Animal Tales
My family wasn’t ready for another pet, but after Snowy was lost, we couldn’t imagine life without her.
When I was about 9 years old, a beautiful white cat showed up at our church.
The pastor’s wife left food out for the stray and named her Snow White. The cat had such a sweet temperament, and it soon became obvious she was pregnant.
Not long after becoming an inside cat at the parsonage, she gave birth. Snowy, as we called her, and her babies then moved to our house to live with my family.
As much as my sisters and I loved her, we already had several pets and would have to put the cats up for adoption.
It was quite a drive to the shelter. We got the kittens out of the car. But because Snowy was considered feral, my parents were unsure if the shelter would take her. As they discussed the situation with the staff, Snowy bolted from Mom’s arms and ran away.
My family kept in contact with the shelter, since Mom and Dad were determined to keep her if she was found. Shelter workers said they saw her sometimes in the evenings, raising our hopes. We hung posters and returned with her favorite cat food to call her.
After three weeks, our optimism began to fade. The cost of frequent trips to find Snowy was adding up. Mom and Dad decided that we would look one last time.
A couple in the area said they’d seen Snowy behind a restaurant. My sisters and I went to look for Snowy and brought some food. We called for her. Sadly, again nothing happened.
As we were pulling away, we saw a cat on top of a stack of pipes behind a chain-link fence. Her white coat was streaked with dirt, and she’d lost so much weight that she looked like a kitten. We didn’t mind her bedraggled condition. We had found our cat!
Snowy eagerly rubbed up against us as we rode in the car. Our hearts, once hopeless, rejoiced.
I’m now in college, and Snowy is still a much-beloved part of our household. We’ll always treasure our miracle cat. The experience taught us that love always finds a way home.