For twelve beautiful years our family has been the home of a beautiful gray cat, who came to us from by way of adoption. My daughters affectionately named her Bella. Bella with the blue eyes. She was a perfect kitten from the very first day. She was gentle and never went through the destructive stage of shredding furniture or walls. Soon after her first birthday, her feline hunting instincts kicked in and she discovered that she liked being an outside kitty.
An outside kitty who routinely brought us her spoil. She was a champion hunter who took no prisoners. That was, until the first cold snap hit while she was residing outdoors. She quickly traded her hunting duties for the warm glow of a fire place. We didn’t mind, we helped her pack her bags and let her move back in.
As soon as the spring thaw happened she resumed her residency on the front porch. It wasn’t long before she began hunting again. I would also enjoy a hot cup of coffee with her in the mornings. This became our routine for many years. Hibernate indoors to stay away from Old Man Winter….then venture back outdoors when the spring flowers began to bloom. During all of these years we would also have random cats stop by for a few days, she would often share food with them on the front porch and then they would move along.
If she wasn’t in the mood to share, we would hear the cat fight on the front porch…then they would move along. Bella always protected her territory.
This was until a few weeks ago when our neighborhood suddenly became the home of nineteen stray cats and feral kittens. It was almost like a Biblical plague of cats. We had no idea where they came from but they were camped out for many days. During this time some of the cats were re-homed, adopted or given to the local shelter. I had never been introduced to feral cats so I was unaware of their anti-social ways. Every time I would walk outside they would hiss at me.
Frankly, it was a little scary. Most of the cats moved away with the exception of one stray-feral-kitten.
I was going to trap it but I soon realized that Bella had taken the kitten under her feline wings. They ate together, they hunted together and I have even seen them sleeping together on my security camera. I didn’t want to be the one to break up the new budding friendship.
As time went on I began to notice that Bella was acting more distant and less like the cuddly kitten that I raised since birth. Was her new furry friend a bad influence on her? Was she acting too cool for her mom? All I knew was I was not liking her attitude since her new friend was hanging around. My sweet cat also began to flinch when I would pet her, as if I was bothering her or she was scared of me.
It was so bizarre. My domesticated house cat was slowing turning feral.
I soon began to realize that all of those Biblical Proverbs about choosing your friends wisely also applies to the feline kingdom. Corrupt company will corrupt you. The righteous choose their friends carefully but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Walk with the wise and become wiser, associate with fools and become foolish.
Just like in human relationships, it isn’t an instantaneous change you see when you keep company that corrupts you. It is a slow fade. One mishap leads to another, then another, until you are very comfortable with the new version of yourself. You find it easier to gossip about people than it was before. It is easier to skirt your responsibilities at work and with family when you have fiends leading you astray. You don’t even see it coming. More times than not, others notice it before you do.
God made all of us to be social. He created Eve so Adam wouldn’t be alone and he would have a helpmate. God wants us to choose wisely when we choose those who walk closely with us. He wants us to choose friends who admonish each other, he wants us to choose people who will further your relationship with him and not bring you further away from him.
Are you choosing your feral friends over your relationship with Christ?
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.” – Colossians 3:16
