Tuesday, January 26, 2016

My Heroes Have Always Had Whiskers #MyPetIsMyHero

The tagline of my blog, which encompasses my two greatest passions, is "Books Feed My Mind. Cats Feed My Soul." It's a slogan that epitomizes my life. There has never been a time when a cat hasn't been my primary confidant, the one little being who I know will always be there for me. I'm even going to go a step further and say the cats I've shared my life with are my heroes.


This post is sponsored by Chicken Soup for The Soul Pet Food and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network. I am being compensated for helping create awareness around the Brand and new product launch, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Chicken Soup for The Soul is not responsible for the content of this article.

The news stories that never fail to put a smile on my face are those that feature heroic pets, whether it's the newly adopted cat who awakens her family when a fire breaks out or the dog who alerts their human that an epileptic seizure is imminent. Remember Tara the cat who saved a 6 year old boy from getting attacked by a dog?

True, I've never had a cat do anything that would lead the world to view them as anything other than an "ordinary cat", but when you love your pet, every single moment you spend together matters. My cats have always been my greatest joy and my greatest comfort...and that makes them my greatest heroes.


One moment that I will never forget for as long as I live happened just last June. I was lying in bed working on a blog post about the dog movie "Max" that was about to premiere. I started to watch the music video by Blake Shelton for the movie's theme song, "Forever Young". I don't know if it was the images from the movie or the song itself or the two combined, but I started crying. Not just a few tears either but outright sobbing.

Truffles ran into the bedroom, hopped on the bed, got into my lap and started rubbing against me and purring. She knew that I was terribly upset and her first instinct was to comfort me the only way she could...with her love. Little did I know a few short weeks later she would be gone in the blink of an eye. That moment is the reason why I titled the blog post announcing her passing "Forever Young, Precious Truffles". She was only four years old and it's the way I will always remember her...forever young.


Needless to say, when I adopted Mudpie she had some gigantic paws to fill and the monumental task of mending a completely shattered heart. That popular adoption quote "Who rescued who?" has never held greater meaning. While I still haven't even begun to accept the unfairness of what happened to Truffles, the pure joy that Mudpie exudes 24/7 has proven to be so healing and therapeutic.

And that makes her a mighty big hero in this cat mom's eyes.


Do you have a hero pet in your life?

Chicken Soup for the Soul®, the company that has brought us the popular line of heartwarming books and super-premium pet food (more about the food in a future post!) is giving pet owners the opportunity to show how their pets are heroes and have a chance to appear on Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden Heroes on the CBS Saturday morning lineup. Write your story or submit your video to the Pet Hero webpage.

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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, this certainly looks interesting! Oh, yes, I do have pet heroes. They have left incredibly deep foot prints in my heart, too. The one I will never get over was actually named "McGuffy Ann's Emotional Rescue" (on her AKC papers). Yeah...she did rescue me, too. Hugs.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely story, we can't help it, but we had tears in our eyes while reading. Granny had her heroes too and I am Granny's hero now. I came into her life just before her Angel left planet earth. Someone had to comfort her and reduce her pain and I didn't mind to help her with that. Can I have some chicken soup now ;) Pawkisses for a wonderful day :) <3

The Florida Furkids said...

We're so glad that Mudpie came into your life to help you heal after the loss of Truffles. We think they are both heros!

The Florida Furkids

Cats Herd You said...

What a sweet story. We think every kitty is a hero in their own way. It would be really hard to pick just one!

Marg said...

Mudpie, you are just the best to somewhat heal your Mom's heart. It is sooooo hard to have a fur friend leave. And cats are very in tune with your emotional need. I had to put a pony down that was one of my very favorites and Mew Mew came and sat with me for over an hour. It it was unreal.

The Menagerie Mom said...

This post should win an award. You make so many profound points that I could never have said better myself. Mudpie, you are the sweetest, doing everything in your power to make your mommy so happy even in the wake of sadness. Purrs to you!

Like you, Melissa, none of my furbabies have ever done anything like chase an attacking dog off of a child, but they do things for me that make them my little heroes every day. A couple weeks ago, just after I found at that my grandfather had passed away unexpectedly, my boy Evan crawled into my lap and curled up there for the first time ever. He has never been a lap kitty and hasn't done it since, but I will always cherish that moment.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post, Melissa. You said it so well. Thank you.

pilch92 said...

I love this post. Truffles and Miss Mudpie are both heroes.

Hannah and Lucy said...

Cats have a way of comforting you when you are sad or unhappy that a human however meaning well can't provide.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

Robin said...

The story about Truffles is so sweet! My heroes have always had paws too. I love the way pets understand you more than other people do. Cinco and Manna are very good at detecting my mood swings and helping me calm down.
-Purrs from your friends at www.PlayfulKitty.net

Anonymous said...

I understand COMPLETELY! When I was in my 30s I was severely depressed and suicidal. The only thing that kept me going each day was getting up and out of bed to feed and love my cats. That group then and the ones I have now are my heroes!

The Island Cats said...

We have always been the mom's heroes...'specially now when we help her recuperate from her surgery.

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

What a beautiful posting Melissa. It truly touched my heart to read your words, and your Hero Truffles is still with you and she always will be.

A Tonl said...

It still just stuns us when we think of Truffles' brief life... *hugs*

Christy Paws said...

What a beautiful post! Mom says the comfort and joy we furries bring make us all heroes.

Kitty Cat Chronicles said...

We enjoyed this post immensely. Beautiful words. And our mom agrees -- we are all her heroes too :)

Pawesome Cats said...

Great post! Our cats are our heroes too - they heal us as much as we heal them!

Sweet Purrfections said...

Very heartwarming. Our fur children can be there for us when no one else is.

Lola The Rescued Cat said...

This is such a heartwarming post. It's so nice to honor kitties as heroes.

Rascal and Rocco said...

Heroic pet stories are the best! Those and people rescuing pets. Your Truffles sure was a hero, coming to mom's rescue when she needed comforting. I didn't realize she was so young! ~RascalandRocco