In June 2008, I got a call from a local nonprofit group, Friends of Feral Felines, telling me that a stray cat with four kittens, now living (literally) in my backyard, needed to be rescued.

So I walked over to the woods and found all five of them – but there was one kitten in particular who was peering at me from under a big pine tree. All I could see were bright blue eyes, a white bib, white paws and some grey stripes. Unsocialized at about 4 months of age, he was probably wondering if I was friend or foe.

I set out wet bowls of food in some Havahart traps and over a week, captured the momma (a long-haired, blue-eyed, beautiful version of the kittens), who was adopted by a neighbor. She is now renamed Gracie, and luckily I get to visit her.

I also caught three of the kittens, who went to the Animal Refuge League. The staff admired their beauty and permanent blue eyes, and within an hour, all three were spoken for. However, the fourth kitten remained at large.

After I lost my blue-eyed Siamese cross to pancreatic cancer, the Telegram published an essay I’d written, “A hard goodbye for a much-loved cat” (Nov. 29, 2009). Now it was time for me to stop grieving and adopt another cat to heap lots of love on.

So after trapping this final kitten, I realized it was the one who had peered at me through the pines! I named him Sapphire, then over the next month, got him vetted and microchipped (as a former licensed veterinary technician, I have seen how important it is for indoor cats to also be microchipped) and spent lots of time socializing him to indoor life.

All of my love and affection toward him have been given back to me a hundred-fold. For example, last night I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep because I was tossing and turning. Sapphire somehow knew that I was having difficulty sleeping, so he jumped up into my bed and started to purr and rubbed against my hands to ensure I was petting and scratching all of the right places, and then he lay down next to me.

Of course, one cannot move when one has a cat glued to one’s side, so by just being there and purring (studies show a cat’s purr has medical value!), I was forced to lie still and finally fell asleep.

Every day, his antics, playfulness and affection give me comfort, especially after a busy and stressful day at work. As soon as I get home, he insists that I stop my “busyness” and sit down on the couch in order to pet him. During our mutual affection session, I can actually feel my heart rate slowing and stress leaving my body. How can I help but smile, count my blessings and ponder how gifts come in 12-pound packages?


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