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This is a true story that happened to us recently. We live in an area where there are a lot of stray cats living wild on the streets. On one particular day we had left the back door of the garage open and when I went that evening to close it, I discovered a cat inside.

It was a young cat and I could see she had a tiny kitten with her. The kitten wouldn’t have been more than three weeks old. As soon as this young Mum saw me, she ran away leaving her kitten behind. As we have a door between the house and the garage, I moved to shut it so the kitten couldn’t get into the house.

Turning my attention to the kitten, I was able to coax it to join it’s Mum. Turning to go back inside, I saw another kitten. This one too joined it’s Mum and sibling outside. We looked all around the garage to make absolutely sure there were no more kittens trapped inside and finding none, we headed off to bed as it was already late.

It was a wonderful warm night so we left the window open. Before long we heard a cat meowing from under the window. I didn’t really listen as I was very tired and within a short time, the meowing stopped.

But it started again the next morning. It went on and one and when I took a moment to listen, I realised that it sounded different from the usual wild cats who were begging for food. This was a cry for help. There was huge pain and distress in this meow.

I recognized that this Mum was crying for a baby who was missing so we went back to the garage to search again in case her kitten was there. We found nothing. But she didn’t give up. Soon she was back, still crying and asking for help. We checked the garage again and still found nothing.

She continued to cry and make it clear she wanted to enter our house at all costs. She was very determined. So while I calmed our dog Lui, Claus talked to the cat and asked her to follow him, which she did. She went straight to the door between the house and the garage and Claus opened it for her suggesting she search and call for her baby. The little one was very scared but finally it left the garage at the speed of lightning.

But this is not the end of the story.

Once the Mum knew her kittens were safe, she returned to our home, meowing constantly. But this time instead of crying for help, she came purring and rubbing herself around our feet. First me and then Claus. It was her way of saying thank you. Thank you for helping her find her baby, thank you for protecting her family from being chased by our dog Lui and thank you for being there for them.

It was so heart-warming to hear her beautiful message of thanks. She refused to give up on trying to communicate with us, to tell us her baby was missing and to ask for help. And she was so happy and grateful when her family was back together again. Many times I have been annoyed and upset by the stray cats in our neighbourhood but this one showed me how special they truly are.

I’m sorry for when I get upset at you sitting on my terrace begging for food.

Please forgive me for every negative thought about you.

I love you unconditionally.

Thank you for showing me what passion and unconditional love really means.