It’s one of the cats’ best-kept secrets.

That’s why I’m taking it upon myself to shout it from the rooftops.

 

 

Countless times a week - heck, sometimes in the space of an hour - we’ll hear volunteers/visitors/strangers on the street say the same line: “I love Tabby’s Place because it’s easier to get along with cats than people.” Who can contest that? The cats show us how they really feel, with no pretense. They love us as we are (or, on occasion, they don’t), with no expectations or hidden agendas. They give us grace and the full force of their affection even before we deserve it - which is sometimes enough to make us deserve it.

But under this common statement lies a deeper surprise. Yes, the People of the Cat are the most likely to make cracks about not getting along with other people. But…it’s the same People of the Cat who are among the easiest people on Earth to love.

Funny, isn’t it, how the folks who say they “don’t play well with others” (other humans, that is) are the gentlest, most loving, accepting, funny, radically ridiculous people you could ever love?

Maybe it’s because they - we - have been the vulnerable ones ourselves. You don’t wrap your life around the underdogs cats for no reason. When you know what it’s like to need grace, you’re a little more likely to give it. Over and over again, I see it: a heart for aching felines won’t soon ice over a broken human.

So today Webster and I tip our hats* to the People of the Cat.

 

 

To the ones who say they have no use for most people…yet who would give you the shirt off their backs or their best shoulder to cry on.
To the ones who give their physical, emotional, and mental all for the love of cats…yet always have some “all” left over to love on the ragtag humans around them.
To the ones who have seen the worst from their fellow human beans, and have every reason to grumble at our species…yet who make you laugh so hard that your macaroni and cheese comes out your nose.
To the ones who talk a mean game, but love a blue streak.
To the ones who send flowers and fruit to the Tabby’s Place humans just because we love the cats and so do you.
To the ones who call or write on a near-daily basis, just to check in on your favorite cancer-battling calico.
And to the ones who say your heart only belongs to the cats…then let the cats crack it open wide enough to let in the light and love of other human beings, while letting your own signature sparkle out into the world.

I have been blessed to be part of many loving communities in my 29 years. And yet, I can say with confidence, outside my immediate family I have never known a more loving group than the People of the Cat.

 

 

So today, my people, as you let your freak flags fly and make offhand comments about preferring cats to people, remember the cats’ best-kept secret: loving cats tends to bring together the gentlest, most loving, fantastically quirky, generous human creatures on the planet. Looking for humans who are love-packed and full of win? Just follow the cats.

*Speaking metaphorically, that is. Webster does not wear a hat. Webster will not wear a hat. He will not wear it on a boat; he will not wear it with a goat. And I will never, ever subject Webster to a hat.

Tags: deep thoughts, nellie, trey, webster

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