God brought kitty.

There are two kinds of pet people, well actually three kinds, the cat-lovers, dog-lovers and those that choose not to have pets. I am a dog person, my hubby is a cat person. I was raised with dogs and he was raised with cats. So how do two people with such backgrounds choose their first pet? Our first pet was . . . a cat. Yep, he won.

Actually, I loved our kitty, Phoebe (he also picked the name). She was very independent and never listened to a word I said. I quickly found out that cats aren't really trainable, well unless they think it's worth it. So when our beloved kitty passed on (she had really bad skin cancer) I didn't plan on having another one. We got a little dog for the boys and we were good with just one pet.

My youngest son is a cat-lover. He has begged for a kitty for the past year. Literally. My parents and my in-laws both have a cat and I said "you have a kitty honey, at Nanny's and Grandma's." Um, not very convincing, I guess. I have came to the conclusion that my little boy prayed for God to bring us a kitty.

On the morning of our 10th wedding anniversary, a tiny, malnourished, scared, wild kitty found itself under our bay window. It took us about an hour to finally reach her and pull her out. She was extremely skinny and barely alive.

She was so little and could barely meow or even eat. We fed her warm milk and she acted like she hadn't eaten for a long while. Within minutes, she was purring.

That night we kept her in a big box inside the house and she cried alot through the night. She was really scared and was very unsure of her surroundings. She was NOT used to being around humans. My oldest son asked "why is she crying and meowing so loud?" and I said "she's calling for her mommy."

Four weeks later, she is a VERY different kitten. She prefers me over anyone else. She's playful, curious, healthy, and brings so much happiness to our family. I go out to greet her and feed her and she comes right up to me and purrs the loudest purr I have heard a little kitten do. Where before, she wouldn't come near any of us and she was petrified of everything.

Here she is about two weeks ago. She is now twice this size.

I now know why God sent us this kitty. The path of our kitty parallels the path of life that begins when our little girl comes home. She won't be malnourished and afraid of humans. But she will cry and mourn for her Foster mother. She will be unsure and maybe fearful of her new surroundings. And although we won't nurse her back to health, we will begin the attachment process. Kittens don't purr unless they feel safe, and I believe that our baby girl will supernaturally know that she was meant to be in our arms and in our family from day one. It will feel "natural" to her, just like kitty felt naturally safe.

I don't equate the "saving" of a kitty to that of "saving" our daughter. God has shown me through this instance that animals, just like people, are born with instinct. And our little princess will instinctively know that I am her mother. It will feel right to her. This little lesson that God gave me really put me at peace. I will instinctively know what to do and how to attach, with Him right by my side. There is alot to adoption, but I wouldn't have it any other way and I am so thankful for these gifts that HE has given us.