Cat Love: When You Care Enough to Trust the Very Best

Losing a pet is traumatic, especially when the pet is someone else’s, left in your care.

Recently, my friend Connie asked me to watch over her two cats while she went to California for a few days. I said yes. When the day came for her to drop them off at my house, I was ready: new kitty mattresses in deep purples and strange blue/green combos, flushable, biodegradable litter, and special treats I knew Connie would never approve of.

The cats, Gracie and Merlin, had never been to my house so when Connie arrived, they were a bit shy about leaving the cat carrier. They didn’t come out until long after Connie had left. When they did, both ran into the bedroom and hid under the bed. I gave them their space.

Gracie is a sleek chocolate point Siamese. Her tail has a slight angular bend at the end from a catch in the door when she was a kitten. She’s small and quick. She likes to peer at you from around the side of the sofa, and when you look at her, she darts into another room. When she thinks you’ve forgotten, she returns and plays it again.

Merlin is large (about 22 pounds), fluffy and steely blue-gray. He once jumped off a table and onto my chest. I lost my breath, rolled off the couch and hit my head on the corner of a bookcase. He rubbed against my writhing body as if he’d done me a favor.

Later that evening, my friend Iris came by for a visit. We chatted for about an hour. By the time she was ready to leave, it was dark. I walked her to her car. Forgetting the cats were in the bedroom, I left the back door open. As I was saying goodnight to Iris, I suddenly remembered them.

“Oh, my God!” I cried. I ran back to the house, just in time to see Merlin’s big tail disappear behind the storage shed in the back yard. I rushed into the house, looking everywhere for Gracie. She, too, was gone.

“What am I going to do?” I yelled out loud. The cats had been with me only a few hours and I’d already lost them. And knowing cats, I was certain they wouldn’t just stay around and wait to be collected like a dog might. They most likely would just leave and head off into parts unknown.

Heartsick, I began to wonder what I was going to tell Connie. She’d put her trust and her most cherished possessions into my keeping and in one forgetful moment, they were gone.

I was on the verge of tears when, in the midst of my confusion, fear, and even panic, I heard an inner voice that I recognized instantly. It instructed me to simply sit down and get a grip on myself. I did--at once. Then it came to me that here was a rather different kind of opportunity to prove to myself that the New Thought principles I embrace do, in fact, manifest; that when we consciously work with the Law of Mind, the Power of this universe is unleashed in our behalf and that no matter how seemingly impossible the situation might be, Higher Power is there at the center.

Taking comfort in that Truth, I spoke my word: I am One with you, Spirit, and I know you hear me always. The cats are safe and secure and they return to me now. And so it is.

I immediately arose and went to the door. When I opened it, Merlin dashed in like he’d lived here forever, like he was coming home. And that wasn’t all. I got a flashlight, went into the back yard, and there was Gracie, sitting on a small log and talking gently to me in her oh-so-fantastic little cat voice. I picked her up and took her inside. The near-nightmare was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Grateful and overcome with joy, I burst into both tears and laughter. Once again, the Infinite Presence that I’ve known for so long and so well had demonstrated Its love beyond measure.

Merlin and Gracie reminded me that no matter the situation, no matter how impossible or improbable it may seem, as I recognize my Source, that Power within me, and put complete trust in It, the good always pours forth.

Now, some may think the returning of the cats was just a coincidence or instinctual process. Perhaps. But I believe that God works through the procession and procedure of natural events. That’s where the true miracles lie.

 I am glad the Law works as it does. It’s a matter of trust.