July/August 2010

All God’s Creatures …of the Furry Kind

by Bobbie Wright

When I saw the theme of “Michigan Backyards” for the Healing Garden’s July/August issue, I had to sit down and tell you about our backyard.  Although, I have tosay, it isn’t because it’s all that special looking.  On the contrary, just ask our neighbors.  But if you are a cat living in the neighborhood, our backyard is kitty heaven.

It all started many years ago when my husband was out back and he happened to spot a bunch of kittens romping around in the woods.  We had no idea who they belonged to.  But being the animal people that we are, we decided to take a safety measure, and make sure fresh water was available along with a daily supply of food.  This went on for months before it became clear to us that home for these cats was our house.  With the colder weather and winter months approaching soon, we went about securing warm shelters for this feral cat community that had set up residence in our backyard. 

There were five cats in all in the original litter.  Of course we were hoping they were all males.  But to our dismay, it turned out that one of the cats was indeed a female.  This set us on a course, over a very long period, of attempt after failed attempt to humanely trap this female cat and have her spayed.  Finally, we were successful and after a 24-hour stay at the veterinary hospital, we were able to return this precious lone female to our now well-established feral cat community.  Peace returned to the backyard. 

This June marks our 10th year anniversary where we have dedicated our backyard to any and all living creatures that agree to live in harmony.  Over the years, we have seen a lot of cats come and go.  Some have stayed for only a few weeks and some have taken up residence for many, many years.  But what is most fascinating has been being able to observe Mother Nature at her best.  We watched an abandoned baby opossum be allowed to grow and thrive among these feral cats.  We witnessed a second miracle occur when a litter of baby coyotes took up refuge for a short time in our backyard after their nearby home in a wooded area had been torn up by a condominium development. 

Today. two of the original cats from the first litter are alive and well and still living in our backyard.  Along with these original two we have three others.  It’s rather funny when you look at our current mix of cats.  Ten years ago we started out with four males and one female.  Today we have four females and one male.   And yes, for the record, I am happy to report; every female has been caught and spayed.  After many years of practice, we have become very versed and rather successful in the art of humanely trapping these lovely little critters.  For us, this has been an amazingly healing venture with one thought always in the forefront of our minds, living to honor the God in all of life!   

Bobbie Wright is a nature lover and resident of Southeastern Michigan.