I am writing to you from the UK to say, "thank you" for compiling and publishing your book ANGEL CATS: Divine Messengers of Comfort. It helped me through the terrible grief that consumed me after the passing of my tortoiseshell cat, Fudge.
I would like to take a moment to share with you the story of how your book and my very special new kittens touched me in a way I could never have imagined.
With much interest and shared sorrow, I read the story "Mina Goes to the Light" by Lee Crowe. I shared Lee's sense of anguish because like her Mina, Fudge had been with me through my twenties. She shared my life through several house moves, relationships, and job upheavals.
Fudge was my best friend, and we were both high maintenance young ladies. We enjoyed our years living together. Like Mina, Fudge was diagnosed with renal failure, and we spent two years following a very special diet. We made regular trips to the vet and several stays in hospital where Fudge was placed on an IV drip to help her suffering and prolong her very special life.
On her last bout of renal failure Fudge deteriorated very quickly. Within twenty-four hours she was stumbling around in what seemed like a drunken state. Over that weekend I made the decision to free her from her suffering and put her to sleep -- something I had vowed I would never do.
My family and I gathered around Fudge's grave in my back garden. We each said our special good-byes to a cat who had blessed our lives for nearly ten years.
To ease our grief my partner and I quickly began to look for a new cat and decided that we would like a pair of kittens. My partner had recently lost his cat too, so we wanted to bring two special pets into our home.
After a very distressing search for new kittens (we were horrified at the state of the homes that were bringing kittens into the world), we began to give up hope. Then, the secretary at my vet's surgery rang me. She remembered how distraught we had all been at the passing of Fudge and told me she had found the perfect litter.
We visited the same night and brought home our new two-month-old kittens, Charlie (a ginger tom) and his sister, Pippin (a very special tortoiseshell).
I then purchased your book ANGEL CATS and read it in one sitting. When reading the story of Lee and Mina, I sobbed quietly to myself for several hours. I realized that although I had these two lovely kittens in my home, they could not replace Fudge.
When my partner came home, I started to read him Lee's story but broke down into tears. At that point, Charlie bounded up my back and crawled into my neck. He began patting the tears on my face.
I sobbed even harder with happiness and was greeted with Pippin's paw, clawing at the pages of the book. She clawed so hard to stop me from crying that she actually ripped page 151 from your book!
At that point we realized that our home was blessed. I knew that Fudge would always hold a special place in my home and my heart, next to Pippin and Charlie.
If I needed any further confirmation, an hour later, Pippin trotted into our living room, carrying a ball in her mouth. It was a ball that had belonged to Fudge. We thought it was lost. It seemed that my heavenly cat had pointed the way and accepted the new kittens into the home.
I am sure you receive many stories similar to mine, but each day I am more and more convinced that cats hold very special secrets and understanding. It is at times when we need them most that they choose to reveal those secrets to us.
With grateful thanks for your lovely book. I hope that our special friends continue to enrich your lives. Thank you for touching my life through the stories of others.
BIO:
Sarah Browne is a 38-year-old university lecturer who lives in Wolverhampton, UK. She has a special interest in musical theatre, good food, and traveling. Fudge was a rescue cat who came into her life at eighteen months of age. Fudge had been mistreated and abandoned.
Pippin and Charlie are now 4 years old; Fudge appears everyday through Pippin and her mannerisms!
To read a review of Angel Cats: Divine Messengers of Comfort please click on the link
"Cats make one of the most satisfying sounds in the world: they purr ...
A purring cat is a form of high praise, like a gold star on a test paper. It is reinforcement of something we would all like to believe about ourselves - that we are nice."
Roger A Caras