An Update on My Poor Baby

Faithful visitors to the Queen will remember my former post about my poor, nervous cat Cera. The above picture shows what she's supposed to look like. Even at 18 years old, she's gorgeous--although in this photo you can tell she's getting matted and scruffy. Hence the story of her infamous trip to the groomer, which left her looking like this:



The groomers returned her to me half-shaved because they couldn't handle her. I promised an update, and I'm proud to say that on her second trip, the mission was accomplished. She doesn't exactly look good, but at least her hair is now even and smooth. Here's her new look:


You realize, of course, that she learned nothing from all this. She still won't let me brush her. As soon as her hair is an inch long, she'll be matted again. Back to the groomer we'll go--although possibly to a different one. This one did not specifically say we should never set foot in the place again, but she did not appear happy to see us this morning.



Cera has arthritis, and when I brought her home today, she seemed a little stiff and sore. Squirming to escape and taking swipes at people who were trying to help her no doubt took its toll. I watched her hobble around upstairs, first to the food dish, then her scratching pad, then her favorite sleeping spot. She was so happy to be home, she had to assure herself it was all real. And I was filled with compassion for her, and kept hugging her and petting her. This in spite of the fact that she caused me a great deal of aggravation, stress, and expense by being such an ornery little cuss to begin with.


So on the positive side, I thought--if I'm capable of loving her like that in spite of herself, if I can understand her lack of trust and forgive her for it, just think how great God's compassion must be toward me! And thank God for it. I'm afraid I'm pretty dense about repeating the same mistakes over and over myself, sometimes.

On a mundane side note, I wanted to mention that I probably won't post again for a few days. I'm going camping with my family from Thursday through Sunday. In fact, we're headed to a bluegrass festival near Waycross, Georgia. Have you heard about the horrible wildfires near the Okefenokee in south Georgia? Yep, that's where we're headed. What did I tell you about me and mistakes? Oh boy.