There was a well-known Priest in Baltimore who was an animal lover. As a child, he really didn't have any pets.
After going thru the schooling of being a Priest, he would take walks from the Church to the office building which was thru a parkinglot and next to a very heavily wooded area. Well, he never knew of feral cats...but they knew him and taught him about life.
The cats made such an impact on him, that this Priest bought an igloo shelter for them, and would put blankets in it for warmth. He also would feed them. Slowly, he befriended each one. He had a total of 21 cats. However, the first 4 cats he befriended were the ones who really changed him. He wrote several small books (easy to read) about his cats. They taught him about life. What is was to be abandon, or killed by a car, or to have a terminal illness where the best thing to do was to be put down. It moved him beyond imagination.
When this Priest aged, and got sick himself, he left his beloved cats (only 4 are left today) to a woman who helped him care for the cats (as he got older). Now, the cats are living inside, but have a cat door to let them go inside or outside as they please. Mostly they are inside, and sleeping. The 4 are enjoying life as it was meant to be. They know what it is to be loved. They remember the rejection they once faced.
Feminine Allure,
That poem was just beautiful. I love it! Thank you for sharing that. I am going to write that down to remember.
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