The Healing Purr: A Cat to Heal a Broken Heart
As Told By: Linda Poff
Animals are wonderful. They love unconditionally. They know when you are feeling sad and they know how to make you laugh. Cats are so ultra with this, they do it with disdain, haughtier and class. Cats do miss their owners, but they mostly miss the fact that THEY don’t have thumbs and their human owners do. Then they go off and find a sunny place to nap for 23 years until we can feed them, bask in their amazingness and talk to them like total idiots.
My story begins with an ending. After 16 years with us, out beloved Parsifal had to go to heaven. It was heart breaking. I sobbed for over a week, then sporadically for a month. I was not looking to get another cat. We still had a cat, Kiki, whom we had rescued when she was 3. She had truly done her duty of keeping Parsifal warm at night and helping to finish his food because he had “forgotten” it. She is a hoover. (A special breed too, she has no ribs. AKA, fat)
My husband saw an add for a $5 adoption day at our local shelter. I really didn’t want to get another cat. But if I did..I wanted this one to be an indoor cat only. Parsifal and Kiki were allowed inside on and off, but I was so allergic to everything they carried inside that my asthma made it impossible. They enjoyed heated and covered beds in the garage for a secured night and the freedom of our large yard during the day. Our kids were old enough now that I could handle an indoor cat and teach the feline the ropes.
We wandered around the shelter finding beautiful cats of all ages. Oh how I wanted to rescue so many! One little guy was way up in the corner with no tag on his cage. He had been returned after a family “discovered” they were allergic to him. They took him out and my husband held him. He purred loudly, sniffed greedily then leaned way over to kiss me on the cheek. Here was my dream cat! All black. Green eyes and a boy! We put him back but took a picture of his cage and his handsome face. We went looking for a friend his age but couldn’t really settle on another kitty. We went to the desk and beat out someone else! We already had a carrier for him and we were good to go!
We brought him home and introduced him to our girls. We also set up a temporary cage for him with his bed, water and litter box so that he could sleep at night without getting into too much trouble. He was so good! He quickly learned the layout of the house and soon became the master of helping us to take naps.
It took about a week to settle on a name for him. Jasper. But he also answers to Biscuit, Flappy Pants, Pants Man, Pumpkin, Slappy pants (he likes to hide under the dining room chairs with jackets hanging over their backs and slap at our pants as we walk by) and Bing Bong.
He is 3 1/2 now and still has the softest purr, squeaks for a meow (they had him fixed way too early!) and longs after the “large woman” that roams outside. He and Kiki are not friends. He is afraid of the outside (thank goodness!) and has multiple beds throughout the house. He even gets bathed once it’s warm enough!
He knows the words Nap, Bath, Yum yum, Doorknob (and tries to turn them), what did you do and treat. He is pretty smart. He knows when I’m thinking about giving him a bath. But he let’s me do it anyway. I can bathe him in about 1 minute. Speedy!
One room is absolutely forbidden to go into…the office. This Holy Grail is where my Vocal Booth is. I refuse any furry animal in there! Guess what? I found the furry poop ON TOP of my booth TWICE! He knows he cannot come in. When the door is open he likes to peak in then run away when I point at him!
Jasper has helped us to heal from our loss. He brings us joy with his goofiness and he helps keep me calm everyday. He is the first thing I think of when I am leaving a stressful situation. Because I know I get to come home to him, pet him and be ignored. Good kitty.
About Linda Poff
My name is Linda Poff and I am a voice actor. I have been connecting with clients from around the world for over a decade from my Broadcast Quality home studio here in Southern California. My lifetime of experience in areas from rebuilding an engine, dancing on stage as a classically trained ballerina, cake decorating, quilt sewing, child rearing and working as one of the top MRI technologists gives my clients an professional that actually KNOWS what she is talking about. The audience hears it too. I’m not just talking about something. I’ve lived it and can tell it authentically. Hear and see some of my work at www.voxfab.com.
MEOWTASTIC!
We at Lucky Pineapple Films love cats. We love them so much, we have our own cat themed store, The Cattiest Cat Shop. To celebrate our love of cats, we invited people to share their own cat stories. When we moved the website over to a new shop, we didn’t want to lose them. Voila! Here the amazing cat stories are forever preserved on the Lucky Pineapple Films website.
