Back in February, a tiny kitten appeared on my doorstep. She just sat there, meowing.
Or at least, I thought she was a she.
I brought the kitten inside, gave her some food and water and started trying to find out where she belonged. I have always had dogs and have never really considered myself a cat person, but there was something about this little kitten.
She seemed to trust me almost immediately.
She followed me everywhere, purred when I stroked her and would sit looking right into my eyes. There was something quite lovely about the way she seemed so completely comfortable with me.
Eventually, I found out where she lived and returned her to her owners.
And I thought that was the end of it.
Several months passed.
Then, the other day, I looked outside and there she was.
Sitting on my doorstep.
Meowing.
She wasn't the tiny kitten who had arrived back in February anymore. She was a little cat now, but I recognised her straight away.
I fed her, gave her some water and once again tried to find the people she belonged to.
But they had gone.
Somehow, after all those months, this little cat had found her way back to us.
For now, she seemed perfectly happy around the barns, but I wanted to make sure she was healthy and also check whether she was microchipped. So this morning, I took her to the vet.
Which is where our story took another unexpected turn.
She is, in fact, a he.
So, after months of referring to this little cat as a girl, it turns out our unexpected stranger is a boy.
And now that we have that cleared up...
He seems perfectly happy around the barns. I will keep trying to find out more about where he came from and whether anyone is looking for him. I wouldn't feel comfortable simply assuming he is ours.
But I can't stop thinking about the fact that he came back.
Of all the places he could have gone, he came here.
Perhaps animals remember kindness. Perhaps he remembered a voice or a smell. Perhaps he simply remembered that once, when he was hungry and lost, this was somewhere he had been fed and felt safe.
I don't really know.
But it got me thinking about us.
We all have people and places that make us feel safe. The ones where we don't have to explain ourselves or pretend that everything is fine when it isn't.
The people we can turn up in front of exactly as we are.
And I think, as we get older, we begin to realise just how important those people are.
Life changes. Friendships change. Families change. We change.
But there is something incredibly comforting about knowing there is somewhere, or someone, we can return to.
This little cat didn't come back to teach me some great lesson about life.
He was probably just hungry.
But sometimes the simplest things make us stop and think.
Trust isn't always built through grand gestures.
Sometimes it is built quietly.
A bowl of food.
A gentle hand.
A familiar voice.
A door that opened when you needed it.
And perhaps we don't always realise the significance of being that person for somebody else.
The one they trust.
The one they feel safe with.
The one whose door they know they can come back to.
I still wouldn't describe myself as a cat person.
Although, looking at the little boy who has apparently decided otherwise, I'm beginning to think I might not have much say in the matter.
Before you go...
Do you have someone in your life who feels like a safe place to return to?
Or perhaps, without even realising it, have you become that person for someone else?
I would love to hear your thoughts. welcome@tenacious-wellness.com
Until next time.
Love paula x www.tenaciouswellness.co.uk