Up until this point, I didn’t think I had one.
Well, July 13th I discovered it.
So as most people know, being a cat person is not so popular. People often ask- Dogs or Cats? If someone answers cats, the usual response is, “O’ so you are going to be a cat lady!” And that just draws up a bunch of negative mental pictures, which usually leaves the person responding with a very defensive, “NO!” So… before the race I usually would steer clear of that question. Truthfully not knowing for sure. I knew that I liked cats, but I wasn’t sure if it was more than dogs. Truthfully I wasn’t sure I liked them more than dogs enough to handle the ridicule.
Well, this race has changed that. As I become more confident of who I am and how God has made me, I can honestly say that I CHOOSE CATS. I like their sassy- don’t need you, but I want you to love me attitude. Are there mean cats that deserve to die, like CLEO- yes, but are their faces so cute and irresistible, yes! Do I think my upbringing had something to do with my heart for these love’em or leave’em animals- of course. Having 3 cats to 1 dog in my life probably had something to do with it.
Anyway, back to my story. Here at El Shaddai there is a little 6-8 week old kitten (it’s a little mal-nourished, so its actual age is undetermined) that is greatly loved by the littlest kids here. Maybe too loved. I don’t think it gets to walk until the kids are in bed. I often feel sorry for it. Sorry when it cries because it wants to be a cat and just run around, sorry when it gets put outside with the dogs at night, knowing that it will spend the whole night petrified by those animals that tower over it (thankfully they are just interested in it and don’t nip at it) and sorry that its not getting the right nutrients.
Last night I had a breaking moment. The kids don’t really know how to hold this little kitten. Often times they pick it up by its head (like, its face) or arm. I had some time when they picked it up that evening, so I took it as a teaching moment. Anyone ever try to teach a lesson in a second language that you are not particularly good at? DIFFICULT! The kids thought I was joking and started to hit on the cat. It became a game to them when all I wanted to do was show them how to treat it gently. With each slap the cat let out a cry.
At that moment something switched in me and I felt hot water rim my eyelids. I held the cat high up, to keep it from getting hit. The kids started weighing on my arm so they could reach the cat. My firm words started to hyperventilate as I put myself in this helpless animals place and I yelled out- “You need to be nice to this animal! Its God’s kitty and He would be pleased!” The kids stopped for a minute. I thought my broken Spanish got through to them, but after a few seconds it started again.
And then I completely broke into tears. Hugged the kitty close, I ran to my room as the kids scampered behind me trying to get at the cat. I slammed the door behind me, tears running down my face realizing that this was the first time I’ve cried in a few months- over a cat. I had lost control with the kids and I was cuddling this flee incrusted critter with no plan on what to do next.
I ran into our bathroom and sat on the toilet seat cuddling this little thing, trying to regain composure. My teammates all concerned, saying they had never seen me like this. Truthfully, I was being quite dramatic.
Here I was completely broken over this little animal, yelling at kids in broken Spanish and let them get the best of me. Sitting in our bathroom thinking of ways on how we can keep it. Jess helped me with a few, but the (who we now call Thelma- Miss Nicaragua 2006) cat was too dumb to realize that we were trying to help it and just kept jumping out of the box made of preschool puzzle floor padding.
Eventually I had to put it back outside because she was keeping all of us up and we didn’t want to risk all of our stuff getting infested with flees. Before I had to do that though… SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED!! God touched the kids hearts and they came over to our room to say sorry and that they didn’t realize what they were doing was so hurtful to me. “Lo siento,” said the little girls one by one with tight hugs too big for their little arms. And since then all the kids have been a lot more gentle with the little feline and giving it water throughout the day.
Thank you Jesus for answering my prayers of helping little Thelma survive.
CAT LOVERS – YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
