Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Prayer For Feral Cats by Jamie Hall

Photo source

From Norine via Facebook.
Dear God, is there a place in your heaven for me? For people say I am just a cat. I was born to the freedom of the streets and knew only my mother to give me comfort. Now I am older, human eyes do not gaze on me like those when I was a kitten.

I do not understand why, but soft, warm glances switched to hard, cold stares so sharp they seem to pierce my very body. I am shunned and shooed and my only crime is to provide myself with warm shelter and food to survive.

Were it not for ...a few kind souls during my life, I may have perished. Yet, I would have perished free and living the life I have come to cherish. The streets are my home, it is where I know, where I feel safe, where I wanted to die. Being a cat, I have an acute sense, an ingenuity most humans would dismiss, but I fell to temptation for the morsel of food left in an effort to end my life. I now find myself trapped in a cage of wire unable to run, unable to hide. Is it right I am here because of one who could not tolerate my very being and set this death trap in which I now pray for compassion?

I long for the smell of the streets and everything I know as home. My heart is beating like a million drums and desperation drives my every sense and terror fills my soul. Dear God, is it right my life will be taken from me today, for no other reason than I am a feral cat, my life regarded my many as disposable and of no consequence? In life, I have neither hurt nor held hatred to a single body, my defenses were not of choice, but sparked by the very fear of humankind and its uncaring ways.

With my last breath, I forgive those who do not see me for who I am - a vibrant, healthy animal, that, through misfortune and at the hands of a human, found myself born to the streets. And when I leave this world, I pray you endow upon such humans a sense of compassion and a realization we are all God's creatures and no one life is of greater importance than another. I ask this so my death today may not be in vain. The time has come.

--- Dear God, is there a place in your heaven for me?

9 comments:

  1. no kitteh, woo are not disposable, you and all the homeless animals are kept in so many peoples prayers...it is the belief of, at least this pup, that all creation will be joined with our LORD in paradise...keep the faith little one.

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  2. Hey Esther, my name is Sandra. I read a lot of blogs on religion and prayer and I've i feel like I've ended up here once before. I ran across this prayer exchange website and I haven't had the chance to ask my Church what their stance is on it.

    I think that there are some benefits to a site like this but some others might find it questionable. I wonder if it would be OK to pray for pets

    The website is http://www.prayermarket.com/.
    I am curious what you (or other Christians) think about it and know that I and maybe your readers would be interested in hearing your opinion.

    I'll check back here in the next day or two, thanks & God bless
    Sandra Johnson

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  3. Hi Sandra:
    If you are asking whether or not it would be appropriate to leave a prayer request for a pet, at the site you referred me to. I don't see anything wrong with that.

    I quickly visited the site and it appears to me they are people praying for the prayer requests shared. I don't know anything more about them though.

    Asking your church would be a good idea.

    As you know we pray for the pet prayer request here at this blog. I personally pray for all the intentions of the sick, lost or pet in need AND their owners. I know there are some here who also pray for all the pets on a regular basis. There is nothing wrong with praying for animals.

    In fact, I just posted a new prayer for pets today. Please check it out if you haven't already seen it.

    Hope that helps.

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  4. RA, thank you for your nice words.

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  5. So sad and so true. It breaks my heart to read stuff like this. Really!

    My youngest kitty, Erica, was headed for a life "on the streets." It took a while but she's now a happy member of our family.

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  6. I work with an organization that feeds and cares for feral cats. All though they do not have an indoor home, they have a place in our hearts and we do our best to care for them, providing food and veterinary care. God bless them.

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  7. Kara, I know that is how the feral cat caretakers feel. I have a good friend that just loves her cats.

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