The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown
A distress call shattered the calm of a work meeting with my daughter, Meredith, and our business partner, Jessica. A neighbor’s threat to harm a stray cat on her porch prompted Jessica’s mom to call and plead for help. The words, “stomp a cat to death,” hung in the air. I knew we had to act. Before I could think twice, I blurted out, “We’ll take him.”
As the words left my lips, I thought about my husband Allen’s reaction. It took him thirteen years to adjust to the four rescue cats we already had.
Bringing home a fifth? I might be facing my own emergency. But I’d committed. So, we arranged to pick the cat up the following afternoon.
My doubts lingered as we approached the cat. A head too big for his body pressed against a wire kennel, big golden eyes watching us. The cat’s ribs showed under sleek fur like squirrel hair.
“We know he’s at least a year old,” Jessica’s mom said and pointed to his clipped ear. “He was trapped last year, neutered, and then released.”
We transferred him into a cat carrier and headed home. We snuck him into the house while I wrestled with how to explain our new family member to Allen.
I braced myself for Allen’s reaction. But I did not need to worry.
I found the cat sitting beside Allen on the couch, looking like the cat’s meow. Allen looked at the cat, then at me, and back at the cat.
“I assume he’s staying,” he said.
“Then he needs a name,” I replied.
Our Facebook friends offered suggestions, and we chose the name that fit him: October Brown, or Toby for short.
Toby wanted to be friends with our older cats at the first meeting. He barged right in.
He head-bumped the two males, Pekid and Mikey. He flopped on top of them with zero concept of personal space and curled up beside them as if he’d always belonged.
The two black cats, Psyche and her daughter, Mellie, hissed and spat until Toby backed off. But even they were more active than they’d been in months.
Before Toby arrived, I found myself preparing my heart for saying goodbye to our senior cats. They moved little beyond eating and napping. I thought our days together were numbered.
Then the young cat turned our quiet routine upside down.
He chased sunbeams, swatted toys, and stirred up playtime until the old boys joined in. They wrestled like kittens again. Soon, the girls batted toys around, too. It felt as though someone pressed rewind on time. Toby brought youthful energy back into our home.
But Toby didn’t just bring energy.
He brought comfort.
A year after Toby arrived, Meredith moved to Texas, and the house felt quieter. Toby filled some of those empty spaces in both the house and my heart.
After four bonus years of cuddles and playing, Mikey passed away, followed soon after by his mama, Psyche. The ache of their absence pressed down on me.
Throughout every loss, Toby stayed close.
He nuzzled my face, curled beside me, and greeted each morning with cheerful chirps.
He stayed beside Pekid, too. After losing his brother, Pekid wandered the house crying. Toby encouraged him to stretch, shadowbox, and play again before curling up beside him in Mikey’s old sleeping spot.
Healing didn’t come in one dramatic moment.
It came through gentle head bumps, deep purrs, cheerful morning greetings, and a faithful shadow that never seemed far away.
When Toby first came home, we thought we were rescuing a stray cat.
Looking back, I wonder if God was rescuing us, too.
At the time, I couldn’t know Meredith would soon move away. I couldn’t know we would say goodbye to three beloved cats over the next few years. I couldn’t understand how much comfort our family would need.
But God knew.
James 1:17 reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.”
Sometimes God’s gifts don’t arrive wrapped in ribbons.
Sometimes they arrive with clipped ears, golden eyes, and a heart full of love.
We thought Toby needed us.
The truth is, God knew we needed Toby.
His timing was perfect.
Debra Brown’s motto is “Be the Spark.” She has a passion for family, her 3 cats, flowers, pretty food, and health & wellness. Debra is an author, UGA honors graduate/The Citadel MBA.