The Furry Face of Kindness

My cat has a new title: Nurse Caddis (not to be confused with the sadistic Nurse Ratched of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" fame) ☺. My fuzzy caretaker earned her title this past week, watching over me the four days "as I lay dying" (William Faulkner) of some horrible stomach virus ☺ Not that she had a lot on her feline itinerary, but still...she was there: never bored, never tired…head butting me periodically just to see if I still remained among the living…purring when I roused, bestowing sandpapery licks. I would frequently open my eyes to the sight of her face, inches from mine, eyes concerned (ok...that may be a bit much), seeming to ask, “you ok, boss?” When I slept she planted herself on my torso, making like a log roller whenever I turned over, settling on whichever part of me pointed up.

 Though scoffers may protest, my cat possesses the loyalty of a dog. When I adopted her three years ago, the shelter director told me that Caddis, though barely out of kittenhood herself, gave birth to several kittens and mothered them par excellence. I find it amazing that a mere furball, with a walnut-sized brain (she’s a small cat, with a small head), and no hands, is a better caregiver than many PEOPLE I know! The only time she blew off steam during those four days was middle of the night romps when I was forced to lock her one-cat slumber party out of the bedroom. Aside from her midnight revelry, most of the time she reminded me of Biblical Ruth:

"...Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you: for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge: your people shall be my people, and your God my God," (Ruth 1:16), and as cheesy as this sounds when applied to a cat, she was my closest companion during the un-party. She put my friendship skills to shame, this simple animal did. This heathen cat demonstrated biblical love simply and quite perfectly:

  Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times,and a brother is born for a time of adversity." Proverbs 18:24 "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."


Proverbs 20:6 "Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?"

 Ecclesiastes 4:9-12a "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down,one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves."

 I think Warren Eckstein's quote is perfect, especially apropos of my past week's ordeal: "In the beginning, God created man, but seeing him so feeble, He gave him the cat"