April 10, 2015
(This is part
of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on
each day's gift.)
It was a sound that resonated to my bones and vibrated
my heart. It was a sound that was an invisible touch. It was purr-fect music and therapy from Misty,
a senior cat with one green eye and one blue eye.
Misty lives with us now but she has a checkered
past. My mother hated cats and would not allow any in her house but after she
died, my father went to the shelter and picked out what turned out to be a very
special cat he named Misty. She had been pregnant when the shelter got her but
not much else is known about her early life. Misty brought comfort to my father
who so missed his wife of more than 50 years, but when his Parkinson’s
progressed, he had to sell his home and eventually move into a senior community.
There was not enough physical space in his small apartment for a litter box.
That was when David and I offered to take her. Then when we went to New Zealand
and Australia, my father’s friend Ann, a childless widow, said she would look
after Misty. They became so attached that we relinquished Misty to continue her
mission in life as healer to the elderly. After six years, Ann passed away and
now Misty has returned to us.
This morning, Misty greeted and followed me around
the house with her soft motor never stopping. It is a good sound that strokes
the emotions. Some research has found that the vibrational frequency of a cat’s
purr is beneficial to both cats and humans: it lowers stress, decreases
symptoms of dyspnea, lowers blood pressure, promotes bone strength, reduces risk
of heart attacks, helps healing of infection and swelling, helps with pain
relief and helps healing of soft tissue. A cat lives in the assisted living
facility at Oak Crest and it seems for good reasons. I cannot prove the science
but I am witness to the psychological advantages. I would like to receive all
of these physical benefits except I am allergic to cats. But that does not stop
me from hearing and feeling Misty’s purr.
My
gift today is a cat’s purr.
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Wonderful story Bonnie. I live with 3 in the house and many more on the property, but am also allergic. I take my antihistamine religiously every night so that I can bask in the healing energies my cats so generously provide. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know that Misty was especially good for Ann and my father. I often say that if she comes back in another life, it will be as a human.
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