Introducing Kasee Ellison: Guardian Angel

For those of you interested in the story of Kasee the Kitten:

A week ago today, I awoke to a phone call.  "Did you see Becky's text about the kitten?" Jan asked.  I had vaguely heard the vibration of my phone receiving texts but hadn't picked it up as I was still sleepy.  Jan told me that one of our friends, who is also a SpiritWorks parents, Becky, had found a kitten.  She wanted me to look at the picture.

I reached over the side of the bed to grab my phone and saw the picture of a tiny white kitten peering around the side of a planter.  Along with the picture was a text:  This little kitten was thrown over my fence late last night.  She looks just like Katie's cat.  I can't keep her because I'm allergic but I was wondering if maybe she came here for Lauren.

At 11:00 the night before, Becky had convinced her husband, Eric, to sit outside for awhile.  As they sat by the pool, breathing in the sweet, honeysuckle air, a bright light streaked across the darkness.  "What was that?" Becky asked.  Eric answered, "A meteor."  They sat talking for awhile longer until they heard a loud rustling under the trees near the fence.  At first they thought it was a large bird.  Since it was past midnight, Eric suggested they turn in, but when they heard a crying sound, Becky became convinced it was a kitten.  "That's not a bird.  I'm going to check it out."  She started making meowing sounds and heard an answering cry.  When she got to the fence, she found a little white kitten stranded in the brush.  She tried to pick her up gently, but the kitten was too scared and ran away.

Becky kept meowing and talking to the kitten until she ventured almost to the pool deck.  At that point, Eric decided to head inside, and Becky told him she'd be right in.  Instead she laid down on the ground and talked to her new tiny buddy.  She told her about Katie and then told her about me, sure that the kitten had come to comfort me and help me get well.  Becky fell asleep talking to her and woke around 2:30.  Time to go to bed and see what the morning would bring. 

Early the next morning, Becky and Eric headed to the yard to see if the kitten was still there.  Eric strode quickly to the pool, fearing that the tiny cat might have stumbled into it and drowned.  He didn't want Becky to find the furry being in the skimmer.  Becky made meowing sounds and heard a responding cry.  She fed the kitten some tuna.

Then she texted Jan and me, sending the picture of the little white ball of fluff.  She's going to need someone kind.

I'm kind.  I texted back.

Will you take her?

Yes, Lauren will take her Jan offered.  "I love her," she told me on the phone.  

Katie's kitten, Ouija

We made arrangements to meet Becky and Eric at SpiritWorks.  "Her name can be K.C., Katie's Cat." Jan suggested.  I instantly liked it.

Katie was Becky and Eric's vibrant, fierce, theatre-loving, singing, acting, dancing, twenty-four year old daughter.  The daughter I had gotten to meet only days before she died of a fatal overdose.  Some years ago, Katie had found a kitten named her Ouija who looked nearly identical to this new kitten. Becky knew that Katie had sent her to us.  "Katie always thought I could save any animal that was hurt."

When we arrived at SpiritWorks, all wearing masks, Becky was holding the little cutie all wrapped up in a big white towel.  She transferred her to me, and the bond was instant.  She was adorable, and I knew I'd do what I could to keep her safe and give her a chance at life.

Over the course of the morning, as we drove to PetSmart to pick up kitten supplies and then to the emergency vet to get her checked out since she appeared to have a significant wound on her face, we wondered how this kitten had found her way to Becky.  Was she dumped over the fence by a cruel human?  Was she thrown into Becky's yard because one of Katie's friends knew she would take care of her?  Did a predator hawk or owl steal her away from her mama and then drop her as she fought for her life?  We'll never know, but we're guessing Katie had a hand in it.  This kitten is so like her, fierce, fun-loving, and full of life. 

As we waited at the animal hospital, Jan and I discussed other names - Henrietta, 'Rona, Midnight, Rosa, biblical names, names with special meanings.  We called her Midnight for the vet's record; I couldn't let them put "No Name" on the chart, and she had been discovered at midnight.  We weren't yet sure if she was female. The vet called us as we waited in the car and said the kitten was a she, about 5-6 weeks old, that she had had a rough start and that she was a bit of a fixer-upper.  He had glued together a laceration on her hind leg, and treated her for worms.  She needed surgery to fix her wounded lip because it was hanging into her mouth.  She might have intestinal parasites - don't introduce her to other pets yet. Mostly she needed food, antibiotics, and lots of TLC to stabilize her.

When they brought her out to us, we were so relieved.  "Her name is K.C.," Jan said, and I agreed.  Katie's Cat but with her own spelling of the name - Kasee.  And Ellison after the first African American deaconess, Anna Ellison Butler Alexander.  

Kasee Ellison.  Guardian Angel.  Gift from Katie.  And God.

We looked up Kasee and found a definition in the Urban Dictionary:  Super smart girl... and fun to be with.  Can make anyone laugh, is always smiling.  Can't stand not knowing the answer to anything.  Always wears the crown in a situation.  People wish they were as cool as Kasee, and want to be her every day of their lives.  Seemed we'd chosen the right name.  Becky approved.

Kasee adjusted quickly to her new home.  She's a sweet, loving, curious, purring, cuddly, joyful kitten with an extraordinary will to live.  She was born in this corona virus time and has overcome the odds.  She sailed through her surgery just fine and has been unstoppable - except when she keels over for a nap.  

Coronatide has not stolen my joy, but it had diminished it.  Kasee has restored it, reminding me to stay in the present, to laugh at myself, to take things less seriously, to nap often, and to focus on those who need my love, even if they leave poo-ey foot prints on my clothes and floor.  She fills me with delight.  I do not yet have the energy to keep up with her, and she seems to forgive me for that, but she also fills me with hope that I can be as resilient as she is.  

I don't know why I am so lucky to have this precious little being entrusted to my care, but I am so grateful to Katie, to Becky and Eric, to Jan, her other mama, who fell in love with her first, and especially to God who always blesses me more than I can ask for or imagine.

Belongs to both SpiritWorks and the church!