Syvesteria
Hello, little friend, my name is Sylvesteria, and I am a cat. I live in the most beautiful place you can imagine beyond your wildest
dreams or even mine. Even the big and small dogs get along here and everybody loves the cats.
Listen to my story
and I think you will see for yourself how absolutely amazing it is what God has planned for all of us who love Him.
I've never been a boy or girl, but I did once live in the same very big world that you do. I'm here to tell you about my adventures and to encourage you to always pray and trust in God to take care of you and your family.
My mother was a beautiful black and white long-haired cat. The day I was born along with my five sisters was indeed a happy day for my mom. Our owners looked
us over and counted us, but they left us with our mom where we belonged.
One of the them pointed to me, “Looks
just like the mother.” I was pleased as can be to hear that.
Mom took very good care of us, fed us well, cleaned
us and began to teach us all about “cat things.” Some of things my mom taught me I’ve never forgotten: never give up hope; pray every day; in this world there are kind and good people; and God does listen
and answer our prayers!
There were days and weeks and more weeks chasing and hiding and pouncing, learning
to hunt of course and perfecting the cat nap.
Eventually, the day came when mom gathered us together and told us
that soon we would have to leave her and go out on our own. We were excited about the new adventure, but also sad to be leaving mom.
“Every animal and person sooner or later must leave home,” she said. “That is the way with growing up.” She told us she loved us. All six of us were soon adopted into new families. It was a very adventurous time for all of us.
I liked my new home. There were two young children who liked me too. The kids
and I played together everyday. I grew and grew. The children’s mom was nice and she made sure I got fed. But she seemed really sad and
frightened most of the time.
I loved when the family let me go outside. That was a blast but I soon found out a cat
has to be real careful outside, as there were big dogs that chased me a time or too.
also discovered some awfully
big cats in my neighborhood that didn’t care much for me at all, but thankfully I could outrun them or stare them down.
My life took a turn for the worse when a mean man moved into our home. He didn’t like me. He told the woman that he was allergic to cats and I would have to stay outside. When the man wasn’t
home, the kids would let me in.
The man was really mean to the woman and the kids too. From outside I could hear
him yelling at them and making them cry. I didn’t like the man and I wanted to go and pounce on him, but considering my size, I thought otherwise.
Eventually, I ended up living out in the garage. Sometimes they would forget to feed me for days at a time. It was a good thing I was good hunter.
It seemed no one paid much attention to me any more, but I still loved them. One day the woman felt sorry for me and let me in the house. I was in all day and it was just like old times again.
Then the man came home and he was really angry. He started throwing things around and yelling at the woman and the kids. I ran and hid underneath the bed.
The man asked the woman if I was in the house because he started to sneeze like crazy. The man began
looking for me until he found me. He grabbed me so hard, I could hardly breathe. Then he opened the door and threw me out into the street. I landed on the pavement, stunned and unable to move. When
I could stand up again, I limped away to a safe hiding place.
After
a few days of lying around licking my wounds, I felt very hungry. I decided it wasn’t safe to go back home any more.
I began to walk the streets looking for food. That's when I met “Garbage Can Annie.”
Garbage Can Annie was the head of the street gang of cats and knew how to survive on
the streets. My mom told me about her and said if you ever meet up with her just do as you’re told. Garbage Can Annie saw I was in tough shape, so she left me alone.
“How long have you been living out on the streets?” Garbage Can Annie asked.
“I’m not sure, but it’s been awhile. I can’t go back home anymore,” I said.
I then proceeded to tell Annie all about the terrible things that had happened to me.
“Well kid, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll show you the ropes out here. Just don’t cross me and I’ll make sure
you are taken care of. It’s not a bad life out here. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now. But you know, if I could find a good home, I’d give up this kind of life in a minute,” said Annie sadly.
We would sleep during the day in abandoned buildings or garages and then at night we would go looking for food.
The winter months were the toughest, as it was hard to keep warm.
One night Garbage
Can Annie said she was going out by herself and she didn’t want me tagging along. That suited me fine, as it was cold out. When morning came, I got up and stretched and looked around for Annie, but she wasn’t there. She had always returned before
daylight, so I began to search for her.
I looked everywhere but Annie was not to be
found. I was very sad and worried. Exhausted, I went back to the abandoned garage where Alley Cat Sam was waiting for me.
“I’m sorry, Sylvesteria, but Annie didn’t make it. I found her this morning. She’s been run over by a car. She sure is going to be missed around here. If you want,
you can join my gang across the tracks. It’s not good to be on the streets by yourself,” Sam said.
I was so stunned by the news I didn’t even answer and didn’t even notice when he left.
For the next month or so, I did manage to get food from the garbage cans, just like Annie had taught me. I missed her so much.
Every night before I went to sleep, I would say a little prayer: “God I sure do miss Annie, I’m so lonely. God could you find me a good home”? I would then drift off to sleep, dreaming
that I was adopted into a wonderful family who loved and cared for me. I never wanted to wake up, but morning would come and I had to face another frightening, cold day on the street.
Food was getting harder and harder to find. I never liked crossing Main Street, because it was the busiest street in town. But in order to
get food that is what I had to do. One night I headed downtown and came to Main Street where I looked and listened for any approaching cars and then I began to cross the street.
Then, out of nowhere, a car came heading straight for me. Bang! “I’m hit,” I screamed, as I fell
to the ground. I couldn’t move. I thought for sure that this was the end for me. I lay helpless in the middle of the street, unable to move even a whisker.
A police officer found me and checked to see if I was still alive. I looked up at his kind eyes, then slipped into unconsciousness. When I came to again, the policemen called on his radio
and before long another man came along wearing a jacket with the initials EMT on it. I learned later that EMT stood for Emergency Medical Technician. He began to examine me.
They took me out to the animal doctor’s house where I was placed in a nice warm cage and given some medicine for the pain. I hurt so much. I couldn’t move my back legs at all
and my head hurt too. I heard the doctor and the nurse talking. I didn’t have any broken bones, but I did have a head injury.
I was very weak. The kind nurse and doctor feed me every few hours. After about eight days, I began to get a little stronger and I thought to myself, “I’m going to make it!” I began to move
around and was able to walk a little.
Then one day, I overheard the nurse saying, “If
someone doesn’t claim her, we will have to destroy her. I knew the nurse was talking about me.”
I began to pray: “Dear God, please let them know I don’t have a home. Could you find me a good home?”
After I had been at the animal doctor’s house for 10 days, a man came and wanted to take me home. He picked me up in his
arms and held me so gently. I could see he was a kind man. He took me home, made a nice soft bed for me to sleep in, and gave me some delicious food to eat.
He held me for hours. He talked to me and said that he would take very good care of me. When the woman of the
house came home, she picked me up and hugged me and said, “You belong here now, this is your home.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I thought I was dreaming. Still very weak from my accident, I just curled up and slept, hoping and praying this wasn’t a dream.
The next day, the man told me his name was Bob and the woman said her name was Mary.
They introduced me to the rest of the animals. Tuffy, short-legged dog called a dachshund. “Who shrunk his
legs,?” I kept wondering to myself. He likes to run around the house and bark a lot.
Then I was introduced to Peter J. He is a young cat full of energy. Peter J seems more interested in chasing butterflies and birds outside. He boasted to me proudly, “Hey, did you know I caught a bird this summer, all by myself.” I just smiled
at him, remembering the days when I could hunt with the best of them.
I was finally introduced to Baby Cat. She is black and has no tail because she is a Manx. Baby is very beautiful, but a little fat. It’s kind of funny to see a fat cat, because where I come from, the street cats are all skinny. Baby eyed me up and down and informed me: “I was here first and I rule the roost around here.”
“No problem, I said. And meant it. I’m just glad to have a good home.
A few years later I talked Bob and Mary into adopting two other stray kittens that needed a home. Their names are Chubbers and Tess. What troublemakers they turned out to be!
Sometimes it was hard to wait for God's answers, but I spent my last years on earth surrounded by warmth and love. After not belonging
for so long, living with Bob and Mary was God's answer to my prayers for a wonderful home with special people to love. I saw Bob and Mary sad to see me go when God called me home to heaven.
When I was out in the streets there were moments when I almost gave up hope, especially when I got run-over. But God knows how to turn the really bad things
that happen to us into blessings far beyond our wildest dreams. Just look what God did for me! I hope you will keep praying and trusting in Jesus to make everything beautiful in His time.
I must sign off here in Animal Heaven. God the Father has planned another banquet. Banquets here can always
be counted on to serve the best tuna fish, shrimp and lobster you could ever imagine.
Bob and Mary's place, well, it was great. It was a home filled with love and happiness. But this place, believe it or not is even better.