THE CAT WHO CAME BACK HOME
By Eliza Gilner

Cats have always been in my life.  Some of my earliest memories involve them. I feel closer to cats than I do to anything else.

When I was ten, Lion-o was born and came into my life. He was an orange and white American short hair. We were inseparable. He would follow me everywhere, even to school.  I would have to tell him to go home, and usually he would obey and go.

When I came home he'd run to me. I would pick him up, and he'd wrap his paws around my neck and snuggle close.  He was my cat soul mate. We spent many happy years together.

Sadly when he was only eleven, Lion-o was taken from me. He developed a horrible illness that could not be cured. I dreamed about him constantly. I cried all the time for him; my grief could not be stopped.

For two years I begged God to bring Lion-o back to me.  I had for a while stopped having dreams of him. Then one night, I had such a vivid dream of Lion-o that I thought he had never died.

The next day I found a litter of kittens one of my cats had had outside my window.  We brought them inside, and found a baby to whom I was absolutely drawn. I thought it was my Lion-o come home.

It turned out that this kitten was not Lion-o, but he had certain qualities that reminded me of him. His name is Jerrybear.  He helped to bring me back. He showed me love and devotion, just as Lion-o had done.  He followed me everywhere, gave licky kisses, and was just the sweetest cat you could ever meet.

The dreams of Lion-o stopped for a long time.  I knew Lion-o had sent Jerrybear to me, so I could go on and live again.  Jerrybear had filled the void that Lion-o left.  I still thought of Lion-o often, and my grief was still there although not as bad.

Three years after Jerrybear was born, I went through a very rough patch in my life. I was sitting in the cafeteria where I work and was close to tears about the whole situation. I started thinking about Lion-o.  I whispered, "I miss you Lion-o. I wish you were still here so I could see and hold you. I need you. "

I heard a shuffling noise and turned around but saw nothing. When I turned back again to the table, I saw Lion-o. He was cleaning himself. He stopped and looked at me, gave me kissy eyes, and jumped off the table.  I looked to see where he went and called his name,

but he was gone.  I started feeling a lot better and had this excited feeling in the pit of my stomach, though I did not know what it meant.

That weekend I went to visit my mother. One of her cats had just had kittens a few weeks earlier. All of them, except for one, were fuzzy orange and white babies.  I put them all on her bed to get a good look at them.  They were running around the bed, mewing and having fun.

All but one was playing. He just stared at me.  There was a look of knowing on his face. He proceeded to walk up to me and reached up with his paws as if to hug me.  I looked at him and I asked, "Lion-o?"

The kitten started purring and pawing at me. I picked him up. He put those paws on my chest because he was too small to hug properly. I started crying. He kept right on purring. Eventually he fell asleep in my arms.  My baby had come home to me.  It was the happiest day I had had in a long time.

This kitten came to live with Jerrybear and me.  At first, Jerrybear was a little upset when I brought Lion-o home. He hissed and tried to attack, but Lion-o did nothing. He knew not to retaliate.  Soon, though, both cats learned to love each other.  Jerrybear knew who

Lion-o was.

Now I have two wonderful guardian cat angels to love and watch over me.  I thank God for them everyday and love and kiss them all the time. I make sure they both know how much they are loved and how they saved my life.

So my angel, Lion-o, sent another angel, Jerrybear, until he  returned. Now I have two angels.

BIO:

Eliza Gilner is at the moment a secretary at a mental health facility.  She is also a singer, musician, devoted mommy to six beautiful cats and an animal lover and protector.  Eliza lives on Long Island with her fiance and her mentally disabled brother. Someday, Eliza hopes to have a cat farm, where anyone can bring cats to her and adopt them too.  She wants this so fewer cats will be hungry and homeless and unloved.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

Have you been re-gifted with an angel animal who returned?