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Mailbox Memories of My CatBy Laura Martin, SC
One month after we were married, my husband Bob presented me with a very special gift – a cat! I remember walking into our apartment after working an evening shift at the hospital. Every light was out and I could hardly see as I stumbled to find the nearest lamp. “Why did you leave all the lights out, Bob?”
When I turned on the living room lamp, I saw a cat sitting in the chair. I immediately screamed, “A cat got in the apartment! There is a cat on the chair!” The fluffy, long haired, gray cat simply sat looking at me. Bob laughed and told me it was now my cat. “Cuddles” was what we decided to call her.
Cuddles became a special part of our lives over the next 12 years. She endured many moves with us from apartment to apartment, from New York to South Carolina, and finally into our first house. Cuddles was always an indoor cat, but when we moved to our house we decided to give her more freedom to roam outside. Cuddles loved the outdoors and frequently left “special gifts” at our front doorstep. She also became part of my mailbox ritual. Each day when I walked to our curbside mailbox, Cuddles would suddenly appear to greet me. I would sit on my front step, opening my mail, and Cuddles would sit right next to me. A full mailbox and a purring cat – Can life get much better? Don t forget to treasure the little things in life – because those are the things that really matter. Cuddles was always a healthy cat. But one day she suddenly became desperately ill…and only 4 days later we had to make the decision to put her to sleep. This article is in memory of my beloved cat Cuddles, who lived from Sept. 1991 to Oct. 2004. Thanks Cuddles for being my mailbox cat! * Laura Martin has been a cat lover and postal mail enthusiast since childhood. She has 3 other cats to keep her company. Would love to hear from some other cat lovers. Tell me about the special cat in your life. *
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