Once in a Blue Moon
It was a sunny day back in June when a kitty showed up at our house. Uninvited. She bounced around in our yard and stayed near our grandsons who were working in our landscaping. She meowed as a hungry kitty would meow. Our grandsons fed her. Gave her water. And named her Jimmy.
Jimmy was wearing a collar with a tiny silver bell around her neck. Surely someone was missing her. We searched for the owner. But no luck.
My husband and I tried to not be the owners of this girl named Jimmy. We tried to give her away. Certainly one of our farming friends would like to know what a great mouser she is. How friendly she is. How she would make the best addition to their farm.
A few weeks ticked by, and it became apparent that Jimmy would be bringing a litter of kittens into the world.
That meant we’d be searching for friends who would like to adopt a baby kitty. That also meant we’d enjoy the newborns for a few weeks and watch as they begin to tumble, wrestle, and play with each other.
Our daughter Natalie was born many moons ago on August 19. On a Monday. In the early afternoon.
The kitties chose the same birthday – August 19. On a Monday. In the early afternoon.
The moon on August 19 was not only the first supermoon of the year – it was also a blue moon and the first of four consecutive monthly supermoons occurring in 2024.
My brother Stevie was a moonwatcher. I wrote about his love for the moon in my Stevie book. Like most of us, he didn’t know anything about astronomy; he simply enjoyed watching the skies and telling others to take a look.
As wonderful as it has been watching Jimmy take care of her newborn kitties, we quickly found out there are many grown cats already available for adoption.
Back in the 70s, Bob Barker used a few moments on The Price Is Right television game show to teach the importance of spaying and neutering pets. So I’ve known this piece of information, yet I wasn’t quick enough.
Our friend Kathy had told us to get Jimmy on the schedule for the procedure. Kathy knows we’re teasing when we tell her she should have been stern with us. She should have been bossy. She should have emphasized the importance of being quick. She apologized to us, and we accepted her apology. In the meantime, we’re all enjoying the kitties.
I was recently perusing YouTube when a video entitled “Why Did God Put a Cat in Your Life?” randomly came through. There it was – answers to a question I didn’t know I had.
When I’m asked why my late brother Stevie was so well-liked, I’ve shared that I believe those with Down syndrome often bring the same joy to others that a pet or baby can bring. It’s their high vibration. Babies have it. Kitties have it. Dogs have it. Stevie had it.
There are times in life when we vibrate high, and times we vibrate low. It’s a subject worth knowing and researching on our own.
A few years ago during a bitterly cold January, our friends were taking care of a stray cat that was in need of a forever home. They posted her picture on Facebook and mentioned she’s extra cuddly. My family decided she would make a great companion for Stevie. So I surprised him by delivering Kitty to his house on a Saturday morning when he wasn’t expecting company.
Thankfully, I turned on my phone camera to record the moments when Stevie and Kitty met each other. The videos can be found on the “Stevie Kimpel” Facebook page.
Stevie didn’t know Kitty was in need. He simply did what came naturally and took care of her. In return, Kitty took care of him.
After learning more about cats, I know why things worked out so well between Stevie and Kitty.
Anyone who knew Stevie also knew he was fun to talk to. Like all of us, he had a few one-liners that were unique to him. He spoke to Kitty and let her know how much she was loved. He played with her by tossing a cloth belt to her. He sometimes laughed until he cried as Kitty tried to grab the belt while he pulled it away from her.
One of my future publications will be a coloring book featuring Stevie and Kitty. And now I have a wonderful mother cat, five little kittens, and the supermoons to include in the book.
Most of us know that animal shelters have always been busy places, but we may not know they are now operating at full capacity. Nationwide, adoptions are at an all-time low while intakes are at an all-time high.
For those of us who didn’t know we had a question, the answer is there are ways we can help. We can donate funds to our local Humane Society. We can volunteer. We can be bossy and tell our friends they need to be quick.
We can invite speakers from the Humane Society or a veterinarian’s office to our civic group meetings and learn what it is we don’t know.
We can help our children create their own coloring book featuring fun times with their pets. Or pictures of the moon and stars and all of Creation.
Best of all, we can be like Stevie. We can adopt a kitty in need of a forever home. Life will be good for the kitty and even better for ourselves. It’s that high-vibration thing.
As for me and my house, we’ll find homes for our supermoon kitties. We’ll accept help from our friends who know more about cats than we do. We’ll do our best to ensure that the birth of five beautiful kittens at our home was truly a once-in-a-blue-moon event.
In the meantime, who would like a baby kitty?
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