This is a True Story,
The day was 4th of July
2001. It was getting dark and my boys already climbed up the roof to watch the
fireworks show.
I was still in the kitchen, when I heard the cry of the birds,
loud and sharp as the sound they make when they are in danger. And then I heard
another sound, a high pitch scream, all of this right behind my front door.
Puzzled, I opened the door - and I couldn't believe my own eyes: next to the
front porch, between the climbing rose bush and the walkway, on the ground,
something small was moving and screaming loudly. My two cats were sitting close
next to it, with their big curious eyes looking at me and at this little thing,
their ears strait up showing high alert. I have to mention here that my cats
were
10 & 9 years old at this time, big and heavy, 18 & 20 lbs each.
(Look here:
http://ourdoubletrouble.multiply.com/tag/welcome
I
looked closer and to my amazement I found a baby Chickadee, with pink skin all
over, few small feathers on the wings, black, frightened eyes and a big, yellow
brimmed beak, open wide showing pink tang inside, screaming loudly to the Big
World for help! Its parent was sitting on the nearby peach tree, calling him,
but it was too small to fly. Poor baby must have been fall out of the nest right
under our downspout, inside the vent hole. I took the tiny baby bird into my
hand to see if any harm was done to it - but no, no sign of blood, nor even a
scratch. Its pink skin was soft and warm. It was so small inside the palm of my
hand - amazing how such a loud voice was coming out of such a tiny creature! I
look down onto my cats - they looked up to me, their eyes saying “we didn’t do
anything wrong?" Well, they are CATS, and cat's nature says: CATCH & EAT THE
BIRD, THIS IS YOUR PREY. They both are very gentle, lazy "domesticated" cats,
but I've seen them chasing birds sometimes around the yard, and boy - they are FAST
then! So how did they know this is just a helpless baby, and they didn't even
touch it? A wave of warm feeling came over me to my dear, sweet cats!
I called
my son, we took a ladder, and he climbed up and put the baby bird back inside its
nest. Both cats were watching this with their heads up, but with no anxiety. We
picked them up and we all went back inside.
This night there were Two Happy
Families sleeping under one roof.
Every year there is a chickadee’s nest in the vent hole again. All spring when I walk by every day – I stop and listen: I can hear a chirping inside, and see busy parents flying back & forth to feed the babies. In few weeks it will calm down. But I still will remember this special evening years ago, when my cats showed us their real hearts.
Sadly - Mama cat - Kicia (Nikki) - died peacefully in her sleep on September 22, 2003. She was 12.
Her son
- Kiki (1 year younger) -
was always on my lap
when I was watching TV, and we both loved to eat popcorn!
Until this date .......
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September 25, 2006 After 5 month of battle with his kidneys failure, Kiki died in his sleep last night. He was 16 and half years old; he really enjoyed his life. He was the most unusual, the bravest God's Creature I have ever known. Thank you for being part of our family for all those years. Sleep in peace now, Mruczki. We'll miss you. (Photo was taken on his 16th birthday, June 10, 2006)
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