Humor
My son and my aunt are more alike than I realized. They both love cats and have blurred the lines a bit in how they have acquired them. By the time I realized they shared this gene it was too late to change the outcome or the family tree, so I will just have to settle with telling you their “tail”…
One summer my 10 year old son Keith was hired to pet sit our neighbor’s cat. Jazz was a gray, short-haired tabby who was aloof with everyone, even her own family. My son was excited to have his first job and walked over several times a day to check on the kitty. As instructed he left the their garage door open a crack to allow Jazz to come and go as she pleased. By the third day Keith proposed that we leave our garage open a bit too.
"That way," he explained, "Jazzy will come to our house too and you'll see me more often."
When the three weeks were up, the owners called to let us know they wouldn't be back until the end of the summer. Keith was thrilled and by then Jazz was in the habit of waiting for him every morning on our porch.
Keith and Jazz became inseparable. That was made apparent the night I found her cuddled up next to him in his bed. He confessed he had cut a little kitty door in his window screen so she could “come in from the cold”, (remember it was summer.) We then discussed the deeper meaning of the Bible verse, “Thou shalt not steal” and I assured him it did apply to cats. I also reminded him that Jazz already belonged to a family, even though she wasn’t all that excited about them. Prying her out of my child’s arms, I escorted “Her Highness” back to her castle. It happened a few more times, but eventually the neighbors returned and we resumed our cat-free lives - or so I thought.
The day we drove down our street and saw the for sale sign planted in the cat owner’s yard, Keith burst into tears. He confessed he had been sneaking Jazz into his room for the last few months and couldn’t bear the thought of her moving away. He was heartbroken. That night the neighbor called and asked me to come over. While sitting on her couch she told me they had noticed Keith’s attachment to Jazz. I quickly apologized for my son’s behavior, babbling on about how I would do everything to make sure he didn’t continue on his path of crime. She assured me they were not upset and were wondering if he would like to keep her. A couple days later, on Christmas morning, Jazz was presented to my son donning a big red bow. She would be his official shadow and constant companion for the next 15 years.
Recently, I shared this story with my aunt. When I finished, she had a funny look on her face and causually said, “I stole my first cat from my neighbor too! They had one of those Persian cats, all fluffy and white. I thought he was so beautiful, so I picked him up and brought him into our house. I think Uncle and I had Mr. Kitty-cat for a few months before he got out again. The next time I saw him he was wearing a new collar with a bell attached. I guess the owners wanted everyone to know he had a family.”
“Ce-ce, you stole your neighbor’s cat?? Are you kidding me?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Without batting an eye, she replied, “I could tell he wanted to be in our family, so we figured out a way to get him back. One night I peeked over the fence and saw him in their backyard. I had Uncle climb over and get him. When he handed me the kitty I got so excited I started to run into our house. Then I heard a whisper-shout, ‘Hey! Help me get back over!’ Eventually, we all made it back inside. I don’t think they ever realized it was us because by the next day we were on our way.”
“On your way where...?” I was afraid of the answer.
“To our new home up the coast. We had everything all packed up. Mr. Kitty-cat was the best little traveler too. Honey, don’t worry too much about how Keith got his cat. He didn’t really steal her. If anything, it’s Jazzy’s fault. She stole his heart - they do that you know.”
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
This article has been read 899 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.