When God Sends you a Cat

This is an interesting tale of how a cat adopted our family. They say that God works in mysterious ways and I think I can attest to this. When I asked God for peace to guide us through the storm, he responded by sending us a cat. Let me introduce the main character of this tale. This is Corbin.

Corbin's story goes back to 2019. He was born as the runt of his litter in the wilderness of our apartment complex. His mother had prematurely weaned him since he was the runt of the litter. So, he was small and weak compared to the rest of her kittens. My sister decided to give him a fighting chance and fed him a special formula for kittens. She named him Corbin because he reminded her of a character that Bruce Willis played in the sci-fi movie "The Fifth Element".

A bond formed between Corbin and my sister. Despite this, Corbin continued to be skittish and wary of humans. He enjoyed maintaining his territory which is the large car park of the apartment complex that we live in. Whenever my sister went on her evening walks, Corbin would dart around her feet and allow her to pet him for a maximum of thirty seconds.

He doesn't enjoy human contact but he will allow it. Corbin was her sole companion during the pandemic when the entire of Tamil Nadu was placed into quarantine. I wasn't in Chennai at the time. Despite her regular offerings of treats on her walks, Corbin continued to be wary and preserved his independence like the other cats that inhabited the apartment complex.

Fast forward to the end of 2022, we were facing an extremely hard time and I remember seeking God for solace. I had returned home at this point and started living with my sister. She introduced me to Corbin and he immediately understood that I was family. He extended to me the same courtesies that he offered to my sister.

Then it happened, one day, Corbin decided to follow us home after our evening walk. There was no warning and it was utterly random. He decided to enter our apartment and explore our world. I made sure to keep the door slightly open so that he understood that we would never trap him inside. Over an hour, he rubbed his body against all of our furniture and explored each room at his leisure. After some time, he sat at a distance from us after which he left the apartment. We were completely perplexed at the sudden change in his behavior.

This became a daily occurrence and he began to follow us home every day, spend some time in our company, and leave. It was as though he knew that our hearts were heavy and instinctively felt that we needed him. Soon, he started visiting us during the day. He would come up to the apartment door and meow loudly to let us know that he wanted to be let in. Our neighbors found this quite amusing as well and would watch as we opened the door to let him in. He would come in, eat some food, chill in our company, and leave if he needed to go to the bathroom or mark his territory. He was the perfect gentleman. This was like pet therapy for my sister and me. The anxiety markedly reduced when we were in his company. He was slowly becoming a part of our routine and I looked forward to his visits.

Then, one summer's day in June, he decided to spend the night for the very first time by curling up on the dining room chair. In the morning, he alerted me that he wanted to be let out. Currently, Corbin spends the night every couple of days or often on consecutive days depending on what he feels. There are times that he spends the night curled up on the bed next to me. I know that it takes a great amount of trust for him to let his guard down and I feel special.

The truth is that I was never a cat person. It has been such an interesting to have a cat share the space in our house. Cats are such amusing creatures that live their lives on their terms. It is amazing how animals make such a difference in our lives. This one has miraculously become a part of my journey as an indoor outdoor cat and it has happened so organically. So, I hope you are now aware that if you are praying to God for peace, he might just send you a cat as an answer to your prayers.