This happen to me, Teddy
HOW I BECAME A CAT LOVER
By Ramona Ruhf
I hated cats. They stink, they shed, and they are just plain
useless. I wouldn't eat at someone's house if they had cats. I
wouldn't sit on their furniture. In fact, for 37 years, I avoided
cats and their owners.
November 26, 1996, a few months after my father died, my sister
called and asked me to go the mall with her and her daughter. Still
mourning the loss of my father, I said no. I was already in my
pajamas and didn't want to get dressed. She kept pestering me to go,
and I finally relented.
We got to the mall and walked past the pet store. I saw a tall cage
with several kittens. Yes, the kittens were cute, but so what? They
still stink! Yawn.
We continued our shopping and when we were done, we wandered back
to the kittens. There was only one tiny baby left, and she was the
stinkiest of them all. So greasy and sickly looking, and she didn't
even respond to our voices or touches. We asked the store manager why
this kitten was the only one left. He told us that no one wanted her.
Well, it turns out that this tiny one-pound kitten was really 6
months old and very sickly. The pet store owner had taken care
of her and tried to nurse her back to health. He said she would
probably die anyway. Who wants a dying cat?
All the other kittens were taken already, and only Juliette
remained. Juliette lay there, unmoving, doing nothing. Well, no one
deserves to die alone, in a dark cage, in a mall. Not even a stinky,
smelly, sick cat.
I thought back to my father's hospital bed and how I wished we
hadn't had to "pull the plug". Gratefully, his entire family was by
his side, so he didn't have to die alone. And neither should this
cat. "Ok," I thought, " Juliette can come home with me to die. At
least she won't be alone." The manager gave me all the supplies
I needed, and the workers at the pet store cried, as I walked out
the door with the kitten.
After we got home, I let Juliette out of her crate and sat down in
my chair. She came up to me, put her paws on my knees, and yelled
the loudest meow I' d ever heard. Don't know what that was all
about but I sure hoped she didn't keep up with such a racket.
Ok, I could afford a vet visit the next day. The vet said, "No
shots for her; she is too sick. Don't waste your money. She is
dying. Just take her home and wait."
I waited and waited and waited some more. Funny thing is, this
cat didn't die. And something strange happened along the way. I
started to enjoy tending to and taking care of her. I started to
like her. I had a purpose for getting up in the morning. And then,
all of a sudden, it hit me: I had fallen in love.
It didn't take long after that, before Juliette improved by leaps and
bounds. Together, we both learned all about cats. We spent 16 years
together teaching each other love, devotion, and loyalty. Our bond
grew so strong that we rarely needed voices to communicate. I would
think something, and she would do it. She would think something,
and I knew what she wanted.
I truly believe Juliette was my father's last present sent to me
from up above to teach me the life lessons he didn't have time to
finish. Juliette pulled me out of my depression over his death.
Not only did she teach me to be a cat-lover but also she taught me
that all living creatures are deserving of compassion, respect,
and the right to be happy, no matter what their health is or the
background they come from. She taught me to rescue and adopt 12
more special needs kitties. But the best gift was to show me that
love really can conquer all.
Juliette and I learned how to conquer illness and disease
together. She taught me that even cats can have devastating strokes
with paralysis and still overcome them with hard work and love.
She taught me how to begin letting go. She bravely gave me one more
year to learn how to go on without her. The day I set her free was
heartbreaking. But I knew her lessons for me were over and I had
passed with flying colors. She was the best teacher I ever had!
Juliette taught me that ALL creatures deserve love. It's so strange,
how much I detested animals before she came along and taught me the
right way to live. I am so the opposite now. Because of her I live,
eat, sleep, and breathe animal welfare. It is all I do 24/7!
And I know, as much as I wanted Juliette to reincarnate back to me
again, she had more important duties with some other animal-hater
that she needs to reform. But our souls are entwined for eternity,
and I WILL see her again. She is off on another mission right
now. More former cat haters out there that need to be enlightened.
But she did send me a little bit of herself in a new cat I call
Mary Anastasia. She looks and acts so much like Juliette that I
know Juliette touched Mary Anastasia before she came to me.
HOW I BECAME A CAT LOVER
By Ramona Ruhf
I hated cats. They stink, they shed, and they are just plain
useless. I wouldn't eat at someone's house if they had cats. I
wouldn't sit on their furniture. In fact, for 37 years, I avoided
cats and their owners.
November 26, 1996, a few months after my father died, my sister
called and asked me to go the mall with her and her daughter. Still
mourning the loss of my father, I said no. I was already in my
pajamas and didn't want to get dressed. She kept pestering me to go,
and I finally relented.
We got to the mall and walked past the pet store. I saw a tall cage
with several kittens. Yes, the kittens were cute, but so what? They
still stink! Yawn.
We continued our shopping and when we were done, we wandered back
to the kittens. There was only one tiny baby left, and she was the
stinkiest of them all. So greasy and sickly looking, and she didn't
even respond to our voices or touches. We asked the store manager why
this kitten was the only one left. He told us that no one wanted her.
Well, it turns out that this tiny one-pound kitten was really 6
months old and very sickly. The pet store owner had taken care
of her and tried to nurse her back to health. He said she would
probably die anyway. Who wants a dying cat?
All the other kittens were taken already, and only Juliette
remained. Juliette lay there, unmoving, doing nothing. Well, no one
deserves to die alone, in a dark cage, in a mall. Not even a stinky,
smelly, sick cat.
I thought back to my father's hospital bed and how I wished we
hadn't had to "pull the plug". Gratefully, his entire family was by
his side, so he didn't have to die alone. And neither should this
cat. "Ok," I thought, " Juliette can come home with me to die. At
least she won't be alone." The manager gave me all the supplies
I needed, and the workers at the pet store cried, as I walked out
the door with the kitten.
After we got home, I let Juliette out of her crate and sat down in
my chair. She came up to me, put her paws on my knees, and yelled
the loudest meow I' d ever heard. Don't know what that was all
about but I sure hoped she didn't keep up with such a racket.
Ok, I could afford a vet visit the next day. The vet said, "No
shots for her; she is too sick. Don't waste your money. She is
dying. Just take her home and wait."
I waited and waited and waited some more. Funny thing is, this
cat didn't die. And something strange happened along the way. I
started to enjoy tending to and taking care of her. I started to
like her. I had a purpose for getting up in the morning. And then,
all of a sudden, it hit me: I had fallen in love.
It didn't take long after that, before Juliette improved by leaps and
bounds. Together, we both learned all about cats. We spent 16 years
together teaching each other love, devotion, and loyalty. Our bond
grew so strong that we rarely needed voices to communicate. I would
think something, and she would do it. She would think something,
and I knew what she wanted.
I truly believe Juliette was my father's last present sent to me
from up above to teach me the life lessons he didn't have time to
finish. Juliette pulled me out of my depression over his death.
Not only did she teach me to be a cat-lover but also she taught me
that all living creatures are deserving of compassion, respect,
and the right to be happy, no matter what their health is or the
background they come from. She taught me to rescue and adopt 12
more special needs kitties. But the best gift was to show me that
love really can conquer all.
Juliette and I learned how to conquer illness and disease
together. She taught me that even cats can have devastating strokes
with paralysis and still overcome them with hard work and love.
She taught me how to begin letting go. She bravely gave me one more
year to learn how to go on without her. The day I set her free was
heartbreaking. But I knew her lessons for me were over and I had
passed with flying colors. She was the best teacher I ever had!
Juliette taught me that ALL creatures deserve love. It's so strange,
how much I detested animals before she came along and taught me the
right way to live. I am so the opposite now. Because of her I live,
eat, sleep, and breathe animal welfare. It is all I do 24/7!
And I know, as much as I wanted Juliette to reincarnate back to me
again, she had more important duties with some other animal-hater
that she needs to reform. But our souls are entwined for eternity,
and I WILL see her again. She is off on another mission right
now. More former cat haters out there that need to be enlightened.
But she did send me a little bit of herself in a new cat I call
Mary Anastasia. She looks and acts so much like Juliette that I
know Juliette touched Mary Anastasia before she came to me.
