Having a Cat Changes a Child’s Life
There is no better day to celebrate all the ways a cat enriches a child’s life than National Cat Day!
We’re big cat lovers at New York Family. Our edit team’s furry friends have even been known to join meetings on occasion! Ask any cat owner and they will likely tell you that their cat isn’t just a pet but a part of the family.
When we bring a cat into our homes, we give our kids a chance to experience unconditional love and devotion — an experience that can be truly transformative and cherished for a lifetime.
My mom had a story that she told me over and over again throughout the years. I loved hearing it every time. It summed up our family so succinctly.
I come from a long line of animal lovers. In most photos of me and my sister, there is a cat or a dog, often both. My kids’ earliest photos are filled with our pets, too.
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A few years ago, while thumbing through family photos after Mom passed, I noticed that most pics of my Mom and my Uncle Richard are the same — filled with pets.
There is one stunning photo of my Nanny wearing a long winter coat, face to face with her German Shepherd outside Prospect Park. Then there are several of Nanny and Mom sitting in the house with a tiger cat on a lap, a black cat laying on the couch, a pair of orange tabbies sleeping on the bed, and so many others.
In the pile of photos were some postcards written by Mom to Nanny when she would go on weekend trips with her fellow nursing school friends. Mom would always ask how her furry children were, and say she missed them.
Mom gave me countless wonderful things in her life, and her love of animals is one of the many gifts for which I am so thankful. It’s clear from Mom’s favorite story that this gift was passed down from my Nanny.
As a child, Mom was sick a lot and often had extended stays in the hospital. A sensitive child, she missed my Nanny terribly. Even worse, back then, hospitals weren’t nearly as child-friendly as they are today. They didn’t even let parents stay with their children overnight.
During one long hospital stay at what was known to Park Slope natives as “The Methodist”, one of the family cats gave birth to kittens. Nanny would visit my mom several times a day since the hospital was only a few blocks away. Mom was so excited and looked forward to seeing them and so entirely disappointed that she couldn’t.
One night, Nanny waited until visiting hours were almost over and went to say good night to Mom. She walked in wearing her long coat and when the coast was clear, pulled out two of the kittens for my Mom to meet. Mom says she squealed in delight, and just could not believe it.
Mom played with the kittens on her bed for a little while before Nanny took them back home for the night. It remained one of Mom’s favorite and lasting memories.
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I know this because when Mom was in her final days and her memories were fading, at times, she would become confused with who I was. One day I walked into the hospital to visit her and she was smiling mischievously and asked me what was in my pockets. I immediately recognized where her mind was going and said “Oh, I remember that story about Nanny!”
This immediately jarred her memory and she very happily began telling me the story all over again.
I’m so grateful for Mom and Nanny. Their love has shaped me in more ways than I can count. Growing up with a love for animals filled my days with joy and still brings so much happiness to my life today.
