In my previous post I introduced everyone to Ruthie, our daughter Victoria’s hearing aid cat. I explained that I shared an apartment with our daughter, but I may not have mentioned that Hubby and I had a house built. We closed December 27^th and Victoria and Ruthie have moved with us to the new location.

Moving is a stressful time for anyone, but poor Ruthie had a pretty bad time of it. Here are some things she shared with us that prove sometimes life can get to be too much for you, and you need help, whether you want to admit it or not.

Moving with Ruthie…
A Cat’s Observations on Life Changing Events

1. Sometimes you just want to hide, but people come and find you anyway.

God sometimes has to pull us out from under the furniture, metaphorically speaking, and give us strength to deal with life. I know I’m with Ruthie on this. I try to avoid ever leaving the house when I need to be out embracing the changes and trying to make them into opportunities.

2. Sometimes you don’t want to eat, but you do want to throw up.

Nothing worries your fellow beings more than when you get sick and they don’t know what’s wrong with you. Ruth ended up overnight at the vet, but the conclusion seemed to be that she was just stressed over the move. We can let life stress us out so much that we become physically sick. It affects everyone around us but sometimes we just have to go through that time of weakness to allow others to minister to us.

3. You will find new places to explore and be happy if you just make the effort.

Romping over long stretches of hardwood floors seem to be as much fun as running up and down stairs. Peeking around corners and inviting people to chase you is fun too. And there are so many closets and shelves! Find the fun in your strange new place.

4. At first you might be afraid. Let caution remain, however, after you get more confident.

From huddling on the little concrete patio to making a run for the street, Ruthie has learned that outside may be a wonderful place. But other people sometimes know more about its dangers and you might end up grabbed by the tail and football-carried back into the house.

5. Sometimes in a move things get lost.

Ruthie has a small laser penlight toy. She knows exactly what it is and comes to pick it up and take it to Mommy for playtime. But in the move it got lost for more than a week. She kept going to the cupholder for it, looking different places, and making all the signs for Mommy to play with her, but we could not find it. So patience was necessary until at last the laser light was found. We may lose track of things in our life, but in God’s time we find what we need.

6. Location, and all of life, may change, but you still have a job to do.

People still need to be waked up in the morning, and be alerted that someone is coming to the house, and so on. Ruthie understands that no matter how much her circumstances change she can adapt and keep taking care of her humans. She gets us to exercise chasing her around as she slides across those strange new floors. She has a watch post on the back of the couch that gives her a good view of all the doors and windows. Her awareness of when we do and don’t need to be gotten up still needs tweaking. (Five-thirty paw in the face again? Really? Only this time, when she did it to me, she was right. We forgot to put the trash out at the street, and she was trying to remind me.)

Here she is. Meet Ruthie:

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Mary Findley

Mary C. Findley has poured her real life into her writing. From the cover designs inspired by her lifelong art studies to the love of pets and country life that worm their way into her historicals. The never-say-die heroes in her twenty-some fiction works are inspired by her husband, a crazy smart man with whom she co-writes science and history-based nonfiction. She’s a strong believer in helping others and also has books about publishing and the need to have strong standards in reading and writing.

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