Anyone who knows me well knows that Winston is not my typical cat, because all of my cats except one have been long-haired orange tabbies (the other exception was a red and white long-haired female, the only kitten I could find around the time my first cat passed away). It isn’t to in any way discredit that Winston is a pretty kitty, long-haired and a mix of black and brown and perhaps even some gray. But Winston earned my heart, and that is why I chose him.

When my kitty Malcolm passed away from cancer early in November last year, I went to the shelter to look at kittens. Of course, I was trying to find my typical kitty type--a long-haired orange tabby male. But they had none. In my sadness, I saw this long-haired mixed black larger kitten hanging off by himself. At the very least I was attracted to him being long-haired. He wasn’t shy when I approached him, enjoyed being pet, even reached up and gave me a licky kiss. But I did not choose him because he wasn’t a long-haired orange tabby kitty. Instead I decided I’d look elsewhere and instead brought home an orange tabby kitten from a farm that I thought would wind up being long haired (he didn’t, which makes him also different than my typical kitty type). And then my second cat, Felix, passed away from grief only 13 days after Malcolm passed. And right away I recalled that long-haired mixed black kitten at the shelter who had so kindly kissed my face. I knew that he was going to be the one, and picked him up when it would work out for my schedule a couple days later.

But in my ponderings regarding Winston, some thoughts come to mind. First, how often do we place too much emphasis on what someone looks like? Obviously I’ve been that way about cats, and I’ve had six long-haired orange tabbies during my 33 years of having housecats as an adult. Secondly, how often does over-focusing on physical appearance result in us failing to see someone’s heart? I chose Winston because of his loving heart, not because of how he looked. And third, how often do we limit ourselves and close our minds to things that are different? While I don’t “think” I do that with other things, although I very well could be blind to my own faults (sigh), for sure in the past I have been pretty closed minded about having a cat that differed from my typical preference. In my ponderings, I’m thinking maybe I need to be more mindful of times when I may not be open-minded enough.

I guess if we look for the lessons, we can find many in our common, ever-day experiences. And who knows in the future now what my kitties of the future may be. Now you never know….

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