Be Patient. Love Wins… Always!

I participate in a yoga class twice a week at the Presbyterian church in Cloudland, Georgia. We’re mostly seniors, but everyone is welcome to play with us. It’s a fun activity, and it has given me the opportunity to build relationships with other women my age. We care for each other. The class helps me maintain my peace of mind when the world “out there” is swirling in chaos and negativity.

Last summer, three kittens appeared from under the meeting hall as we arrived for our afternoon class. A grey torti, an orange, and a solid grey. My experience as the assistant director of a humane society with a spay/neuter clinic told me that we were looking at a female torti and two males. They were very shy and looked to be around 12 weeks old.

We watched them play and grow and become less afraid of us and our yoga mats. They often came close enough to almost touch their heads. And the caretaker of the hall came daily to feed them. By late October, I began to voice my concern that the church would be overwhelmed with more cats if they didn’t catch them and get them spayed and neutered. At the same time, I said that if the grey cat were neutered, I would gladly adopt him.

Well, Earl Grey (Mr. T) became my new companion a few days before Christmas. He was actually my invisible companion for a few days, because as soon as I opened the carrier to let him out in my house, he quickly disappeared without a trace! I only knew he was there because I could see he was eating the food in his dish and the litter box was being used (thankfully).

I practiced patience and continued to feed him and clean his box. I remembered that he was semi-feral and it might take some time for him to come around.

Several years ago, I was dog sitting a Great Pyrenees that charged the door with excitement whenever anyone came to visit. Even his owners were struggling with how to handle this challenging situation. Instinctively, I began to patiently read to him each evening, and he began to trust me to train him to sit and stay. It was a big success, so I tried the same technique on my little Earl.

Soon he came out of hiding and peeked around the corner of my bed as I sat on the floor reading aloud to him. Each day of reading brought more progress. Earl began spending more time out in the open. I moved his food to the kitchen from the bathroom. After a couple weeks, his curious nature helped him get the courage to lie beside me on the sofa. Methodically, I began to stroke him with the brush, and he loved it!

Here we are a month later, and my love for him and his trust in me has grown. Earl now finds my lap to be a comfortable place to sleep and has even greeted me in the morning with a head bob while I languish in bed for a few extra minutes.

My learning is that love always wins, in the smallest of situations and in the larger scheme of things. Love brought Earl around to trusting me, and with patience, love will transform the most seemingly impossible situations.

This Valentine’s Day, I will celebrate with a special tribute to the love of a cat.

May you know that you are loved and appreciated.