Last month we asked you to send us stories on why you’re thankful for your cat. We received many heart warming stories and selected five winners to receive a brand new ScoopFree automatic litter box. We congratulate Heidi McMeekin, Mary Lou McLauchlan, Debbie Willis, Suzanne Smith & Irene Dvoraczky Bell. Click MORE to read the entries they submitted.

Heidi McMeekin

Actually, I am grateful to have a beautiful 8 year old cat and two cute, albeit, mischievous kittens, who are about 4 months old!
Charlotte is the oldest, and I got her to keep me company when my boyfriend was sent to Afghanistan to serve overseas. She has been a WONDERFUL cat, but I started to feel she might be lonelier now, since I decided to return to college for graduate school full-time while maintaining full-time employment. That’s when I decided to adopt Bart and Maggie. They are not only cute as can be, but they are very loving kittens who make me laugh and bring out the kid in me. My friends tease me about being “the cat lady,” but this doesn’t bother me, because they are great company, each animal with its own personality and special qualities that make each one unique!

Mary Lou McLauchlan

I had a hysterectomy a few years ago and my beloved “Tramp” got up on my bed the moment I got home and didn’t leave my side for days. It was like he understood that I was in a bit of pain and needed comforting. He is a grouchy old boy too - and I don’t think would have done this for any one else! We have a very special bond and he was a wonderful comfort to me during this time.

Debbie Willis

Debbie is thankful for her cat because he is better than a man – and in fact is a man (a boy kitty). He doesn’t criticize her and is always there. She totally trusts his instincts when picking out a man for her, and so far, he has not approved of anyone she has brought home! When he doesn’t like someone his hair stands up on the back of his neck. She appreciates the way he watches out for her.

Suzanne Smith

I am very thankful for my cats for many reasons. The biggest reason is they gave me a reason to care about someone else and bring me out of my depression. My mother had passed away at the young age of 54 and I had just moved away from home after college when we found out she was sick. She didn’t want me to move back, but to continue with the next part of my life. When she passed away I was devastated and went into depression. Everyone around me noticed it, but me. Then one day my friend told me about a litter of 5 kittens that was found in her condo complex outside in the bushes. For some reason it just made sense to visit them and see what I thought. Well, the rest is history. Two little ones came over to me and I decided that these would be mine. They were only 1.5 lbs and puffs of hair. My Lucy and Desi became the beginning of a happier life for me. Needless to say they are spoiled rotten and I could not imagine my life without them. They are definitely my kids and I their mom. In the end, they pushed me to get out of my funk and care about these little babies.

Irene Dvoraczky Bell

The young lady walking into the Humane Society must have seen me a mile away. I was there picking up the kitten we had adopted for my 8-year old son’s birthday. Ian’s kitten had just been spayed. We stopped to talk to the young lady for a bit. In her arms was a tiger cat, obviously pregnant. She was there to give up the cat because she could no longer care for it. She told us a tale of how she and her three children were virtually homeless and how they had to move in with her mother. The cat (we’ll call her Mama Kitty) was staying with her sister. Her sister owned two Rottweilers that were not especially fond of the cat. She was concerned for the safety of Mama Kitty and the soon-to-arrive kittens. She also knew that, because of her situation, she could not care for them. So, my three children and I visited with her and Mama Kitty for a bit. I did not desire to have any more cats, but made an attempt to call my neighbor to see if he needed any more barn cats. No answer. I told her that it would be best if she would surrender the cat to the humane society and that, since our kitten was born there, I was certain that the humane society would find them all a good home. I left her and Mama Kitty in the animal drop-off area and proceeded to another area of the humane society to retrieve our kitten.

A few minutes later I was waiting to pick up our kitten. This same young woman sought me out. She had Mama Kitty in her arms and tears in her eyes. She told me that they were going to euthanize the cat since she was pregnant. She also had to pay to surrender the cat and have it put down. She didn’t have the means to even pay for that.

“Please, ma’am, could you take my cat? They’re going to kill her.”, she begged. At that point, the singularly unpleasant young woman sitting behind the desk yelled at us to “take that in the parking lot!” I told her that I was unaccustomed to being yelled at and handed my 13-year-old my keys. I told him to put the cat in the van.

We were taking her home. I picked up our intended kitten and drove home with cats and kids in tow.

The funny part of this is that my husband and I have never been “cat people”. In fact, I’ve never had a cat in my life and we are both allergic to them to some degree (him worse than me). So, as I’m driving home, I ask myself, “what on earth am I doing driving home with a pregnant cat?” Like I said, I think the young lady saw a softy from afar.

I got home and quickly called my neighbor, Woody. “Hey, Woody, it’s Irene. Can I put a pregnant cat in your barn before Peter gets home from work?” Woody chuckled and told me to put her on the second floor back between the hay bales. Two weeks later, Mama Kitty delivered five adorable tiger kittens. My children made daily visits to Woody’s barn.

This could make for a happy ending. However, the story doesn’t end here. Mama Kitty kept her babies in the barn for a month or so. Then, one morning I looked at the pile of shoes in our garage and saw something move. Then another something, and another something….Mama Kitty had carried all the kittens across the yards and deposited them in our shoes. These little balls of fluff were playing peek-a-boo with our shoes and scampering away at any attempts to catch them. For about a week we would daily pick up all the kittens, put them in a box, and take them back to Woody’s barn. Mama Kitty kept bringing them back. Needless to say, Mama won that battle and we now had seven cats.

The happy ending is that I found good homes for all the kittens. Mama Kitty paid a visit to the nice doctor who made sure that her kitten-producing days are officially over. We kept one of the kittens because I became entirely too attached to give him up. They have all the kitty chow they can eat, a warm place to sleep, and a house full of children to love them.

What I am most thankful for in this experience is that my children got to share in the experience of compassion. The young woman with the tears in her eyes probably will never know the fate of the pregnant cat she gave to a stranger at the humane society. But, at least she will not have to live with the guilt of giving her beloved pet up to die because she could no longer care for it. My children also got to share in the joy of the birth of the kittens and the responsibility of their care. My husband and I are on our way to becoming “cat people” (well, at least I am…he just humors me).

There were lessons to be learned from this entire experience and much to be thankful for.