In the country when I was a kid, if a cat or dog showed up on your farm, you automatically assumed somebody had dropped it. That meant we suspected they had taken an unwanted pet for a ride and shoved them out beside the road a good distance away from their house.
I’ve made pets of at least three dogs that had this happen or at least I supposed they had. One, years ago, when I was a dog hungry little girl, a black cockerspaniel showed up in our yard and I was in love. My dad wouldn’t let me keep him, but my aunt who lived over the hill a ways gave him a home. I walked to her house every single day and let that sweet dog lay his head in my lap. When it was discovered he was a 
chicken killer, we had to give him away to someone who didn’t have chickens. I was heartbroken, but a farm girl knows what has to be. I wrote a story about it that was in a book of dog stories, The Dog Next Door by Callie Grant Grant. (You can find the book online at various sites. Here’s a link to it on Amazon.) I retained rights to my story and offer to share a copy of my story only, “A Gift of Love,” to readers who sign up for my newsletter. I’ll share the short piece about my love of two cockerspaniels with you too if you want to read it. Just let me know in the comments and I’ll send it to you via email.
My next dog I assumed was dropped was Oscar, who was found on the side of the road. When the people who found him couldn’t keep him, they advertised to give him away. He became my best dog ever. The other abandoned dog is Frankie. He was picked up by the dog police and I found him at the humane shelter. He’s not my best dog ever because he is often a rascal, but he’s found a home in my heart too.
On to the cat in the story. When I was a kid, barn cats came and went. Some of them would wander away and then ever so often show back up and then they’d be off again. Maybe that’s why I leaned toward loving dogs. They generally stayed around. Mostly.
Fifty years ago, we moved into the house where we live now. At the time we had no outbuildings and the barn was a good ways off down in the field. We had no cats. My husband is not in favor of house cats. At all! So for fifty years we have had no cats. Then this spring something unexpected happened. Very unexpected.
My son and his family came to visit on Mother’s Day weekend. The granddaughters ran into the house and said, “Grammy, did you know you have kittens?” I give them a look as if to say I didn’t think it was April Fool’s day and said, “What are you talking about?”
“You have to come and see.”
I turned off the stove where I was cooking dinner and followed them out the front door. Sure enough, four little kittens were being enticed out from under the deck. The kids hardly wanted to come in for dinner. The kittens were very small, but old enough to eat some food we rustled up for them. They had beautiful blue eyes still the way baby cats do. Four kittens. Two striped ones, one black one, and one tortoise shell. That one gave away the mystery of where these cats came from.
Last year I started putting out cat food in our open shed that was near the garden in hopes that a cat perhaps slinking by now and then would scare away the chipmunks that were eating my strawberries. Seemed to work. Our garden had less pest related problems and we even got some roasting ears before the raccoons did. We started teasing about how I must be feeding a Super Cat, but I never saw a cat in the shed. I did catch a picture of a couple of different ones on a trail camera. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just feeding raccoons and possums.
This spring we started seeing a cat hanging around the yard. Not one I’d caught a picture of on my trail camera. It was a tortoise shell cat and seemed very small. The cat always ran off as soon as it saw us. Obviously, one of those times, she ran under our deck and had four kittens that crawled out just in time for the grandkids to see them. We fed them and the kids held them all afternoon. Mama cat stayed in hiding.
The next day I bought real cat/kitten food. The kind that gives cats a little courage if they are hungry. Mama cat was hungry. Baby cats were hungry. The mama cat is very small and young looking. Each time I fed the kittens, Mama cat got a little braver and wanted her share of the yummy food. Finally she let me touch her. And then she liked me rubbing her back and started purring.
One by one the kittens found new homes. The first two went together in a box to church with me. My preacher’s daughter got to play with the kittens all through Sunday school and then take them home with her.
The tortoise shell kitty with the blaze that was a flower pot kitty up top found a home next. That left only this last little girl. She loved the box I had set out for the kittens. My daughter came to visit. While she was here the kitty went missing for a few hours and we worried she might have followed mama cat off and been lost. If she did, she came back. But my daughter decided to save the kitten from perhaps meeting up with an unfriendly dog like Frankie or a coyote and another kitten went in a box to go to a new home. She’s been named Smudge (I think that’s final) and is having a grand time in her new home.
The next day mama cat – that I named Mama Mia – took a trip to a spay/neuter clinic and lived inside for a few days in a small bedroom while she healed. She was very upset about the whole thing for a day and a half, but eventually she came out from under the bed and let me rub her again. She is still sticking around my yard because I am still buying her cat food. While still very skittish, she lets me rub her and she purrs. It’s fun having a cat around. I do have to keep her away from Frankie who is not a fan of cats. But she stays in the front yard and Frankie and Marley stay inside or in the backyard. So far so good. Maybe I can keep her around and after half a century have a cat again.
I’m not sure why the Lord decided to drop Mama Mia on my doorstep, but if it was to make me smile, it worked.
What is making you smile this week?
Comments 31
I love your story. 2 years ago we found 3 kittens stuck in and near a small empty wading pool in our back yard. While we were trying to get help from a cat rescue the mom came and took them away. The rescue found them on the next block, found homes for the babies and neutered and released the mom who came back to live under our old garage. I have been feeding her twice a day ever since. She now has 2 friends who join her and I have seen a very shy 4th cat sneaking up to eat leftovers. Yes, I put out extra when I see it. The original cat, named Lily by my granddaughter likes to hang out with me in the garden. She lets me pet her and she enjoys treats. This all happened right after our 20 year old cat died. We can no longer have indoor cats because my husband has developed severe allergies as he got older. And yes. I consider these cats my gifts from God.
Author
So far, my Mama Mia is hanging around, Carol, probably because I’m feeding her. But she does seem to like to be rubbed too, even though a sudden move will have her shying away. That could be because I did trap her in a carrier a couple of times! First to take her to be spayed and then to take her out of the house after she recovered enough. She was very calm in the bedroom where I let her recuperate from surgery for a few days. I thought she’d go ballistic, but she just hid out under the bed before she forgave me enough to let me touch her again. 🙂 I’m glad you have Lily and friends to keep you company outside. Mama Mia hung out with me in the garden one day when I was working out there.
Would love to read your dog story “A Gift of Love” !
I remember receiving your email titled “My Very Good Oscar”.
Didn’t want to read it because I knew what it would say since you had
been keeping us updated on Oscar’s health problems.
Thank you so much for all your stories!
Sorry! The title of your email was “My Very Good Dog Oscar”.
Author
Oscar was such a very good dog, Nancy. I don’t remember exactly what was in that particular post, but I’m sure I shared some good things about Oscar. I will be glad to share my story “A Gift of Love” but there are some sad parts in it too. Not about the dog though.
The two good rains we have received in the past week is making me smile. I’m glad for our farmers around the area, they really needed the rain for their crops.
Author
Good rains when needed are always smile worthy, Connie. We’ve had several showers in the last week, but at least they came late in the day so the moisture did have time to help things.
What darling kittens. Thanks for sharing this story. It sure put a smile on my face. I’m glad that all the kitties found homes and that Mama Mia found a nice home as well. I would be interested in reading “A Gift of Love.” Thanks.
Author
Mama Mia is still a little skittish, Amy, but at the same time she really likes for me to rub her and starts purring right away. However, if I make any kind of sudden move, she’d ready to run. I don’t think she’s forgotten her trip in a carrier to the vet.
I’ve sent you the story about at time when sorrow mixed with love in our family. I’ll also send a link to a little electronic booklet of a few of my favorite blog posts, in case you might like to read them.
I’m glad my story put a smile on your face.
Reading your story brought smiles. My husband’s blood test (his potassium level tends to get high which is a problem) and his potassium was normal — oh yes, that was a great smile. And, the sun is out!
“The Dog Next Door” and “A Gift of Love” sounds interesting. Yes, please.
Author
So glad you had good news at the doctor’s regarding your husband’s blook test. I hope you can keep smiling.
The Dog Next Door is a book you can purchase online or maybe find in your library, Loretta. I’ll sent you my story of a true time in my family when a tragic accident brought sorrow to our family. At the same time my husband gave me a gift of love. So check your email later today to see if it came. If you don’t see it in your messages by tomorrow, check your spam folder and if that doesn’t help, let me know. I’ll try it again.
What a cute kitty story! I loved it and it and I’m still smiling. I loved the photos of the kitties, too. All are so cute & pretty. Odd how readily folks embrace and love all the variety in animals, flowers, etc. but have so much trouble with accepting that people come in different colors, shapes and sizes, too. I’m thankful our creator is so creative and created our world with so much beauty and variety.
Author
The Lord did obviously like variety and through that we are blessed with so many great things, Karen, including people of all shapes, sizes, personalities, and more. What a dull world this would be if we were all alike and thinking alike as well. Not that it’s bad to gather a few friends around you that walk the same paths you do and agree with some of the way you think. And just know the favorite book to share with you. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed reading about my kittens.
I loved your kitty story today, Ann. And I would really like to read “A Dog Next Door”.
What’s making me smile today is … my husband works on an Air Force base. A couple of weeks ago a coworker came in and said he found a turtle in a small puddle in the road near the hanger. He put it under a tree so it wouldn’t get run over. My husband went out and picked it up and brought it home. It’s an adult red-eared slider (an aquatic turtle). There are no bodies of water near the base, so we figured this gal was dumped there. We named her Terry Turtle and set her up in a large tote with water and rocks. We set her out several times a day for a walk-about in our back yard.
Here’s the smile part: my husband is now building a pond in part of our yard, complete with a waterfall, for Terry Turtle!!! Seeing his heart for this so-fun-to-watch creature just blesses me to my core. Welcome home, Terry Turtle.
Author
That is so fun, Janette. Terry Turtle was lucky to have the right guy carry him home. Plus that pond in your yard will be a place of beauty that you all can share with Terry Turtle. How neat.
I’m glad you enjoyed the kitten story. I will send you my story from the book, A Dog Next Door, but you’ll have to hunt the book up online or in your library. The book is full of heartwarming stories of dogs other writers have known and loved. But watch your email box for a copy of my story.
I got good news on my newest cancer scan , ( the cancer is still gone) that is definitely smile worthy!
I spent time with most of the family Saturday. I am harvesting and canning food out of my garden.
All these things feed my happiness.
Author
Wonderful news, Lisa. And glad you are enjoying the produce from your garden, and time with family is always smile worthy.
Your story is making me smile.
What is it about Black Cocker Spaniels? I had one that I had to give away when I was 13 because we were living in a townhouse at the time. When I was getting married 7 years later we were at the home of the person I had give this precious pet to, and I do believe he recognized me. Of course I loved on him.
You story about the cats reminds me of our own precious Kitkat, who passed away 2 years ago. His story of attaching himself to us as a family involves: under the hood of my car, getting him out from under the hood at church, he showed back up, a flood, him being lost for 7 days after flood and returning back to us.
It is so important that our furry outside cats are spayed/neutered. Kitkat was bitten by another cat while outside and contracted Feline Aids, it is a real thing. (He became and inside cat.) They do not pass it to humans or other animals, just cats. He was not given much hope after diagnosis, but he lived well past the time the vet told me. He was a sweet and loving companion who was quite a bed hog. We were blessed by God to have had him in our lives.
Author
It’s not much fun to fall in love with a dog buddy and then have to send it off to some new owner. But I am sure your guy did remember you. Animals are good that way. They remember those they have loved. I’ve read about horses that remember their previous owners too.
Sounds as if your Kitkat had an adventurous life, but I’m glad he kept coming back to the people who loved him. We had one of those adventures one time at our church where we knew a cat had crawled up in the motor of one of the cars. Took a while but one of the ladies did manage to rescue it.
I do think we are blessed by our pets. So far, Mama Mia is hanging close to the house and happy to see me when I feed her.
Your story has made me smile. It has been 9 years a few days ago that we had an unexpected kitten come into our lives after his momma abandoned him and he is my baby that I didn’t know I needed. I can’t imagine life without him now. I would say your Mamma cat needs some love and care and God decided to give you the chance to do that for her. Glad her babies all got loving homes.
Author
Those unexpected blessings can sometimes be the best, Hope. Hope you have many more good years with your furry friend.
The Dog Next Door and The Gift of Love. The title of both books sounds interesting. I would enjoy reading both of them. Thank you for the chance
Author
The book, The Dog Next Door, is available at boook sites, Shari. I don’t have those to give away, although I might do a giveaway for one of the copies I have sometime. What I will send you is a copy of my story that is in the book. The other stories in the book are by other writers telling their dog stories. I’ll send the story later. So, check your email to see if you get it. If you don’t see it in your inbox, you might check your spam folder. Internet can be picky about delivering some things.
This story made me smile. Also I went to help my Pastor this week and she was so appreciative as she is not well but we had some good laughs. Blessings
Author
So glad you found some smiles in my kitten story, Lucy, and that you and your pastor had smiles and laughs to share. Smiling can help a person feel better.
Kittens are cute, but I’m not a cat person. My neighbor has 2 cats, Jack & Jill. They’re good at keeping pests away and Jack comes over to say hello every now and then. But Jill has an attitude and my sweet Ollie is terrified of her. She sometimes sits in my driveway, daring him to enter the yard…his own yard! He usually backtracks to my other neighbors yard and sneaks up on my porch to avoid her. We all laugh at the almost daily stand-off.
Author
That makes me smile, Lavon, to see your dog sneaking around to avoid the big bad cat. Sounds as if Jill has the bluff in on Ollie. I don’t think Mama Mia would do that well with Frankie. Best she stays way away from that rascal.
I am definitely a dog person too, but I have to admit to enjoying the kittens and Mama Mia. I think it was because she was so afraid of people and then she made friends with me. So far she hasn’t decided to be friendly with anyone else. Sometimes she’s not too sure about me. Lol
This story made me smile!! I’m an animal lover, especially dogs! But, cats are a near second. Who can resist those sweet faces? Surely not me! Thank you for this endearing story, Ann!
PS: I’d love a copy of you dog story, please and thank you!
Author
I’ll send you that little story later today, Judi. So, check your emails and if you don’t see it by morning, check your spam. Who knows what the internet decides to do with things you send out these days.
I’m glad my cute little kittens made you smile. I think the last two won the jackpots of spoiled kitten world. My daughter bought toys for the last one before she got home. She says the kitten started playing with them as soon as they let him out of the box he was traveling to their house in.
Your kitty adventure made me smile.
Author
Love making people smile, Lee. Thanks for reading my words.