Amy Newmark - Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats: 101 Tales of Family, Friendship & Fun

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats

101 Tales of Family, Friendship & Fun

Amy Newmark

Published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC www.chickensoup.com

Copyright 2020 by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

CSS, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its Logo and Marks are trademarks of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC.

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the many publishers and individuals who granted Chicken Soup for the Soul permission to reprint the cited material.

Front cover photo courtesy of gettyimages.com/MAIKA777 (MAIKA777)

Back cover and Interior photos: cat reaching courtesy of iStockphoto.com/Leoba (Leoba), black cat reaching courtesy of of iStockphoto.com/EEI_Tony (EEI_Tony), cat tied up in yarn courtesy of iStockphoto.com/101cats (101cats), cat playing with toy courtesy of iStockphoto.com/Stephanie_Zieber (Stephanie_Zieber)

Photo of Amy Newmark courtesy of Susan Morrow at SwickPix

Cover and Interior by Daniel Zaccari

Distributed to the booktrade by Simon & Schuster. SAN: 200-2442

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Newmark, Amy, compiler.

Title: Chicken soup for the soul : the magic of cats : 101 tales of family, friendship & fun / [compiled by] Amy Newmark.

Other Titles: Magic of cats : 101 tales of family, friendship & fun

Description: [Cos Cob, Connecticut] : Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, [2020]

Identifiers: ISBN 9781611590661 | ISBN 9781611593013 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cats--Literary collections. | Cats--Anecdotes. | Human-animal relationships--Literary collections. | Human-animal relationships--Anecdotes. | LCGFT: Anecdotes.

Classification: LCC SF445.5 .C45 2020 (print) | LCC SF445.5 (ebook) | DDC 636.8002--dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020933859

Changing lives one story at a time

www.chickensoup.com

Magical Miraculous Cats

Moonlight

In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.

~Terry Pratchett

You walk between worlds

between dreams

a lilac lynx

stepping out of the shadows

to sit by my side.

You are the white-gold light

against the winter-bare trees

come morning

a promise a whisper

a morning-glory of a cat

wrapping yourself round my heart.

You shimmy & you shimmer

beckoning with citrine eyes;

you conjure & cajole

purring, burbling stories

a feline Scheherazade

an Empress

all smoky mauve, steel, and grace,

sashaying toward sunrise

dismissing the night

with a flick of your elegant tail.

T.J. Banks

Westward Ho

There is something about the presence of a cat that seems to take the bite out of being alone.

~Louis J. Camuti

I started second-guessing myself as I drove into the evening in my dusty car. What the heck was I thinking dragging Libby across the country? After eight weary hours of driving, we had completed the first leg of the Big Adventure, from Orlando, Florida, to the quaint, little town of Monroeville, Alabama. We were westward bound, exploring as many states as possible along the way.

One middle-aged lady in a Subaru with a cat.

I had settled into a lazy life of retirement at age fifty-six. Ten years after officially retiring as a Detective Police Sergeant, I had an epiphany. I was not living my Best Life. My whole purpose in retiring at such a young age was to travel. I wanted to explore foreign countries in far-flung places. I dreamed of road tripping the entire United States. National Park Geek would be my new nickname. It was time for a major life change, or I would be too old, too infirm, or just too afraid to do it.

I sold my townhome at market peak and paid off all my bills. It was now or never. I got rid of loads of junk and put my must keeps into storage. My two faithful dog companions had passed away within months of each other, so I could hit the proverbial road. No current relationships. No responsibilities. Nothing should hold me back. Oh, wait, I had been talked into adopting a skinny black-and-white kitten named Libby. Flash forward three years to a full-grown, sassy boss of a cat. How could I leave her for two months?

My sister said, If you leave her with me, you will not get her back. Well, that was not an option. It was currently hip to travel with a dog everywhere to the grocery store, public library, or even the doctors office so why not a petite, sweet feline as a trusted companion?

On the first night of our journey, anxiety flooded through my body as I lay on the hotel bed. I was exhausted from driving. It was a challenge carrying Libbys litter box and my overpacked suitcase to our room. I knew it would be the first night of many. What if there were stairs? I told myself. Maybe we should just drive back to Florida and hang out by my sisters pool. I asked Libby in a shaky voice, Should we turn around and go home? What do you think? Her response was a cool, green-eyed stare. The Queen had her own comfy, giant hotel bed. She was not going anywhere. I decided I would reassess in the morning.

The arrival of a new day ended all that paralyzing fear. Life was once again full of endless possibilities.

Away we went checking off items on our must-visit list. There were national parks to explore, local delicacies to try, and delightful independent bookstores to visit. Libby settled in quite nicely. I had bought a giant Pet Tube that fit the entire back seat of my Subaru. It was a cylindrical, deluxe cat house fit for the Queen.

Each new stop was a plethora of weird smells and odd spaces to pad around. Hotel room windows became Libbys favorite perching spots. She startled a couple of young cleaners in a fancy bed-and-breakfast in Mississippi, who thought she was a cute stuffed animal until she skittered under the bed. She made many friends along the way, including vacation rental owners, pet-friendly hotel concierges, and delighted children looking for a break from long backseat travels. It was a toss-up as to whether people thought I was cool bringing my cat along on my big trek or a Crazy Cat Lady. One of the best things about this trip was it taught me not to care about what people think.