Chapter 53

Coming in From the Cold

The stray cat comes to the Williams' home seeking food and shelter—Carolyn happily embraces
the role of the Good Samaritan.

A vision of a Christmas tree in the celestial kingdom had been seen, followed by a vision
of the revelations of God, and then a puppet show on stage had been presented to the animals by
the Spirit. As the last vision of the night ended, all were exhausted and fell asleep quickly. Grant
and Carolyn covered themselves with a nearby blanket, and Coco resettled himself on top. A few
feet away, the kittens were asleep on the carpet, and the tiny mouse snored quietly by the wall
behind the couch.

At approximately 7:10 AM, there was a noise outside the front door—a cat outside
making a loud and worrisome yowling sound.

Coco’s ears were the first to hear it, his head immediately rising up and turning in that
direction. Receiving no immediate response, the yowling became even louder and was repeated
over and over. Coco jumped down quickly, entered the kitchen, and hopped up to the window
sill to see what was the matter. Carolyn was also awakened. Pulling the blanket off, she arose
from the couch and, with sleep still in her eyes, walked through the kitchen to the front door. The
sound of the front door being unlocked caused Coco to jump down to the floor and quickly
scamper over. The door opened. It was the scrawny cat.

Carolyn now saw what Coco had seen the day before––a thin, sickly he-cat that had been
battered hard by the weather. The strange cat stood a few feet from the porch. He had been
surprised at the sudden opening of the door and was now somewhat unsure of himself—not bold
enough to ascend the porch steps and enjoy the shelter it offered from the wind and snow. He
had yowled loudly—his instinct was to alert others he needed food—but now that someone had
responded, the situation was unclear. Would the person yell “scram” from the doorway and try to
kick him further away from the porch and perhaps into a nearby snowdrift? Would a broom be
used to chase him out of the yard and into the street? As a stray cat, this was his expectation, the
result of many previous encounters with people. But something—the Spirit most likely—had
brought him here. Would he be treated with kindness by the people at this home?

Carolyn, seeing the suffering animal, was cautious, not wishing to scare him away. She
opened the door wide, stepped back, and called for him to enter. The cat, too, was cautious and
not sure what new problems might be waiting for him on the inside. Like a child, the cat was

prone to trust in the goodness of God and believe that people—also created by God—would treat
him nicely. His real-world experiences in life, however, had somewhat altered these instincts.
Therefore, to survive, he had learned the skills of a thief and a vagabond, taking food and shelter
wherever he could find them, and without asking.

The stray cat was not yet prepared to receive “the fulness of the gospel” of good cat
behaviors, like those more easily embraced by Coco when, as a kitten, he was first introduced
into Grant and Carolyn’s home. His life’s experiences were wound up into a series of confusing
and difficult struggles. It was necessary that someone––with love––help to unwind him and
return him to a path where he could find joy in his life again. Hunger and cold on this day had
made him humbler than usual, helping him realize that he could not always steal to survive, and
requiring that he try the frontal approach—asking for help at someone’s door; hence his presence
here. The home of the people living here did seem warm and inviting, and he saw there was
another cat inside, one he recognized from the other day. This cat had seemed at least somewhat
friendly, one of the reasons why he had chosen to return to this home rather than go begging for
food somewhere else. Coco had not growled at him and had seemed like an example of good cat
manners and friendliness—the kindness and good Christian values often seen in Latter-day Saint
neighbors.

He stepped in slowly, and the door was closed. The Williams' home now had a new
dinner guest for Christmas Day.

But what kind of home had the stray cat entered? Was it prepared to receive him?

In this case, the stray cat was very fortunate. Carolyn was an ideal caregiver, anxious to
fill the role of the Good Samaritan. The Williams' home was something of a “Zion-like”
environment for a needy cat, a good landing place, indeed.

The obvious thing to do first was welcome the new guest with some food. Carolyn
opened a can of her best chicken filet cat food and served it up in the master’s (Coco’s) dish,
along with some water in the side container. Coco’s initial thought when food was being served
like this was to move up close to his dish and eat. But realizing the special circumstances, and
that there was a guest in the house, this time he froze and stood still. He would need to fast this
time and let his food be given to another. The stray cat moved forward towards the dish without
delay, eating almost as fast as the food was put down. He wolfed down the soft chicken meat so
quickly that he hardly had time to breathe, causing occasional choking sounds. He stopped eating
just long enough to lap up some water with this tongue and then finished up the remaining
chicken. He was done in an instant and looked up to Carolyn while still swallowing, hoping that
there was more to come. Carolyn and Coco, both perhaps a little tearful, had seen this very scene
before––a cat almost choking on the food because he was so hungry.

Nevertheless, Carolyn was happy in this respect––she was the instrument in the hands of
the Lord to help feed this hungry soul, and it was a marvelous feeling! The deluxe chicken cat
food was all gone, but she opened up a can of tuna fish right away and filled up the meal
container once again. All the water was licked up and the helping of tuna fish was consumed,
although a little slower this time than the chicken. Carolyn didn’t want the cat to overeat and

perhaps become sick, but she still decided in favor of giving him more food. She added a good
handful of cat chow to the dish. Delighted with the windfall of food, as well as the variety, the
cat ate up most of that as well, until he finally reached his limit. The rest of the food he left “for
later.”

The stray cat, his small tummy filled with a great meal, now took time to study the new
surroundings, taking note, first of all, of the location of Coco in the room. Coco neither backed
away nor moved forward; he was frozen in place like a statue. The stray cat shook off the excess
moisture on his fur and then started a tour of the kitchen, demonstrating an unmistakable
fondness for the lower-level cabinets and some drying shoes near the washing machine. He was
receiving kindness from the people in this home, so his desire was to reciprocate, touching each
of these things warmly with his nose as he passed. He had been hungry for so long, thinking
virtually every minute of the day about food and water, that it was now very refreshing to
experience the world again on a full stomach. Maybe the world was not such a bad place after
all! Carolyn bent down to pet the visiting cat, but she was slow in doing so, not wishing to alarm
him. The cat, still adjusting to the new environment, quickly backed away from her.

After a few attempts to get close, Carolyn decided to give the new cat some space, but
she moved the cat litter box to a visible area in the kitchen to make sure he knew where it was.

Returning to the family room, she lay down on the couch next to Grant. Coco followed
her in, but only after he had passed by and inspected his cat dish—it was still okay; the new cat
had not done any visible damage to it. Still uneasy, however, he did not jump up on the couch
but stayed on the floor and closely watched the other cat’s movements in the kitchen. The cat
looked back at him, remaining only a few feet from the cat dishes.

After several minutes, the stray cat felt confident enough to move closer to where all of
the action was in the family room. Reaching the doorway, he paused and poked his head in to
look at the room’s contents and occupants. It all seemed safe enough. There was a quiet place
over in the corner and a blanket there—the gunfighter’s chair, where nobody can sneak up from
behind. He moved over there, sampled the softness of the blanket with his paw, looked at the
reaction of others in the room one last time, then lay down and rested. Exhaustion overcame him,
but he was too excited to sleep. He saw Coco, who was still watching him closely, and then
looked again around the room. The Christmas tree, the lights, and the colorful packages with
bows under the tree all were wonderful to see. The room was very peaceful, and this was very
likely his first encounter with love at home. After a while, he fell asleep.