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February 2006

Panthor's Sunshine

By Cindy Zydzik

Panthor was stretched out in a patch of sunshine. He lay there thinking happy cat thoughts like how slick and beautiful he was and how his fur would shine in the sun if he just licked this or that spot. Well, he would lick it if he had the energy. But he had just had all his long, black hair combed just right and it was silky enough anyway. He gave a might yawn and thought how good life was. Just in the middle of a good stretch, he heard a sound. Now what, or who would dare disturb the mighty Panthor right in the middle of a good, bone cracking stretch?

The sound came again. It was a soft, kind of pathetic mew. Well, pathetic in Panthor's point of view anyway. He raised his mighty head to get a look out the window to see where it came from. There, just to the right of a rose bush, almost out of sight was a cat. In his neighborhood? On his watch?

Panthor ran to get Lois, his human. He roared out his disapproval over having a cat near his castle. Lois was a little confused over what the fuss was, but followed Panthor back to the window. When she finally saw the cat outside, she gave a small sound of dismay. "What are we going to do about this, Panthor", she asked. In reply, Panthor pawed at the window. The cat looked up and saw the human and ran.

Over a period of a few weeks, Lois and Panthor watched for the cat and put food out. The cat came every night to eat and slowly got closer. Panthor eagerly watched this progress and came to the conclusion that he wanted that cat for a friend.

Then came the day when he didn't see the cat for a while. He got a little nervous about this, but was even more nervous over the way Lois smelled. There was another cat smell on her. He wasn't real sure he likes this turn of events. Now there were even sounds coming from the spare room and the door was always closed. Lois spent far to much time in this room, in Panthor's opinion. What's more, he could smell another cat in there. And hey, was that a paw he saw under the door? Yes! It was!! Oh, for Pete's sake, there really was another cat in his castle!

Panthor sat there and thought over his options. On the one paw, he would love to have another cat to romp with. On the other paw, he would have to share his castle, his food and Lois with another cat. Hmmmm....decisions. Well maybe a little nap in the sun would help make up his mind. After all, the cat had been behind that door for a while now and he was getting used to the smell of it thru the door and on Lois. So maybe a nap was a good idea.

As Panthor lay there napping, a shadow fell over him. He raised his head and blinked in surprise. THAT CAT was in the room with him. In one mighty leap, Panthor was up on all fours and ready to do battle. But the cat just gazed at him with adoring eyes. Lois stood there as well. "Panthor, this is Sunny", she said. And indeed, the cat looked like a patch of sunshine, all bright and orangey yellow. And Panthor did the only thing a cat of his kind could do...he turned his back on Sunny. But he heard that pathetic little mew again. No, he must harden his heart against this little upstart. Don't let the soft mew get to him. Perish the thought that he would want to play. Well...maybe he did want to play. Just not today. Ok, maybe if he played just a little, this little brat would leave him alone. 

He turned slowly and when he faced her fully, Panthor raised a big paw to take a swipe at Sunny. And she...she...LICKED it!! Of all the nerve! While he sat there in stunned surprise, that little female piece of sunshine curled up in HIS spot of sunshine and started to take a bath. Good grief, Lois was laughing! This just cannot be happening. Panthor walked slowly over to her and reached down to get a good smell. The little brat actually reached up and grabbed his big head with her little paws and licked his face. Now what was a cat supposed to do? He supposed he should beat her senseless for daring to touch him. But my, didn't that feel wonderful to have his face washed by another cat? He looked over to see if Lois was mad that a cat was doing the things that she normally did for him. Was she crying? No, wait, she was laughing and crying. Oh boy, this is really getting confusing. He finally did what any cat of his stature would do...he bopped Sunny over the head and when she moved, he took back his spot of sunshine and took a nap.

Several weeks went by. Sunny was always there to give him a good ear cleaning when she thought he needed one. Panthor noticed that he was even sleeker than he used to be from all the running and playing he had been doing. And my, didn't dinner taste good when one was truly hungry after running up and down stairs being chased and chasing another of his kind? Now laying in the patch of sunshine felt better with Sunny curled up next to him. Maybe if he turned his head just right, she would lick that one spot right up by his ear that he could never get too. Ahhh..yeah, right there. He closed his eyes and stretched and thought happy cat thoughts like how sleek and beautiful he was and how his fur shone so brightly right where Sunny had licked it.

March 2006

Lucky’s Story
By Cindy Zydzik

This is a story about a cat named Lucky. His story is special. But to tell you his story, I have to take you away to a place in your imagination first. It is a place few have heard about and no mortal has ever seen. So come with me if you will, dream with me if you choose, and I will show you a magical place known only to a chosen few. If you can see it, dream it, you are one of them.

There is a special place in the heavens for cats. Their souls go there to await birth. This place is watched over by a guardian Angel named Lydia. She cares for all the cat souls who romp there and it is like nothing you have ever seen or imagined. It is rolling hills covered in green grass and the flowers are abundant. Butterflies fly here and there and stay just out of reach of playful paws. It is magical to see the kittens romping and rolling as they play fight and chase each other. Here, the sun always shines and it is always nap time and the food bowls are always full. Rivers and ponds are everywhere one would want them to be so fresh water is never wanted for. Lydia’s lap is always willing to take one more kitty for loving and petting. Imagine, if you can, the softness of the light and gazing around at all the beauty here.

But Lydia has another job also. She must chose the kitty soul of each kitten that is to be born that day. This is the hard part for she must say good-by to a friend for that time. She knows they will return in time, but she will miss them for all of that time.

And so came the day Lydia got the call for a special kitten. She had to chose among many who would be best to fit this order. She looked around at her cat Kingdom in the Heavens and chose the one special soul she felt would fit. He was a very special soul indeed. All the cats called him Lucky. Lydia called Lucky to her side and explained his mission to him. She tried to tell him of her great love for him and that they would see each other again, but for now, it was time to be born. She told him of the hardships he would face and the troubled times he would endure. But she also told him of all the fun he would have. There would be a family to love him, in time. There would be a child to take care of him. And this child was the reason his mission was so important. This child was the reason she needed a very lucky cat to be born on that day. Lucky was a little afraid, but he bravely licked the hand that Lydia held out to him and prepared himself for his adventure into the living world. He closed his eyes and wondered what color he would be and where he would be born. He hoped it was somewhere as nice as this.

Lucky was born on a spring day. It was a glorious day to be born on. He heard birds singing and the grass was rustling and he could even hear crickets chirping. He thought maybe there had been a mistake because everything seemed the same as in the Kingdom, until he tried to open his eyes. That was when he realized he was a newborn kitten. He moved around a bit until he found his mother’s warm belly and found the nipple to suckle on. His two littermates whispered how lucky he was to be the first to feed. He was lucky he was the first to be born and the first to be bathed. He couldn’t wait till his eyes opened to see what he had become. He lived the perfect kittens life in the meadow. Right up to the day that some humans found his little family. Then he didn’t feel so lucky.

Lucky was put into a cage in a big building in the city. He spent a few days pining for his family and the meadow and thought often of the Kingdom and Lydia. Is this what she had in mind for him? He lay there quietly while others around him cried for what they had lost. Two days later, a woman and a small girl walked into the building. They looked around at all the animals in the cages and the little girls eyes settled on Lucky. As they made eye contact, Lucky knew this was his destiny. But how to convince the humans? He reached a paw thru the cage and gently tugged at the little girls arm. Her eyes widened in surprise as a beautiful, longhaired white cat got her attention. The girl tugged on her mom’s arm and pointed to Lucky. “Please, mom”, she asked. “Can we chose this one? His eyes are two different colors. I have always heard that it is lucky to have eyes of two different colors.” Her mom agreed. Soon Lucky was on his way to his new home.

“What should we name him?”, the girls father asked when they got home. “How about Snowball?” Lucky tried his best to send the message to them what his name was. Snowball? That just wouldn’t do!! He was so very relieved when the girl said “Lucky. I want to call him Lucky because of his eyes. I think he will bring us good luck.” he rewarded her with a nice, deep purr and climbed in her lap for some pets.

Lucky had a wonderful life with the girl and her family for many years. He was fed the best foods and had the best of care. He spent every night sleeping with the girl and watching her grow. He knew all her secrets and her deepest fears. He heard her prayers every night and was there as she got ready for her first date. Watching her grow up and being there for her when she needed him was the best life Lucky could imagine. But he still wondered what his special mission in this life was supposed to be. He found out on a cold winter night.

The family was in bed and sound asleep. Lucky woke up to a strange smell. He couldn’t place what it could be, but he felt fingers of dread ripple thru his body. He stood and faced the door into the hallway where he saw strange ribbons of white floating. Then it dawned on him. There was a fire in the house! His first thought was to run. Run and hide and hope this would go away. Then he stopped. THIS was his mission. He had to save this family from the fire. He didn’t know what to do. Panic was starting to set in as he realized no one was waking up. He then did something for the first time in his life. He reached out to the girl and scratched her arm…hard! She stirred and tried to push him away. He screamed with all his might and the girl woke up a little more. Lucky scratched her again for good measure and that one got her attention. The girl sat up in bed ad asked him what was wrong with him? Then she looked around in confusion and saw the smoke. She screamed for her parents to wake up NOW. What followed was total chaos. Everyone was screaming and running and trying to get out of the house. Lucky somehow lost the girl in the confusion. He did the only thing he knew to do then, he ran.

As the family stood outside the ruins of their house, the girl told everyone of how Lucky saved her and her family. They stood on the sidewalk with their arms around each other and gave thanks for having such a lucky cat that loved them enough to warn them. But they also cried because they couldn’t find Lucky. Their tears turned to shouts of joy as they spotted a fireman walking towards them carrying a very dirty, gray cat. Lucky had been found by the fireman hiding in the bushes. He leaped into the girls arms and tried to bathe himself to be white once again. Everyone around them wanted to pet this hero. He was given a hero’s dinner that night of salmon and all the special kitty food he would want to eat. He had a place of honor in the middle of the girls bed in the motel room. Lucky had fulfilled his mission by not running and hiding when he could have. Lydia was proud.

Many years passed for Lucky. No one ever forgot that he was a hero and he was given the very best in life. He watched his girl grow up and marry. But he knew his mission was complete now. He was tired and his bones hurt. When he slept, he dreamed of the Kingdom and ever so softly, he could hear Lydia calling him home. The green fields of the Kingdom were coming closer to him now. There was one last mission for him though. He had to let the girl release him. She spent more time with him than normal until the day she held him so gently and whispered in his ear. “It’s time to go home now Lucky. Your time here is over and something special is waiting for you. You have been the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me and I am so proud to be here with you at the end. Go Lucky. Go with my blessing to where you came from and where you now belong”.

Lydia opened her arms and the whole Kingdom gave a mighty cheer as Lucky crossed the bridge. Everything was just like he had dreamed it. The sun was shining and he was young and healthy again. His littermates were there to greet him, but best of all was Lydia. He came to her and bowed. She gently raised his head and kissed him right between the eyes and told him of how she had never doubted him and never stopped loving him and missing him. His mission was fulfilled and he was welcome for all time into the Kingdom where he would stay until the next mission came along that required a very lucky cat. Can you see it? Can you just imagine……