A Dickens of a Cat by Callie Smith Grant

Author:Callie Smith Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: PET003000, NAT024000, REL036000
ISBN: 9781441236975
Publisher: Revell
Published: 2007-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

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When I play with my cat, how do I know she is not actually playing with me?

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne

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We lived on the edge of a man-made lake. It had been dug out, and it dropped off sharply at the edge. There was no wading in the water. We had a fenced-in yard for protection. One sunny day, I was hanging out sheets on the line, and the children were playing in the yard. I took my eyes off them for a minute to untangle a sheet. When I looked around, the gate was open and Jennifer was sitting on the little bridge over the stream that lay between our house and the lake.

“Where’s Robert?” I screamed. She shrugged her shoulders. I dashed across the bridge and looked both ways. No toddler. I started running along the path to the right. Suddenly, I stopped and screamed, “God, help me find my baby!”

Instant calm came over me, and I heard these words clearly in my head: Call your cat. “Frankie!” I cried. There was dead silence. And then I heard that familiar meow coming from way behind me. I whirled around and saw the cat coming out of the bushes that lined the lake. I ran to the spot and there on the very edge of the lake was Robert leaning precariously over the water. I scooted down the slope and grabbed him with Frankie at my heels. I picked up the baby and the cat, crying and thanking God all the way home for sending us this pound cat to save my baby’s life.

When Frankie matured, he started wandering, and one time he was gone several days. I called the vet, who said, “After ten days, you can consider him gone for good.” I tried to break the news gently to Jennifer that Frankie had probably gone off and found another loving family, but she refused to listen. Each night, when she said her prayers, she told God that she wanted her cat back. She didn’t ask. There was no doubt in her mind that her prayer would be answered.

The children were asleep one night two weeks after Frankie went missing when Doug and I heard an awful screeching at the door. I opened it, and a scraggly, dirty gray cat came in. I ran and woke Jennifer and said, “Your cat has returned.” She just looked at me and replied, “I told you God would bring him home.” And she rolled over and went back to sleep.

Frankie continued to adore Robert. As our son grew older, we had him tested for allergies and found out that he was highly sensitive to cat dander. The doctor recommended that we get rid of the cat. I told him that I would never part with the cat because he had saved my son’s life. Robert took shots and eventually built up an immunity. In his later years, the cat even slept with Robert. Frankie would wake Robert up each morning in time for school.

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