{"id":19426,"date":"2026-03-11T07:39:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/a-little-black-cat-showed-her-the-true-meaning-of-love\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:07:52","slug":"a-little-black-cat-showed-her-the-true-meaning-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/pets\/cats\/a-little-black-cat-showed-her-the-true-meaning-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"A Little Black Cat Showed Her the True Meaning of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018\u2018You don\u2019t want that one,\u201d the shelter volunteer said. \u201cHe\u2019s broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBroken?\u201d I asked. Had I heard her correctly? I looked down at the black cat sitting on my foot. He trilled softly. The minute I\u2019d walked into the animal shelter\u2019s cat room, he\u2019d been one step behind me, my shadow. I wasn\u2019t an expert, but this cat seemed friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a stray since birth,\u201d the volunteer explained. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t like anyone\u2014not other cats, not dogs, not people. Sometimes they\u2019re out there way too long. He\u2019s already three years old. At a certain point, it\u2019s nearly impossible for them to be fully domesticated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to adopt him,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d she asked. There were several other cats up for adoption, cats that were socialized and would be easier for a first-time owner. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he needs a home,\u201d I said. Then under my breath, \u201cAnd because I\u2019m broken<\/a> too.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was 2017. I\u2019d been in therapy for a while, but it was only recently that my therapist suggested I get an animal companion\u2014preferably something low-maintenance, like a cat. It would be good for me. Maybe even help me form connections with people. I didn\u2019t know if I believed that. But I went to my local shelter.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what it was about that little black cat, but I immediately felt a kinship with him. Two abandoned peas in a pod, I guess. I filled out the paperwork and left with him that afternoon.<\/p>\n

At home I let him out of the carrier so he could explore. I watched as this little panther smelled every inch of the house. Eventually, his curiosity sated, he settled in my lap. I reached out a hesitant hand to pet him. He purred.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I\u2019m going to be honest with you,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ve only been able to love two people in my entire life, and I\u2019m thirty-three. I love my brother and one friend\u2014that\u2019s it. I could do without everyone else.\u201d The cat didn\u2019t move. \u201cI have what the professionals call developmental trauma, which causes me to have serious attachment issues.<\/p>\n

\u201dThough he wasn\u2019t looking at me, the cat\u2019s ears were pointed in my direction. I knew he was listening. \u201cMy mom checked out when I was seven years old\u2014emotionally, I mean. She\u2019s not a bad person,\u201d I said. \u201cShe just wasn\u2019t capable of being a mom anymore. Kind of like how your mom wasn\u2019t able to take care of you. I guess you had to figure it out on your own too, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp!\u201d the cat replied.<\/p>\n

My mom never healed from the trauma she experienced as a child. She went through the motions of parenting, providing shelter and food, but eventually her developmental trauma caught up with her, and she stopped showing me affection, talking to me, encouraging me. Does she love me?<\/em> I wondered. A lot of times I don\u2019t think she even noticed I was there. She was lost in her own thoughts, her own troubles. My dad, though physically present, was even more absent. I\u2019d accepted his detachment, but I couldn\u2019t let go of wanting a relationship with my mom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lack of closeness with my mom affected my interactions with others. I had a couple friends at school, but I didn\u2019t share much of myself with them. What if they decide to shut me out too?<\/em> I thought.<\/p>\n

The cat looked at me. \u201cIt\u2019s not like one bad thing happened to me. It\u2019s more about what didn\u2019t<\/em> happen,\u201d I said. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, his body growing heavy. \u201cI\u2019m telling you this because you shouldn\u2019t expect too much from me. Don\u2019t expect me to love you. I don\u2019t know how.\u201d He drifted off to sleep.<\/p>\n

\"\"It took me a week to come up with a name for him. I finally settled on Mr. Bojangles, after the song about a homeless man who, even after being arrested, remained happy and upbeat. He spread joy and laughter by dancing for his fellow prisoners. The name fit this cat. Even when he was \u201cbehind bars\u201d at the shelter, Mr. Bojangles had been chirping and trilling, like he was trying to cheer me up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As he adjusted to life with me, he got more talkative. More often than not, I found myself talking back:<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp. Chirp!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019ve moved the kitchen sponge to the living room floor. Hunting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks dead. Good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time a year passed, we\u2019d settled into a routine<\/a>. When I woke up in the morning, Bo\u2014that\u2019s what I called him for short\u2014would demand that I hold him, so he could rub his face against mine. Then it was breakfast for us both before I headed to work. When I got home in the evenings, Bo would meow until I picked him up. I\u2019d put on music and sway with him in my arms. We danced to the many recordings of \u201cMr. Bojangles,\u201d his favorite being Sammy Davis Jr.\u2019s rendition. \u201cI knew a man, Bojangles,\u201d I\u2019d sing along, \u201cand he danced for you in worn-out shoes\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Bo was great company, a good conversationalist and a divine dancer. He\u2019d made my life better. Still, I hesitated to call it love. Just the word itself seemed too big for such a small creature\u2014until the day I came home and collapsed into bed, sobbing.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re recovering from trauma<\/a>, some days are better than others. That day was one of the worst. Part of me had always held out hope that my mother and I would reconcile. That someday she\u2019d call me and we would talk. But she was already 65 years old. If she hadn\u2019t changed by now, it was unlikely she ever would. A hard truth, one that hit me like a ton of bricks that day. Twenty-seven years after she checked out, I had to face it: My mother was truly gone. Letting go of that hope was devastating.<\/p>\n

I felt the bed dip and then the softness of Bo\u2019s fur. He curled up by my head. I shifted to give him more space. But space wasn\u2019t what Bo wanted. He got up and repositioned himself, so his back pressed against my face\u2014a solid and deliberate presence.<\/p>\n

He stayed with me the whole night. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep. And, when I woke the next morning, my face puffy, Bo was still beside me, purring gently. In that moment, my heart was so full, I was finally able to say it: \u201cI love you, Bo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChirp!\u201d<\/p>\n

Translation: \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love isn\u2019t always easy. I know that better than most. It\u2019s a dance, one that involves give-and-take. Many are taught from a young age. They have people who embrace them, teach them the steps and help them keep the rhythm. Some of us learn this dance later in life when we find the right partners. Others may never learn it. I feel for those people. I thought I was one of them.<\/p>\n

Then Mr. Bojangles chose me. He led me out onto the dance floor. He\u2019d been abandoned, but he wasn\u2019t afraid to love and be loved. In time, I danced with new friends and, eventually, a partner who knew when to take things slow. One who I was able to tell \u201cI love you,\u201d because of a little black cat who showed me the meaning of those words<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For daily animal devotions, subscribe to\u00a0<\/em>All God’s Creatures<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018\u2018You don\u2019t want that one,\u201d the shelter volunteer said. \u201cHe\u2019s broken.\u201d \u201cBroken?\u201d I asked. Had I heard her correctly? I looked down at the black cat sitting on my foot. He trilled softly. The minute I\u2019d walked into the animal shelter\u2019s cat room, he\u2019d been one step behind me, my shadow. I wasn\u2019t an expert, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":28386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[317,164,13,70,75],"ppma_author":[1480],"class_list":["post-19426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cats","tag-all-creatures","tag-cats","tag-love","tag-mother","tag-pets"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Little Black Cat Showed Her the True Meaning of Love - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Little Black Cat Showed Her the True Meaning of Love\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2018\u2018You don\u2019t want that one,\u201d the shelter volunteer said. \u201cHe\u2019s broken.\u201d \u201cBroken?\u201d I asked. 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