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Sylvie was 34 when it happened. Her life was about to change, and she was about to embark on a journey of receiving a gift from the most unlikely donor.  It was a Spring Day when Sylvie went outside to assess her new yard. She had just moved into her condo in September the year before, now 6 months later, the tell-tale signs of her flower garden were evident.  As she walked around assessing what she thought were daisies, tulips, and daffodils, she heard a slight noise.  She dismissed it, thinking it was a bird or a squirrel vying for its mom’s attention. There it was again, a pitiful little sound. Sylvie looked up in the tree trying to find the nest from which the noise was coming.  Suddenly, she felt something brush against her leg. Startled, she let out a yelp and looked down to see a little orange face looking up at her. “Well, hello kitty”, Sylvie said, and with that the cat did that cat-thing where it intertwines around your legs and goes all around rubbing its face.  Sylvie had never owned a cat before, nor a dog, nor anything except goldfish.  She reached down and pet the cat on the head which reinforced the rubbing-thing the cat did.  Sylvie didn’t see a collar, but the cat didn’t look too bad for a stray, if that’s what it was.  It did have signs of being an outdoor cat: clipped ear and a slight scar next to its nose.  Taking pity on the cat, she went into the house and retrieved a small saucer of milk.  The cat lapped it up and started to purr.  “Now don’t go getting all comfortable cat, I am a loner, and I don’t have time for a pet.”  Truth is, Sylvie would have time for a pet if she had the energy to give love to any other living creature.

Sylvie broke up with her long-time boyfriend almost 2 years prior and hadn’t been on a date since. Their relationship was one born of suspicions, accusations, power-struggles, and infidelity. The infidelity was on his part, not hers.  Sylvie wanted their relationship to work, but it became evident that it was sucking all the life out of her. She fell into a depression shortly after the break-up and then just turned sour. She stopped hanging out with friends, moved to a new town after a job promotion and lived like a hermit. The fact that her Project Management job was remote didn’t help. The only time she went out was to get groceries and the occasional drug store stop.  Still, she didn’t want the responsibility of some stray cat hanging around, so she left the bowl to the cat and went inside to finish working on a deadline for work.

The next day proved to be another sunny day, so Sylvie made herself get out and soak up some vitamin D.  She was outside all of 5 minutes when Orange Cat came sauntering by again, purring and sitting next to her.  “Don’t you have a home?” Sylvie asked, to which the cat let out a gentle meow.  Looking at the cat, something looked odd, but she couldn’t quite place what it was.  As she stroked the cat, it rolled over on its back when Sylvie realized what it was.  The cat’s teats were enlarged, and her tummy looked a little full.  “Oh, no, not only do I not have time for a cat, but I also certainly don’t have time for kittens”.  To which the cat let out a meow followed by purring.  As Sylvie went back into the house to get another saucer, the cat followed her onto the four seasons room.  Sylvie was about to put the cat back out, but as she reached down to do so, the cat raised up on her back legs and placed her head in Sylvie’s outstretched hand.  “Oh, that’s not playing fair.”  Not having the heart to put a pregnant cat out on her own to get eaten by Coyote’s or bullied by some mean teenagers, Sylvie brought out a moving blanket and put it in the corner of the porch.  The prior owners must have had a cat or small dog because the door going outside had one of those doggy doors.  It was sealed with the wooden slider so nothing could get in.  Sylvie decided to remove the slider in case Mama Cat decided this wasn’t her cup of tea for a place to have her kittens.

Over the next several days, Sylvie checked on Mama Cat often. She had purchased real cat food and some cheap water and food bowls.  Mama Cat always returned the greeting with a meow and some purring.  Sylvie found herself taking her laptop out on the porch more and more to sit with Mama and work on her Projects. Mama had made it a habit of jumping up on the bench next to Sylvie and resting quietly, except for her unusually loud purring.

One morning when Sylvie came out to check on Mama, she had already given birth to 2 kittens and was smack-dab in the middle of another. She looked exhausted.  Sylvie had no experience in this kind of thing, so she just went over to sit by Mama and stroke her head, talking to her in a soothing manner.  Sylvie was amazed at the amount of work this Mama cat was doing to bring her kittens into the world and clean them up.  After a few hours, Mama cat lay back exhausted letting her kittens suckle from her.  She had 6 kittens in all and had cleaned each one meticulously.  It was truly a miracle to watch the scene. Sylvie felt something stir inside of her that she hadn’t felt in a long time: adoration mixed with a little love. 

It became clear to Sylvie, after the warmth of the moment passed, that she needed to do something fast: how was she going to handle six kittens!  She made it a point to go over to one of the neighbors that she had seen out in the yard with a couple of kids.  Julie, the neighbor, told Sylvie about the local humane society and suggested she reach out to them for help.  Sylvie thanked her but didn’t just want to drop Mama’s babies off and leave them, in hopes they find a home.  Julie decided to take two of the kittens in when they were ready. Her kids had been bugging her for a pet for a couple of years.  Okay, Sylvie thought, two down, four more to go.

Sylvie did visit the shelter and told her story.  They said that they would be willing to let her advertise on their adoption page since she was basically freeing the shelter up of four more mouths. They had one stipulation: Sylvie needed to sign up to become a volunteer and give 8 hours per month.  Reluctantly, she agreed and then headed home with an idea of how to increase the kitten’s chance for adoption. “Okay, Mama, I am going to install this camera on you and the kittens, make them do cute things so they can find new homes”.  “Meow”, was Mama’s reply. 

Sylvie named the kittens and began to write a small story about each one. She wrote about their antics when they played and things that were unique to each one. She posted small video clips and pictures, along with the story of each of the 4 kittens, on the humane society website.  For the first 2 weeks, nothing came of it and Sylvie was beginning to worry.  The kittens were now 4 weeks old and would be ready to go home in another 2-4 weeks, IF they had homes.

The following week, the humane society called Sylvie. There were so many inquiries on the kittens, the staff had to resort to detailed interviews to ensure the right people got the kittens.  In the end, they chose 2 adopters who wanted two cats each.  “Hurray!!” Sylvie shouted.  The staff member commented to Sylvie that they hadn’t seen this much traffic on kittens in a long time. “It is evident that you really love these kittens” the staff member said.  Sylvie hung the phone up and thought to herself how crazy it seemed that she put that much effort into the kittens. She hadn’t cared about anything for so long, she didn’t even realize she was starting to feel emotions again.

After all the kittens were gone, Mama cat disappeared.  One morning Sylvie went out to check on her, and she was gone. As mysteriously as she appeared, she disappeared.  Sylvie thought maybe she just needed to roam and get a break, but 4 weeks went by and no sign of her.  Sylvie found herself more than a little sad. She missed Mama cat.  She decided to step up her volunteer hours at the shelter. She was already doing 16 hours per week, but perhaps she could do a bit more.

It was the 5^th week after Mama’s disappearance and Sylvie gave another glance around the house as she left for the shelter.  Sylvie found herself lonesome for another living being in the house.  She had started getting together with some girls from the shelter and began cultivating friendships again. She even promised one of the girls that she would attend her church. Sylvie hadn’t been to church since her 20’s. Her boyfriend didn’t believe in “all that nonsense”, so she just stopped.  She was really starting to feel like her old self again, the one before her ex, but she was missing something. This day at the shelter, it was her turn to walk the dogs: little did she know that her life was about to change again.

Sylvie was finishing up the 3^rd walk of her shift, when she heard one of the staff members call out to her.  “Hey Sylvie, you should come check out Fiona”.  Sylvie went over to look at the fluffiest little thing she ever saw. She couldn’t help but let out a gasp and an “awwww” which made Fiona turn in circles, wiggle, wag her tail and let out a yip.  Fiona’s owner had her 8 years, was moving out of state and couldn’t take her along. Fiona was just over 9 years old and getting ready to live in a shelter.  “This is heartbreaking” declared Sylvie.  “Yes”, said Kim, the staff member and one of Sylvie’s newest friends, “I thought about you immediately. You could take Fiona in. You work from home, and you even said you kind of miss having something in the house. Now that your stray cat is gone, it is a perfect time to adopt a dog”.  “Oh, Kim, do you think so? I have never had a dog before; I don’t know what to do”.  “You love it, feed it, walk it, and take it to the vet when it needs shots”, declared Kim.  Against Sylvie’s better judgement, she decided to put in for adoption of Fiona.

Fiona went home with Sylvie 3 days later. As they were settling in, Sylvie heard something out in the four seasons room. When she opened the door, there was Mama cat. Sylvie had forgotten all about putting the barrier back up. “Oh Mama, I’ve missed you, are you alright, are you hurt, you aren’t knocked up again, are you?” To which Mama replied “Meow”.  Sylvie ended up taking Mama Cat, which she shortened to MC, in for a vet appointment and to get her fixed.  MC and Fiona got along fabulously; it was as if they grew up together all along.  Both had taken up residence on Sylvie’s bed and she didn’t mind one bit.  Sylvie put the barrier back on the dog door and MC didn’t seem bothered by this. She perched in the window some days but never went to the door to go out. It was as if she left long enough for Sylvie to realize what she was missing and bring home another family member. Sylvie pondered how much her life had changed in a few short months all because of a cat who gave the most unexpected gift: the chance to love again and the chance to share love.

Note: This story is one of my part fiction part reality entries. It is a blend of several stories tied together with name changes and a little enhancement to make the story cohesive. I hope you enjoy.