Disclaimer: I am a cat-person. I have even been called a cat-whisperer. Over my lifetime, I have been “momcat” to around 20 cats. This is to say, I love cats!
In spite of being the daughter and sister of veterinarians, Mama didn’t like cats. At all. She was very allergic to them. And she hated the cleanup and upkeep. But on that fateful day, Mama did not mean to squish the kitties!
Mama was an elementary school teacher. Back then, husbands and wives could not teach in the same school district. Dad taught high school in downtown Dallas. After a few years teaching in a private school, Mom elected to teach in Mesquite.
Each day Mama would get up at 5:00 a.m. and fix the family breakfast. Then she would get herself ready and take the 40 to 45-minute commute to her school. She did this for more than 17 years!
One ill-fated morning, Mama was in a hurry. As she was backing out of the garage, she noticed our mama-kitty carrying her babies to the driveway for a lie-down. As much as Mama disliked cats, she loved us, so she stopped and shooed the cats away. She then proceeded to back out of the garage and onto the driveway.
However, that mama-kitty was determined to have a lie-down with her babies in just the wrong spot! And when Mama saw what was happening, she stopped again. Cats all shooed away for a second time, Mama got back into her car.
This time, quicker than Mama could escape the short driveway, mama-kitty had replaced her babies and herself just behind the car’s wheel. And this time Mama did not see the cats. Until…
Mama felt awful. Mama-kitty had won the battle but lost the war. Dad and I, the two cat lovers in the house, were horrified. And cruel. For the next 50 years, we took every advantage of reminding Mama that she had squished those kitties! Poor Mama! Neither Dad nor I had meant to be mean all those years; it was just our way of coping with the loss. But mean we were to Mama!
I always wondered if our prolonged cruelty contributed to Mama adopting a litter of kitties in the backyard of the house she lived in before she died. I did finally apologize to her for taunting her. And I meant it. Mama was a saint and forgave me. Rest in peace, Mama!
Comment below if you find some morals to this story!
