I Made a New Friend

I made a new friend, her name is Alessandra, Alice for short. Alice is a beautiful gray, white and ginger cat that is several years old. Gray is her main color and she moves like a ghost when she needs to. She is very skittish, and only goes to her human family members. When company comes, Alice goes into hiding and does not usually reappear until the company is gone. I was blessed with meeting Alice this past weekend while in Illinois visiting family.

I had seen Alice flash through the family room on Friday night shortly after arriving. She was a gray blur as she raced past and I thought she was her brother Silver because all I saw was gray. I have been working on my animal communication skills, and had let the cats know when I arrived that I meant them no harm and would love to meet them if they would allow it.

For several years now, I have been making and selling holistic catnip toys. They are made of naturally raised, organically grown catnip. I make (2) varieties, birdies and socks; and use reclaimed, re-furbished fabrics. I have been using the cats owned by my extended family members as testers. Alice and her brother Silver were two of the participants in the testing phase.

I got to see one of the toys I had gifted them with last Christmas. It is a yellow sock and it has been so well-loved that it now has catnip stains on the outside. Alice takes it everywhere with her and it is called her "woobie". If you have kids and they had a pacifier or a favorite toy that they just had to have, you will understand Alice's love for her "woobie".

I was awoken Sunday morning around 4:00am by the sound of meowing and the rattling of the bedroom door. I got up thinking somebody wanted in, and went to open the door. No kitty wandered in. I went back to bed and back to sleep. On arising later I related the story to my sister and that I thought I heard a cat outside my door. She thought it might have been Alice or Silver trying to get into her room.

My sister got a phone call and went into my room to take the call so she didn't disturb the conversations we were having. She came back out a short time later and asked me to follow her. We went back into my room and she closed the door. She instructed me to sit on the floor between the desk and the bed because she had something to show me. I was a bit bemused but did as she requested.

I soon found out that there wasn't a cat trying to get in at 4:00am, there was a cat trying to get out. Alice had spent the night under the desk in my room. It was Alice trying to leave in the wee hours of the morning and calling to someone on the outside of the door to let her out. Poor Alice.

My sister sent me to get the new "woobie" that they had been saving, as the cats tend to drag them off and hide them. I sat back down on the floor and reached under the desk to Alice who was sitting on the desk chair watching me. I told her I meant her no harm and would like to pet her if she would allow it. I reached out my hand to let Alice smell me, and she allowed me to touch her head after she smelled my hand.

Alice began purring and rubbing her head on my hand, so I picked her up off the chair and settled her in my lap. She became wiggly and I moved her to the floor in front of me. I asked my sister if I could brush her, and when the brush was produced and I began brushing, Alice began purring again.

After a time, I went to rejoin the family and mentioned my luck with Alice. We left her in the bedroom as she had settled in and had no desire to leave. I went back several times to commune with her and each time I entered the bedroom she rejoined me on the floor to visit and be petted and brushed. I had been accepted.

I am under no illusion that I will automatically have that privilege the next time I go to visit, but I will go with a glad heart knowing that Alice might just remember me and not run first.