Love is Enough

"Love is enough." Pamela Wilson

Less than a year ago, some cats showed up on my patio. I already lived with two, Puffer Noodle and Bonsai aka Bonz. I wasn't looking for more.

I knew where they came from. Neighbors two doors south were clearly feeding cats. I saw a ladder propped up against their house that was part of their pathways.

It took me a while to understand they were coming into my life whether I was enthusiastically welcoming them or not. In the last 9 months I've gained 7 mostly indoor cats, 2 outdoor-only cats, bottle fed three (one died, the other two went to my neighbor to the north), and lost Bonz. An additional 2 to 8 show up at feeding time. My weaving/sewing studio has washable sheets and blankets over the furniture and various mats. There are cat carriers, a tall cat tree, a shorter cat house, and toys of various shapes and degree of hardness strewn about. I have two sets of 6 colored plastic bowls and a large water dish. I also have 4 bottles of flower essences from Anaflora Essences for Animals (which includes humans).

My neighbors (who feed an additional 20 or more) and I built a quiet "safety basket" with a drop door to catch the more feral ones for TNR (trap, neuter, release). I've stocked up on quiet traps and carriers, cat food, cat litter and bought a cat "playpen". And I've learned my way around the veterinary hospitals in town. To date, about 25 have gone through the rite-of-passage surgery. I continue in awe at their courage to let themselves be caught, contained, taken in a car, and handled by people.

Now it appears one of the Gang of Four, the original group to come in to my studio, will leave his form soon. We call Louie-Louie our sweet boy. Like his grandmother, Mamacita, he is white with gray-black splotches. He is mildly petable and has a purr that runs pretty much all the time. And his body is not well.

I wake in the night worried. Mostly, I worry about the cats and wonder at the worry.

"It's devotion under pressure," Pamela points out in a private satsang. "We think we have to do something when, really, Love is enough."

Sharon Callahan, who makes the essences and advises me through her communication with them, agrees. Of Louie-Louie, she says, "Louie says he is just fine..is enjoying life in the moment and is not afraid if he must leave his body and re-enter the subtle realm. He is grateful for each moment he has with you."

She tells me cats go back and forth with relative ease.

I think they are helping me forgive the dream.