Some of you may know that recently a tiny kitten was dropped off at our home, with whom I fell in love in short order.  Hubby realized another cat was going to be there one way or another, and we proposed that if we could find the little guy a GREAT, secure home, we would adopt another cat out of a local shelter.  The wee one found new love in short order in a home that would meet even my standards for kitty care.  😉  But giving him up, on the heels of losing my grandma and when I was still so emotional, almost killed me.  I still question it, even with my new shelter baby in hand.  So why did I let him go for another whom I hadn’t even met?  This is why:

THE STORY OF A RESCUED CAT – Author Unknown

Once I was a lonely cat, looking for a home.
I had no place to go and no one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets, in rain and heat and snow.
I ate whatever I could find; I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give me a pat, or to gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance; I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.

And then one day I heard a voice so gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet.
“No one will ever hurt you” was whispered in my ear.
“You’ll have a home to call your own where you will have no fear.
You will be dry, you will be warm, and you’ll have enough to eat.
And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet.”
I was afraid, I must admit; I’ve lived so long in fear.
I can’t remember when I let a human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur,
She told me about a rescue group and what it meant to her.
She said to me, “We are a circle, a line that never ends.
And in the center there is you, protected by new friends.”
She said, “There is a family that’s waiting patiently,
And pretty soon we’ll find them, just you wait and see.
And then they’ll join our circle, they’ll help to make it grow,
So there will be room for more like you who have no place to go.”

I waited very patiently – the days, they came and went.
Today’s the day, I thought, my family will be sent.
Then just when I began to think it wasn’t meant to be,
There were people standing there just gazing down at me.
I knew then in a heartbeat, I could tell they felt it too.
They said, “We have been waiting for a special cat like you!”
Now every night I say a prayer to all the gods that be;
I thank them for the life I live and all they’ve given me.
But most of all to protect the cats in the pound and on the street,
And send a rescue person of their own to lift them off their feet.

(The above poem was enclosed in the packet I received from the Michigan Animal Rescue League, a fantastic organization.)