Forgiving

First cuddle together August 2011

Amy is the 'littlest lamb' in our family, her name being inspired by Amy Carmichael and of the French language, meaning, 'much loved'.

If I had my own way her name would be spelt, Aimee - as it is in French, but thankfully her Dad suggested that A-m-y was much easier in our Aussie culture that loves to abbreviate & misspell at the best of times. 

Amy is my sunshine and as her brothers affectionately say, " the organised one in the family. If you want something done, ask Amy"! She is blessed & cursed with a perfectionist personality and loves to do whatever she does to the best of her ability, including pet ownership! 

For Amy's 10th birthday, we adopted a kitten from the RSPCA. The photo above is their very first cuddle together. It was love at first sight for both of them.

I have heard before that animals choose you, not the other way around. Until going to the RSPCA with the formidable task of choosing only 1 out of the many that were there to take home, wondered how on earth I would know which one to choose. Ideally the plan was that on Amy's birthday she could choose her own kitten, however I had rung the animal shelters where we live a week before to check there were in fact kittens available to be told that there are, 'kitten seasons' & they had no kittens. I rang EVERY pet shop in the city where we live, no kittens! 


So we had to go far & wide to find an RSPCA that actually had kittens leaving the decision with me to choose one, not Amy. Anyway walking along the cages of kittens, one jumped up onto the cage wire & eyeballed me! Truly, just like that! It was if she was saying, pick me, pick me! None of the others took any notice to my presence, except for a little grey & white tabby. So it was true. Animals do choose you! 

So Muffin joined our family & has been a delight to us all. Amy is an incredibly responsible pet owner ensuring Muffin is loved well, fed, watered & litter poop scooped daily..... She even attends to the flea & worm treatments with religious fervour monthly! Never a day late! 


Muffin sleeps at the end of Amy's bed & everyone knows they are a match made in heaven. Amy made the brave choice that Muffin would be an outdoor cat (with nigh time restrictions) because she wanted her to experience 'freedom' at the risk of losing her. An admirable choice.


Amy recently commented on how forgiving Muffin is - a lovely analogy I thought. "Muffin never holds a grudge or seems bothered if you step on her accidentally or have to spray water in her face for ripping up the couch (a disciplinary action suggested by RSPCA), or having to grab her roughly to bring her inside, she always comes back for more, stays the same". Amy went on to add, "I think she knows we do it because we love her". 

This was a profound lesson for Amy about why Mum and Dad do some things too. In her experience as primary carer for Muffin, she is learning that as a 'parent' apart of loving is disciplining and that yields forgiveness and a deeper love for each other!