In Loving Memory.

Snowball
1999-2006

Words fail me as I try to cope with another loss of a friend. You were such a sweet innocent creature, and you have left a great hole in our lives. We are even more saddened by the fact you were pregnant and expecting soon. You came to us as just a baby, only a few weeks old, fresh from country. I remember holding you to try to get you used to people, even though you were not sure you wanted that. As you got used to us, you quickly chose Bonnie as your favorite. You and Tigger became such good friends, and I know it was hard on you when he passed away. While you never felt too comfortable with me holding you for some reason, you always brought joy to Bonnie, and to her you were like a third daughter. You will always be remembered and missed, and the unborn kittens you carried will forever play in our hearts. We will never be able to replace you, like Tigger you were one-of-a-kind. Goodbye, sweet princess.

Tigger
1995-2005

To Tigger, terrorizer of crickets, mice and dogs, and long time friend, I say a tearful goodbye. When Bonnie first brought you home, my first reaction was, "He can't stay - I'm allergic to cats and I really don't want one." You proved me wrong on both counts. Within days you had purred and nuzzled your way into my heart and made yourself "my cat." You were there to cheer me up and calm me down when I came home from work from a job I hated. You calmly sat in my lap purring as I pondered the meaning of life. You even gave me insight as to our relationship with God, and that He had to be a "cat person" in order to put up with us. You listened to my music, put up with my mood swings, and yet you never complained. All you asked for was some food and water, and some attention - when you wanted it of course! Even when we got Snowball and later Dusty, it was you who would lay at my feet or by my side nearly every night - even when it wasn't cold. You put up with us moving - twice. You endured two kittens that grew up to be your feline companions. You even put up with a baby who wasn't afraid of you no matter how much you hissed at her! I will miss you more than I can put into words. You were the son I never had. Your departure has left a hole in my life. You were loved, not only by me but by everyone in the family. Goodbye, old friend.
 

The following was inspired by Tigger and written by Michael about five years ago and was distributed on the Worship Talk e-mail list.

God is a Cat Person

Something occurred to me one night while I was trying to go to sleep. God is a ‘cat person.’ This isn’t the most profound thing to be revealed to the world, but it seemed worth sharing. First, let me introduce you to my cat, Tigger. He is a male shorthair with orange and white stripes. He has your typical cat attitude: does not come when called, maintains a certain aloofness, does what he wants - even when he knows he shouldn't. Now he has come to expect me to feed him, keep his litter box clean and scratch his ears when he's in the mood for it. Sometimes he wants to occupy my entire attention, sometimes he wants nothing to do with me.

Now and then he decides the food I give him is not good enough. He frequently turns his nose up at the water dish, preferring to try to drink straight from the faucet, or someone's cup. He prefers to scratch the furniture instead of his scratching post, even though he knows he will get yelled at or squirt with the water bottle.

If I don't feed him when he wants to be fed, he will often climb up somewhere and start knocking things off to get my attention. At night he climbs up on the bed and nudges my hand until I pet him. The quickest way to get his attention is to start showing some attention to my wife's cat, Snowball.

Could he make it on his own in the world? Probably not real well. He has never faced a dog. He has never really learned to hunt. He has no comprehension of what things are out there that could hurt him. He's too used to relying on me to take care of him.

Does he love me? Non-cat people might have trouble seeing it, but observing him tells me he does because he wants to be with me, sometimes just to curl up in my presence knowing that he is safe there. So the answer is yes - at least as much as a cat is able to.

Now is this really different from the relationship I have with God? I want Him to feed me, pay my bills, and scratch my ears - when I'm in the mood. I want to go do what I want, even when I know I shouldn't. I want to nudge His hand for things I want, sometimes to the exclusion of anyone else. When I see another receiving His blessings I want to run in and get some too.

But sometimes I turn my nose up at what He gives me. I prefer to try to get my own "blessings" from other sources, often which are not good for me. If I don't get what I want right away, I sometimes go and do things I know are wrong. Do I love Him? Though my actions sometimes make it hard to tell, He knows my heart and knows that I do - at least as much as a human is able to.

I'm so glad God is a "cat person."