The Story of Cuddles

Cuddles was one of five kittens born to Wendy one day. I noticed right off that her wrists had no tension and were limp, floppy and turned inward. I tried splinting these paws to hold them straight. I also tried calcium supplements but nothing seemed to help. I considered putting her down, but I had no proof that she would not become normal or at least manageable.

At a month of age I had her x-rayed and the vet could find no obvious abnormalities. We splinted her for a solid month. At the end of this time there was no change in the function of these useless paws. She changed in a significant way however and that was to become extremely affectionate. She would begin to purr the second you touched her and was content to sit forever on your lap. Her coat was an extremely soft texture that you could not help but love to pet her (her mother is this way as well). What I found most striking about her was a very soulful look in her eyes that stared at you longer than she should have in a very solemn meaningful way. She played a little as most kittens do but she did not even try to get around as much as is usual for a kitten. The most incredible endearing feature about her was her ability to sit up like a kangaroo which she did most of the time and delighted all who witnessed it.

My children begged me to allow us to keep her. I very much wanted to but I knew by then that only a very special person should have her and this person should not be as busy as we all were. She was a tremendous blessing I had realized by then so I prayed for someone who could take her who needed a little bundle of fur with a big heart. At this time it was brought to my attention that my mother in law was in the hospital. Her husband of 35 years had beaten her for the last time and he was in jail. It became obvious that my husband Rock would need to drive down to Florida to tend to legal issues. His mother was released from the hospital but the house had to be sold as well as divorce and bankruptcy filed for. I knew this was Cuddles' time.

Theresa his mother had asked me about my kittens and I knew that she wanted one. So Rock took her with him not knowing if it would work out for her there. At least I knew he could bring her back if it didn't. When he came home a week later I was overjoyed to find out that Theresa was exceedingly fond of Cuddles. With her new friend and constant companion her injuries seemed to melt away he said. I was so relieved I cried. At last Cuddles would have a home with someone who loved her as much as we did. I received a call from Theresa soon afterward. She had found an apartment that did not allow pets except in rare circumstances. Her doctor had written a letter to the management stating that Theresa needed her special companion. This enabled Theresa to keep Cuddles and get her apartment. Another prayer was answered.

Theresa wrote me an email a month later saying that she and Cuddles were doing fine in their new apartment except that Cuddles received more visitors than she did.

This is a happy ending to the story of a kitten who was born with an unfortunate fate. God had in mind a home perfect for her that would allow her to be what all ragdolls are meant to be; warmth for the soul.