Sometimes That Simple Act of Human Kindness Doesn’t Go to Another Human!
ATTENTION ANIMAL LOVERS…THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!
For the past few days, I have written about Simple Acts of Human Kindness and how today’s digital world does not address nor does it provide any benefit for those who are suffering in ways you and I can never and will never be able to comprehend.
Simple Acts of Human Kindness was started in hopes of addressing some of those issues, particularly those right here in my backyard.
But today’s Simple Act does not involve a human…it involves my little 2-year-old female tabby cat pictured above…Tigger! Yes, she was named after Tigger, Winnie the Pooh’s best friend.
T-I-DOUBLE GUH-R that Tigger!
My daughter is solely responsible for turning me into a cat person when she brought home a tiny little bag-of-bones we named Gypsy. Gyps as I called her was the greatest. Calm, cool, and a total cattitude to the end! That was Gyps.
Natileigh (my daughter) moved out, I inherited Gyps along with Ozzie, and Stormy which are stories in and of themselves.
This one is about Tigger!
About three years ago I was living in a small apartment where I had these three cats and took very good care of each one. They were all female (yes Ozzie was and still is a girl!)
That is until one day when Gyps escaped while in heat and promptly six weeks later, my official cat population jumped from 3 to 6.
I did not mind at all. I was a single freelance writer scratching out a meager living just like they would scratch out holes in the litter box to poop.
When Gyps went into labor, she did exactly what I wanted her to do. I had a large birthing area in my living room big enough for me to sit with her and comfort her while the magic and majesty of live birth unfolded right in front of me.
I have never been so deeply touched in all my life.
My little Tigger was the first one out. Literally born right in my lap. Her two brothers Max and Buzz were second and third.
Despite a fluke 4-day trip to the Smoky Mountains, Tigger and I have been together since her first breath.
Fast Forward to Last Night
Tigger, Ozzie, and Max are the ones I have left and we make the best of it.
Gyps’ second-born, a smoke blue tabby named Buzz freakishly died from unknown causes in his sleep about 9 months ago. Max which is short for ‘Maximum Cat’ is a real trooper. Somebody in this neighborhood decided last February that shooting at cats is cool.
Max lost his right front leg due to the unkind acts of some useless fucker that will have a special place in hell!
They love living out here where they can roam acres and acres of woods. Max has adapted to life as a ‘Tripod Cat’, Ozzie is the oldest and the Queen, then there is my little princess…Tigger.
Living where we do, you never know what one of these guys is going to bring you as a gift. One day last summer, Tigger walked in the door and proudly dropped a 5-foot-long rat snake at my feet. It wasn’t dead…I almost was, my old heart can’t deal with shit like that!
We’ve since had discussions about what is and is not proper for bringing home! Last night was a bit different…
Here in the Deep South, right now is what we call ‘Stink Bug Season.’ These annoying aphids are everywhere this time of year until the first frost comes. Between now and then I certainly do not think Tigger will eat another one!
Last night around 11 p.m. it began lightly raining so I got the familiar scratch at the door telling me the cats wanted back in where it was warm and dry.
As Tigger approached the ‘never-ending food bowl’ for her dinner, she decided to have an appetizer. A Stink Bug!
Have you ever seen a cat when they try to eat a frog? Their mouth begins producing this constant flow of foam trying to rid the mouth of the awful (I guess) taste.
A Stink Bug, however, is 1000 times worse. I thought this cat was going into seizures as she continued this foaming action and ran around the room bouncing off of everything like a pinball as if that would help.
I immediately knew what had happened because I got that familiar aroma let go by the bug in question.
My little Tigger needed a Simple Act of Human Kindness…in a big way!
Thank God I was able to provide her with that!
I do not know how I remembered this, but I grabbed a small syringe we use when the cats need medication. I pulled up a few syringes full of fresh water and wedged Tigger between my chest and my left arm and I flushed out the remains of the bug, the taste, and the god-awful amounts of foam from her mouth!
What Did I Get?
With the Stink Bug episode finally written and passed, Tigger filled her empty stomach with the food provided daily, with a bonus can of wet food for good measure. I usually feed them only dry food with a bit of wet food thrown in for variety.
My reward in all of this was tenfold.
Tigger loves to give me head butts. She lets me know when we have had a good day by giving me a head butt.
Last night, she head-butted me about a dozen times, curled up on my lap in a very loud purr and there she stayed all night. I was being given the ultimate cat compliment.
She appreciated my Simple Act of Human Kindness!
