God Said He Would Live

Little Guy was one of three kittens born of Lacy’s second litter.  He was a purebred Persian.  Lance and Lacy were both beautiful show quality Persians.  Lacy's first litter of five kittens (two white, one silver and two jet black) all died within a day or two of birth.   I tried to hand feed them, but she had no milk and they missed their mother’s first milk because they were born while I was at work.  In this litter, the first two kittens were born normally, but Little Guy was a breach and I had to assist his birth and wasn’t expecting him to be alive when he finally came into this world, but he was weak but still alive.  This time I was able to get  the kittens nursing immediately.  But the next morning one of the white kittens died.  Though they had nursed all night, it was clear their little tummies were empty.  

I was determined to do all I could to save these kittens.  I called my mother, who said they had a stray mama cat at the Humane Society with four 3 week old kittens.  I gathered Lacy and her two kittens and off we went to Sioux Falls.  Ryan was about 3 years old and he was praying for these kittens.  All day long my mom watched over the kittens with their surrogate mother.  They nursed but she repeatedly rejected them.  By late afternoon, the other white kitten was weak and gasping.  His belly bloated and he was obviously in pain.  Ryan and I prayed God would end his suffering which we were unable to “fix.”  He died in our hands almost immediately.  Little Guy, the weakest and smallest of the ittens was still alive….  He continued to try to nurse the stray mama. Lacy loved him and kept him clean but she had no milk.  The other kittens pushed him away from the surrogate mother.  I fed him every three hours.  I felt myself in an unseen battle to save this kitten.  I prayed constantly and asked myself why this kitten was so important.

I remember one night going for a walk and praying.  In between pleading for God to heal this kitten, I was asking God if I was fighting too hard for this one kitten when there were so many other uses for my time-- so many people who needed prayer… after all, this was “just a kitten.”  I felt the distinct impression of God’s voice saying this kitten would live.  Several
 weeks went by and Little Guy was smaller than a newborn kitten.  He had not grown at all.  He was thin and weak.  The other kittens were strong and growing every day.  They pushed Little Guy away when he attempted to nurse. … yet he lived.  Since he did not get the new mother’s milk, he was constantly plagued with constipation.  I had to give him mineral oil, and enemas.  There were times that I was sure he was going to go the same way the 2^nd white kitten had gone.  One time Darcy was holding him and we’d tried everything to get a bowel movement, nothing worked.  I told her I was going to go and pray… he immediately did what none of our efforts could accomplish.  Darcy’s eyes were opened to the power of prayer. 

At six weeks of age, he had now grown at all.  He was still the same size as a new born kitten.   My mom knew how hard I worked to save him and she felt she needed to keep me from being disappointed.  She told me over and over there was no way this kitten could make it.  And still he remained alive. 

The stray mama cat, as it turned out was covered in fleas, but I was afraid to use any chemicals on her or the kittens lest she ingest the toxins into her system and poison her milk.  Little Guy was also covered with fleas and his hair all fell out.  I knew the fleas were further sapping his strength and I tried to pick them off as best I could.

The stray mother was still his best source of milk, but she would take him out of the nice warm comfort of her bed and leave him alone on the cold linoleum.  One night, I came in to find the window open and a freezing cold wind blew through the window and this tiny kitten was laying on the cold floor in a puddle of water the mother cat had spilled.  He was nearly frozen, stiff and barely moving.  I warmed him up and dried him off, feeling there was no way he could survive this setback … and yet he lived! 

When he was four months old, Darcy came to visit with a litter of Persians.  They were about six weeks old and they looked enormous next to my scrawny little baby who could still fit in the palm of my hand.  He was about 3 inches tall.  We took pictures of him with her kittens because no one would believe he could be so stunted and still be alive. 

It was about this point that the other kittens got hold of him, pretending he was a mouse and sliced his tail.  He developed a bad infection and I could feel the heat of his fever before I even touched him, the heat just radiated off him.  I took him to the vet, who gave him antibiotics but he told me that he had no hope the kitten would survive given his terrible condition.  He said even the medication might kill him.   But he lived!!

What was really amazing was that even though he was that tiny and fighting for his life, he had the most loving heart!  You could hear his purr through a closed door.  His purr was so loud, you would not believe it could come from this tiny little frail body!  As he grew older, he wanted to use the litter pan, but he was too tiny to climb over the edge, so I had to adapt a cake pan for him. 

Several weeks after Darcy's visit, I was sleeping in the guest bedroom since Doug was gone.  I woke up in the night and the only way I can describe it was I sensed God’s healing presence in the house.  It was as if He was hovering in the room.  Lacy and Little Guy were sleeping in her bed in the closet because it was one of the warmest spots in the house.  I did not get up, but I sensed this presence was hovering over Little Guy.  I could not tell an immediate change in him.  He was eating on his own now but from that night, he started to grow.  His coat came in and he grew and grew!  He ended up being a 12 pound cat, much larger than his mother and nearly the same size as his dad!! 

I came to realize this was not just about a little kitten.  This was not just about God giving us a gift of a precious gentle kitten.   This was a lesson about faith.   It was God showing me that I can trust Him and believe what He tells me.   That faith is a decision not based on what we see but upon Who He is and what He has spoken.  This was a living miracle enacted before our eyes that not only strengthened my faith, it also showed Darcy and my mom that God is capable of miracles in our lives!!! 

We had Little Guy for twelve years, and during that time he helped me raise baby birds, loved on baby hamsters, played gently with our chinchillas, and was best friends with our baby bunny.  His shining moment was after the flood of ’97 when a man rescued a puppy from a guy who had just drowned the mama dog and the rest of her litter in the flood waters.  Since the vet’s office was under water, she asked me if I could take the little week old puppy to hand feed.  I brought him home and when he heard the puppy’s cries, Little Guy immediately became the puppy’s surrogate mother.  He stayed with the puppy night and day, keeping him clean and warm  and loved until he was old enough to be weaned. 

I believe the reason that Little Guy was so full of love for all of God’s creatures is that he was a total  miracle himself.  I have no doubt in the world that the only reason we had Little Guy was that God chose to give us this kitten as a gift and witness of His love.