GETTY;^
ALAMY..
STORY^ BY^ MIC
HELL
E^ BRUCE,^ CHICKEN^ SOUP^ FORTHE^ SOUL:^
LIFE^ LESSONSFROMTHE^ CAT.^ ©
20
19CHICKENSOUPFOR^ THESOUL,^ LLC.^ALL^ RIGHTSRESE
RVEDbefore-bed read
M
y husband and I made the
long trip to Boston w it h our
teenaged son hoping that
a pediatric neurosurgeon at Boston
Children’s Hospital would remove a
brain tumor deemed inoperable by the
local surgeon in Nebraska. Just finding
the surgeon and being in Boston was
a miracle in itself, but if she could save
our son, it would be more than I could
dare dream of. I had prayed so hard
and so often for my son’s life that it had
become a way of life.
When they took our son to the
operating room, we settled in for
a long wait. We were both silent as
we waited and watched for any sign
of the surgeon coming to talk to us.
Meanwhile, our oldest son called
and announced that a stray cat had
given birth to a litter of kittens in our
garage. My husband told our son to
bring her and the kittens inside from
the cold and make them a bed in our
bathtub. This same cat had given birth
on our property several times before.
Sadly, none of her kittens had ever
survived, so we wanted to try and help
her as much as we could.
I sat silently for a few minutes after
the phone call and thought of how
symbolic this litter of stray kittens was
to me. This momma cat had tried time
after time to keep her babies alive,
and I had too. My son was on his third
reoccurrence and in surgery fightingfor his life. I felt helpless. Momma
cat must have felt the same with every
litter that didn’t make it. Quietly, I
said a little prayer for her too.
A couple of hours passed, and we
finally got the news we had spent the
last few years hoping for: The cancer
had been entirely removed. It felt
surreal, and I was
afraid to believe it.
But that quickly
washed away when
I saw my son smil-
ing and talking.
We called home to
give the good news
to our other chil-
dren, and our old-
est son told us that
all but one of the
kittens had died.
Our son had named him Lucky.
We returned home after a week and
got to meet this feisty, little yellow fur
ball. He was so tiny and fragile that I
wondered how something so delicate
would make it in such a big world.
Momma cat was not afraid of us like
a normal stray cat, and she seemed
content with her new bathtub home.
We decided to keep them and care for
them both as part of the family. After
all, we had been handed a miracle in
our son’s recovery, and it only seemed
right to help another mother fighting
for her son.After Michelle Bruce’s young son had surgery to remove a brain tumor, she
didn’t know how she’d ever stop worrying for him. But after she took in a
stray cat and her newborn kittens, Michelle learned hopeful lessons from
the little mama about letting go and the protective power of love100 First for women 8/26/19
The days turned into weeks, and
Lucky got bigger, f luffier and cuter.
He seemed stronger and loved to play
a lmost as much as he wanted to be
held. Momma cat was never too far
away, making sure her precious baby
was okay. I couldn’t blame her; she had
gone t hrough so much to get t his one
kitten. I felt the same
way. If our other kids
had a cold or a head-
ache, we would watch
and make sure they
were okay. But when
our son got a cold,
we would rush to the
doctor w it h an uncon-
trollable fear that his
cancer was back.
In a few months,
Lucky was almost
fully grown and taking care of him-
self. Momma cat was still around, but
I noticed that her behavior began to
change. She would disappear for hours
at a time, leaving Lucky in the house.
Sometimes, I would see her loung-
ing around in the peaceful serenity of
the garage. At first, I thought she just
needed some “me time,” but I began to
suspect it was much more. It was clear
that Lucky was healthy and strong
now, and it was time for momma cat to
let go. She was starting to pull herself
away, allowing her kitten to explore
and learn on his own.“I thought of how
symbolic this litter
of kittens was to
me. This mama cat
had tried time after
time to keep her
babies alive, and
I had too”An unforgettable
lesson in love
An unforgettable An unforgettable An unforgettable An unforgettable An unforgettable An unforgettable