My new world

I'm sitting in front of the computer wondering if my less than Elementary School education would allow me to find the words necessary to write about a subject very dear to my heart, first, the loss of my wife after thirty-nine years of marriage; second, the adoption of two cats six months after Evelyn passed away. 

In short, the essence of this narration; I would have never dreamt an evening with friends and a chance meeting with the Director of the Marlton Animal Hospital at my home would lead me to live the past five years giving myself over to the comfort and well being of two cats. Conversely, these felines were and are a panacea to my leading the life of a widower who did not choose the route in seeking another woman to take the place of his departed wife. No other woman could.

  In living the past five years with Frankie the Calico and Johnnie the Tabby it brought me to the realization I was the perfect subject for them to exploit in a manner I would have never thought possible. As a novice in raising a feline family, my education had a long way to go. For the first week or so, this "new parent" would be on pins and needles. However, only five months old, these little furry creatures had already wrapped me around their little paws, especially Frankie.

  I did not have the slightest clue where this new relationship with my cats would lead me. In a number of ways, it led me to my renewed interest in photography, putting their pictures on film, paper and then the computer. Next, having a computer you begin to write about the cats and what it means to be their keeper. Notice I did not say owner; no one ever owns a cat, in a roundabout way they own you and you are bent to their needs and desires. You search out cat sites on the computer and become involved with other cat fanatics half way across the world or right in your back yard.

  You begin to discern each cat's meows, what each varied meow means in their world. You fall in a love between human and feline you would never believe possible before their adoption by you. You become a cat fanatic. If one of your cats hurts, you hurt, too. Strangers, complete strangers become your friends; each alike in their love of their feline pets. If you lived alone, the loneliness disappears with the entrance of the cats into your life and home.

  You are now part of their world. It's full of new experiences with amazingly healthful and happier results for you as their keeper. Your blood pressure drops as you pet them; you feel a calmness that was absent. They creep into your very bones, seeking you out to give you unrestricted and unabashed love without thought of return.

They never fail to welcome you as you enter the house. Your world sad or lonely as it may have been, now takes on new meanings and new life. They want your touch, your closeness, your lap, your bed, they want to sleep with you, snuggling up as near as possible. They will even get under the sheets to get closer. For Frankie and Johnnie, in their world, you are now their mother. Is there a stronger bond?

by Dan M Weiss

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