to stay off the table.
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Oh, Nancee, I love your stories! How funny that the kitties join you on "Fursday." What a hoot that you keep a sticky roller by the table now. Thank you for sharing that! I'm sure folks are appalled to learn that our cats get on the table to. My hubby has stopped trying to argue with me about it! I pray you enjoy your Roxy and Emmie for many years!
Sincerely,
Amy
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being an animal lover and i guess especially kitty kats, i love your stories and hope and wish that you will write books re kitty kats and the comical things they do.
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Thank you, Jo! I'll have to think about writing some kitty stories! My kitten is racing around the room as I type this. He would be a fun subject for a story!
Sincerely,
Amy
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Hi Amy. There's nothing more entertaining than kittens. I would have a house full, if I could get my husband to agree
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Thank you, Barbara! Your Pepper and Gracie sound wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
Sincerely,
Amy
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I'm sorry for your loss of Gracie and it touched my heart so when you mentioned you got your pets from The Humane Society. We use to sponsor animals for them until they could find homes. In fact; we adopted 3 of our dogs we have now from them while sponsoring. I appreciate all those people that help to save animals when they can that have been neglected and abused and get them into loving families. God Bless you.
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Thank you, Denise! How wonderful that you were a sponsor for the Humane Society. I would love to be one, but my hubby says we can't take on that many animals. I agree that it's wonderful when folks rescue animals that have been abandoned or on the streets. Thank you for sharing your story!
Sincerely,
Amy
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Amy,
Your descriptions of you babies were so vivid, I could picture each one and there antics. I have had several cats in my life also. We inherited Oliver a blue tabby who was the boss for most of his life. I still remember him beating my teenage son up the stairs whenever Andy would come home from school. After seeing them disappear into his room I knew the next thing I would hear would be Andy telling Oliver to wait his turn to eat the snack. Oliver laid wherever he wanted. He was so loving. We lost him several years ago. We found the mother of Angel and Sweetie Pea on our door step one night in a snowstorm. I could not turn her out, so we made a bed in the garage. Angel and Sweetie remain with us now. Angel is a sweet oversized cat. He purrs so loudly that he also squeeks. Sweetie is her own women and she is younger than Angel, but rules the roost. She disappears whenever company comes and some people never know she exists. She tolerates you, not the other way around. I also had a very sweet dog, a cockapoo, that we named Grizzly. He was my constant companion. I had just been deemed disabled when he arrived in my life. He was 6 weeks old at the time. This last Feb., at just 7 yrs of age, I had to put him down because of an auto immune disorder. It was like losing one of my kids. I still miss him and shed tears over his loss. I already had Tonka, a yorkie who is 4. He and Grizzly were constant companions. I thought I was going to lose him also, as he mourned the loss of Grizzly also, but he has rebounded. I got Cubbie, also a cockapoo in March. He was 10 weeks when we got him. I have had a hard time warming up to him, as I was going thru some health issues of my own when I got him, but slowly we have become the best of friends. I find myself loving him more everyday. He has a close likness to Grizzly. Someday I hope he will do as Grizzly did, climbing up on my lap at night and curling up to sleep. Grizzly would either lay on my chest or my lap as I slept. Due to arthritis I sleep in a recliner. Tell Joe, that it is alright to be a cat lover to. They all have their special qualities.
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Susan,
Thank you so much for your wonderful note. I love the stories of your wonderful little pets! I'm so glad they've been companions to you and your family. I'm sorry to hear of your debilitating arthritis. You're in my prayers.
Sincerely,
Amy
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Amy, so sorry to learn about Ashlee's death. Your column on all your cats is delightful! We have three outside cats-Tony Maloney, Pepperoni, and Charlie Brown. We got Tony as a kitten over 13 years ago when we moved to the woods, but Pepperoni and Charlie were "drop offs" that someone left along the road and they came to our property since we had food out for Tony and his brother (now deceased) Thomas O'Malley. Though Tony and Thomas would try to run off any newcomer, the strays were determined to stay, so we got them rabies shots and neutered (all males, so they wouldn't fight or wander and create unwanted kittens) and they became part of the family, too. Both our daughters and two granddaughters are also cat lovers--Teresa's family has five house cats! She, too, has taken ones that needed adopting. Cats are delightful gifts the Lord shares with us! Ours had to be "outside" cats because when we moved here my mother was living with us, in declning health, and she was afraid of cats. Our guys enjoy hunting in the woods and bring us gifts we really don't want--a mouse, a mole, an occasional unfortunate red bird, a small snake! The most surprising gift was a half-eaten mouse dropped into my rubber boot one Christmas!
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Oh, Cathy I love your stories! I love the Christmas gift! I bet that was a surprise, huh? Thank you for your note!
Sincerely,
Amy
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Amy,
I love to hear about other people's cats. I have 2 of my own. I have had cats almost our entire married life, 38 years. My oldest one, Simon, is 15 years old and Patches is 4 years old, she can be a problem to Simon. All he wants to do is eat, sleep and play when he wants to, not when she does. Hehe. My oldest cat was 21 and she died of old age when she lost control of her kidneys. I did have one named Cisco, he died when he was 11 years old, he had 4 strokes and went blind. The vet said to let him die, it was the humane thing. Because you see, cats just stand there if they can't see. So, we did the mosthumane thing to do and it broke my heart.
Debbie
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Wow, Debbie! You had a cat who lived until 21? That is amazing! Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so sorry that Cisco went blind. You gave a good, long, loving lift!
Take care!
Sincerely,
Amy
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