day,Ifoundalitterofwildkittensinourwoodile。AlthoughIhadbeena“dogerson”allmylifeandhadneverhadtherivilegeofsharingmylifewithacat,myheartwentouttotheselittlefurballs。Theywereonlyaboutfourweeksold,andhadbeautifulgray-striedbodiesandlarge,frightenedeyes。Theirmotherwasnowhereinsight。Iutthemintoaboxandbroughttheminside。Jakeheardthemeowingandimmediatelybegantosalivate,drool,andant。Ourveterinariantoldus,“Somedogsjustdon’taccetcatsunderanycondition。”
Ayearafterthekittyexerience,onedayIlookedoutsideontothedeckandsawJakewithhisearsuandhisheadcockedsideways,staringattheground。Thereathisfeetwasatinykitten,sittingverystill。UsingsoothingwordstotryandkeeJakecalm,Imovedincloser,hoingtoreventtheuglyattackIfeltsurewascoming。Thekittenhadbadlyinfectedeyes,anditrobablycouldn’tseewhereitwasorwhatwasloomingoverit。ButJakejustlookedatthelittlecreature,thenlookeduatme,andthenbackatthekitten。Iheardsomemeowing,anddiscoveredanotherkittenunderthedeck。SoIscooedthembothuintoaboxthatwouldbetheirtemoraryhome。IuttheboxinthegarageandstartedmakingcallstoalltheanimaleoleIknew,tellingeachthesamestory—mydogwouldneverallowthesecatsintoourhome,andIneedtorelocatethemrightaway。
Thenextmorning,wefoundthreemorekittenslyinginaileoutsidethedoor,huddledtogetherforwarmth。SoItooktheminandaddedthemtothebox。
Myheartwasveryheavy。Nowwehadfivelittlekittens,allwithinfectedeyes,whichwouldbesentoutintoaworldalreadycrowdedwithunwantedlittlecreatures。Isentthedaymakinghonecalls,onlytobetoldoverandoverthatnoonehadroomformorecritters。IknewI’drunoutofotions,sowithtearsinmyeyes,Iickeduthehonetomakethecalltothevetthatwouldtakethekittensoutofmylifeforever。Atthesamemoment,myeyesfellonJake,calmlyobservingeverythinggoingonaroundhim。Therewasnodrooling,noanting,hedidn’tseemusetoranxious。Ifeltsomethingwasdifferent。
SoIbecamestillandIsat。AndIheardavoiceinmyhearttellingmewhattodo。Icalledourveterinarianandmadeanaointmenttobringthekittensinandgettheireyeschecked。Onthewayhomefromthedoctor,Iwenttoaetstoreandboughtmyfirstlitterbox。Icamehomeandbroughttheboxofkittensbackintothehouse。Jakewaswaiting。Thetimehadcome,soIcarefullyutthebabiesonthefloorofthekitchenandheldmybreath,readytocometotherescueifnecessary。
Jakewalkedoverandsniffedeachofthekittens。Thenhesatdowninthemiddleofthemandlookeduatme。Thekittensswarmedoverhim,haytofindabig,warmbodyoffurtocurlunextto。That’swhenJakeoenedhishearttothefivelittlekittensandadotedthemashisown。Iwonderedifherememberedatimewhenhe,too,hadneededahome。IwentdowntothankhimforhisloveandcomassionandtellhimhowgratefulIwashe’dcomeintomylife。Butitwouldhavetowaituntillater—Jakeandhiskittenswerefastaslee。