Do our pets know when we’re not feeling well?
Can they change their ways, in order to help us?
Misty is my mom’s cat. She’s a gray domestic shorthair, about 12 years old and has always been skittish and independent. Cuddling? Not really. She spends most of her time hiding under a bed.
Three weeks ago my mom had knee replacement surgery. The recovery is slow and painful. Mom lives out of state. She lives alone. Her husband is in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease. My husband and I went up to help her for a few days after her surgery, and then returned home. Misty hid the entire time we were there.
But after we left, Mom reported something amazing. “That night, Misty came down the stairs, and jumped up on the couch. She curled beside me and purred.” After that, the cat who never cuddled, never left Mom’s side.
READ MORE: THE HEALING LOVE OF ANIMALS
The significance of Misty’s love for Mom as great. “When I’ve been alone for a year with a husband in a nursing home not even knowing my name, then I have major surgery, it’s a comfort to have Misty jump into my lap, rub against me, and purr out love.” Mom said it eased the pain and “brought tears to my eyes to see and feel her love.”
Misty even put aside her fear of strangers, and has stuck beside Mom even when the caregiver is in the house. That had never happened before.
“When I was feeling so alone,” Mom said, “Misty reminded me that as bad as it gets, she will not leave me, no matter what. Just as God will not leave or forsake us.”
I used to worry about Mom being so far away, all alone. I should have known, Misty was on the job.
