Sweet Pea & Her Kids

By Bob Connor

Sweet Pea is a cat who now lives with us. She was a stray who had three children whom my wife named Patches, Petunia, and Mugsy. Unfortunately, Mugsy met an early demise when a car stuck him.

After great difficulty, my wife trapped Sweet Pea, Patches, and Petunia and took them to a shelter known as “It’s All About Love.” There, Deborah took good care of them and worked with them to get them used to humans. Then, we brought Sweet Pea and Patches to our home where they have lived since.

Sweet Pea is very friendly to both humans and cats. However, other cats must sense her “softness” since she gets picked on. She is short in length, but is very round so that she resembles a furry balloon. She loves to be petted. She has a unique marking of a heart on her side. (Please see photo).

Patches is much larger than her mother but shares her rotundity. He is shy but is gradually increasing his receptivity to petting. We make a point to pet him often, but we have not been able to pick him up yet – but, that day will come. He lived for quite a while in the bathroom of the shelter and favored the linen closet for hibernation. But, he’s with us now.

Sweet Pea and Patches love to roll and tumble together. It’s hard to tell whether they recognize each other as mother and daughter or if they simply like each other as fellow felines. It’s nice to think that they do, in fact, recognize the relationship.

Petunia spent a great deal more time in the shelter and just recently arrived at our home. She is living in a bathroom until we dare expose her to the other cats in our home. She lies behind the toilet on a towel but is beginning to come out and explore the bathroom. Much to our surprise, she immediately began soaking up the petting and acknowledging her pleasure with loud purring. We believe that she will soon be ready to be gradually introduced to the other feline inhabitants of our home.

Of course, February is the month of St. Valentine’s Day and our minds lightly turn to thoughts of love. To experience God’s love, pray.

Let the “heart marking” on the side of Sweet Pea remind you of the earthly love that both humans and pets can give to you. For a cat that will love you unconditionally, call “It’s All About Love” at (713) 784-4120 to adopt a friend. For love from a human, you’re on your own!

Bob Connor is a continuing education teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. You can reach him at bobconn@earthlink.com

(The Banner, February 10, 2009)