Animals and Serenity

Animals have a way of creating serenity and peace when one sits quietly near them. I was very blessed to have had animals choose our home to be a "safe haven" for them. I am talking about 4 cats ranging in age of almost 3 years to 21 years. No, that is not a typo. Our calico cat, TAFFY lived to be 21 years old. She had been an indoor cat since we adopted her at approximately 8 weeks old. That was in 1984. She helped us through our grief of having to put TYKE, our 12 year old Abbysinnain (SP)to sleep after he developed a personality disorder and would attack us with his claws and teeth, Our vet encouraged us to put Tyke out of his misery for his sake and ours a well. It was so sad. When he would attack, almost immediately he would hang his head and lower his tail.We agreed with our dear Vet, Dr.James Barrie, whom we liked and respected very much. He not only treated the animals that were brought to him, but the animal's "parents" if you will, as well. We had complete trust in his suggestions. So TYKE was sent over "The Rainbow Bridge."

We moved from Tampa to Zephyrhills in 2000, and we were greeted and welcomed by TIGER along with his owner, Nancy. He lived with Nancy right next door, which is separated by a chain link fence. Well, it seemed Tiger liked it better at out house and hangs out in our yard. We think he is about 12 or 13 years young. A very pleasant cat,and is a reddish blonde color.

He used to go back and forth freely at will and ate at both places. What a life!
Then Nancy had to move and she asked us to keep TIGER as she was afraid he would try and make it back to our house and more than likely would not make it since he had to cross a very busy highway. Of course we said yes, and it didn't take TIGER long to realize there was no more food on the others side of the fence,so he is content to lounge around either in our yard or on the screened porch when it rains.

Then another cat showed up in our yard, and he decided to stay as well. He is a honey-beige color, so we named him SANDI. He is a very sweet cat, and "chirps"when he meows. He and Tiger get along rather well as long as there is some space between them. Tiger sometimes sleeps on top of my car, and Sandi will be under it.

Almost three years ago now this coming September there was a Hurricane named Jean.who came to visit our area. She did damage to our neighbors garage and our fence when a tree fell and knocked power lines down and one caused my computer's surge protector to burn, but saved the computer. A few months later in December a little kitten arrived and wouldn't let my husband Arjay or his friend Cleve alone while they were working on a project together in the yard. This little kitten kept demanding attention. My husband and Cleve both felt this was one very special and very intelligent kitten. He would walk right up to you and be in your face like he knew no fear. So Cleve picked him up and brought him in on the screened porch and handed him to me,
saying as he was handing me the kitten, "Here Elayne, Arjay wants you to have this kitten." . Arjay's response was, "Thanks a lot, Cleve." but he let me keep him. I then introduced him to Taffy. (Remember, Taffy is 21 and has been Queen of the roost.) Well, Taffy soon took a back seat and this strange kitten took right over. We decided to name him THOR, after the Norwegian god of Thunder. A perfect name for him. Turns out he is, according to our Vet, a cross between a Maine Coon and an OSICAT, resembling the wild side of an Oscilot cat in the wild. He has stripes and spots. There is a thumb print of spots down his back bone. He has the dark red nose, and when he purrs he sounds like a big cat! When I took him to the vet we discovered he was 3 months old, so that would make him a Hurricane Jean kitten born that September. We took him in on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 2004. I sometimes found it hard to remain serene as I was pulling him out of the branches in our Christmas tree. He and Christmas decorations were a challenging time in our getting acquainted time! But, we all survived. Wonder what he'll be like this year. Hmmm.

As you can see, I am a cat lover. When I would sit down and pet and or brush the two inside cats, I was so peaceful and serene, and at one with my Higher Power. I am so grateful God provided these animals to me so I can enjoy their beauty. I feel the same way about the outside cats.

In March of 2006 Taffy died in my arms at the age of 21. If he had lived until May, she would have been 22 years young. That is almost unheard of in the cat world. She was well cared for and will be missed greatly.

In December of 2006, SANDI was killed by a car while he was attempting to cross the street to get back home. I found him laying off the road in the grass where someone had gently laid him. That was a very hard time for me losing to cats to The Rainbow Bridge in 9 months time. So now we have 2 kitties buried in our yard.

TIGER remains with us, and now we have a white Siamese kitty with blue eyes who is feral. It took me a year of really working with him so he would not run away whenever someone approached him. He now let's me feed and pet him while he feeds, but that is as far as it goes. There is no picking him up, that's for sure. But at least I have the satisfaction that I have helped him today stay happy and with us a little longer.

I've been around dogs, horses, goats, llamas, camels, pigs (including pot bellied ones) birds, cows, bulls, zebra horses (Yes, there are Zebra Horses) I love them all.
They all show unconditional love. They can teach us how to love other people unconditionally. If only we would listen and see. We need to "TALK TO THE ANIMALS"