Tiny Vicious Tiger

 They called it a "bomb cyclone."

    -the river in the sky.

-not really unusual for our area.

We prepared for a landslide and an electrical outage while listening to the rain pelting our tarped roof. 

The wind howled and a tree crashed somewhere in the forest.

Four little kittens snuggled close to their mama in the back bedroom.

But another cat was outside. 

When it got dark, and the puppy was asleep I would see her on the porch. Early in the morning she would be there again, her tummy sagging with milk. -begging me to give her food. She would peek inside, but was too skittish to come in. Her eyes wide with terror. 

"Where are your kittens?" I pleaded with her.

She followed me as I tore a piece of siding from our house.

I sat in the mud with a flashlight, trying to see through the insulation. -straining to hear a tiny mew.

Nothing.

The rain turned momentarily to huge fluffy snowballs dumping out of the sky. The soggy ground swallowed the snow as quickly as it fell.  

She stared at me from under the car.

Finally, she stepped towards the door and inside. She found a cubby hole in the laundry room and sat there. -looking at me- calm, regal. 

I listened and cleaned out the old tools, replacing the junk with a box of cozy rags. 

She approved. 

        -curled up and let me pet her -she almost purred.

"Bring them in here, mama. They will be safe."

The kittens in the back room had started to nibble on food and wobble around playfully. Surely her kittens were needing a warm, dry place to play.

"I will help you feed them." I whispered.

She was tired. Exhausted.

I propped the outside door open and shut the door to the rest of the house.

The next time we checked there was one little kitten in the box! 

He was friendly and sweet -white and dusty orange. 

"Good job mama!"

I softly shut the inside door.

It was cold outside, but the outside door must not shut, not until they were all in.

How many does she have? I wondered.

 A cute little tortoise-shell kitten was snuggled next to her brother the next time I checked.

We were in the kitchen when we saw the mama cat standing in the garage.

No wonder I couldn't find them under the house! 

I ran to the garage to see if I could help. There, in the box that I had set out weeks ago, was a tiny black and white kitten, alone and scared. I swooped her up and set her next to the other kittens. Three little kittens! Purrfect!

Mama cat couldn't rest though. She wandered back into the garage.

"I brought her in already." I explained. "Do you have another kitten out there?" 

She stared at me like I should know, but I didn't.

It rained all night.

The kittens were warm and snuggly. Their Mom asked to go outside, so I let her. The door was shut tight. She was a wandering cat. 

I took the puppy outside for a potty break sometime in the wee hours of the morning. 

We tried to find a sheltered place from the wind, next to the garage. I thought I heard a mew. I held my breath. 

Nothing.

"Kitty, kitty?"

...nothing.

Puppy didn't seem to notice. He wanted back in, so in we went.

All day Mama cat came in and out. She seemed happy. 

That night I heard it again.

I looked at the animals. Mama cat just looked at me; puppy played with a leaf and our older dog asked to go back inside.

"Is there another kitten?" I asked them. Surely, they would know. "Just because I'm human, doesn't mean I know everything!" I shouted into the rain. "Show me the kitten!" So, back into the kitchen we all went. Mama cat snuggled in with her 3 little kittens and puppy wriggled out a bit more energy before retiring to his crate. Old dog lay on his mat, tired of the rain and the wind.

The next morning wasn't quite as rainy, but it sure was cold. The cries were louder this time. I HAD heard a kitten! The other animals seemed unimpressed. I ran into the garage and picked up the box. Nothing.

"Mew-mew!"

"Hiss"

I looked under and around everything and finally sat on the cold, cement floor and peered under the lawn mower. 

A kitten!

It was a beautiful, orange tabby! He didn't seem a bit scared as he stood there staring at me.

"Come here, kitty." I coaxed and playfully wiggled my fingers.

He stood up and stepped towards me. 

He looked so cute and tame.

I could almost reach him. His fur wasn't puffed out; his back wasn't arched, but he wasn't coming. He was standing there, on the cold concrete, surrounded by metal blades- hissing! Not afraid, just mad.

"You don't want to stay another night out here. Don't you want to come in with the others? Please?"

Surely his mom had explained it all to him in whatever communication methods cats have. Mama cat watched. Old dog watched.

I left the door open again for a little while that day, but, by nightfall only 3 little kittens lay in the cozy box.

When I went near the garage a soft, warning growl and hiss sounded. 

I checked the box in the garage again. Empty.

"Little kitten. Why are you choosing to sleep in the cold, alone?"

The next day I tried to coax him out with food. He turned his nose up at the food. Slowly stepping away from my hand. Growling. Hissing.

"I give up!" I mumbled sadly.

Later that day I realized I didn't see mama cat anywhere. What if? 

I walked slowly over to the long box in the corner of the garage. It had been empty all the other times, but this time it felt heavy as I tilted it upright. There was mama cat staring up at me! Her baby must be in there too. I touched the heavy rag on the bottom of the box. A very familiar growl and hiss sounded from under the rag. I grabbed the kitten and stuffed him in my coat holding firmly to his little body so he couldn't bite or scratch me. He spat and hissed and growled. Mama cat sat and watched.

I have rescued a lot of kittens, but this one was something else. I was sure he was going to bite me. I was worried that, if I released my grip, he would attack!

"You're not going to die." I assured him. "Your life is about to get a whole lot better!"

But evidently, cats can't understand me any more than I can understand them.

I carried him into the warm house.

"Look!" I coaxed gently "It's really nice in here. All your friends are here, and we have food!"

But he was angry that I had pulled him from his happy life of playing with lawn mower blades and sleeping alone. He spat and hissed and tried to move his head to bite me.

The other kittens looked up at us and blinked. -unconcerned with the war sounds coming from my jacket.

Somehow, he ended up in the box with the other kittens, but only for second. He bounced out and hid behind a shelf- growling quietly, yet fiercely. 

"Fine." I said "Stay there. But soon you will be running around playing and having a great time."

This morning, he pretended to sleep in the box while the other kittens ran to see what treats I had brought them. Their bellies were full of milk, but they still came and happily licked at the food I had brought. They purred, played and ate. They climbed my pant legs for attention.

I sat on a stool cleaning out the litter box, then I turned around and saw him. He was peeking out from behind the shelf, and he wasn't growling. He looked calm. He purposefully came a little closer to the food I was offering him and took a bite. I started to touch him, and he growled, standing his ground.

"Okay. I won't pet you."

I wonder how often God reaches out for us humans and we push him away, presuming He doesn't want what is best for us. I wonder, do we sometimes go kicking and screaming into our next stage of life, presuming our life has ended? Does God look at us, like I did that kitten and say: You aren't going to die. In fact, just wait and see what I have for you, just around the corner. It is more wonderful than you can imagine. Don't be afraid. I love you.

Naw, we are humans! We are smarter than this silly little kitty who would rather stay in the middle of a storm than be carried to safety. 

Right?!