In my youth, our little calico cat Patches risked her own neck to save our beagle dog Ralph by jumping on and mauling the neighbor’s dog when it viciously attacked him. The cat won that battle by attaching her four claws and her teeth into the mean dog and doing revolutions around it in a matter of seconds. That vicious dog didn't stand a chance! Ralph was Patches' buddy.
When my kids were young, we raised an orange tabby named Chessie and trained him to love all animals, including dogs, birds, & rodents. He was particularly close to our rabbit Abigail and would shepherd her (exactly like a sheep dog) in the backyard so she would stay close to our house. They often took naps together, either on the rocking chair or in the guinea pig’s pen. Even our parakeet could climb all over Chessie without fear of being harmed.
Once our family came home to find my son’s bevy of hamsters had all gotten loose because he didn’t lock their cage correctly. We knew it immediately upon entering the house because there was Chessie sprawled out on the living room floor with hamsters running all over him like he was their bestest and biggest furry friend. Except Chessie had a look of total disgust on his face.
Once we nursed a robin back to health and it decided to stick around our place because it found a friend… our cat Sylvester. They loved each other.
When my kids were teens, they raised two cats, an orange tabby named Eliezer (we called him Azer) and a tortoise shell cat named Solomon. Azer believed my daughter was his daughter as well. He followed her everywhere, slept with her, played games with her, and meowed for her if she was gone too long. When she got married and left home, he grew depressed. I eventually became her replacement.
Solomon was my husband’s pal. He would sit in my husband’s lounge chair and listen to him play guitar. And although Solomon didn’t like to be held for any length of time, my husband could hold him indefinitely.
Azer was my bestest buddy. He literally loved me and I loved him. He would “talk” to me with various meowy sounds. God used him to minister to my heart many times. When he had to be put to sleep due to illness, my heart broke to pieces and I cried for days. But the Lord allowed me to see a vision of him and my heart had joy again.
I’ve got so many other wonderful stories of lovely cats in my family’s life. I have trained cats for years, too. I “get” them. Even stray cats and neighbors’ cats quickly grow to trust me. They know when people like them or not. I love cats and they perceive that.
I praise God for all the beautiful kitty cats He created.
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