It was a normal Tuesday evening; I had finished my classwork for the day and was lying on the couch, engaging in my nightly session of binge-watching Shameless on Netflix. From the kitchen I hear my four-year-old cat meowing away in her usual style. Her melodic mix of chirps, quacks, and mews filled the apartment's common area with the familiar chorus of her feline song. She trotted up to me and her round green eyes stared into mine as she let out another squeak demanding my attention.

She hopped onto my lap and nests against my arm, purring as I scratched her soft ears. She stretches herself out, her little 8 pound body weighed down from the stress of the long day full of eating, sitting on the sun-drenched windowsill, and playing with the hand crocheted catnip toys from Grandma Sandy. Her little green eyes begin to close as her eyelids grow heavy with fatigue. She stretches out her legs so she is lying like a furry little person - her front paws with the extra toes crossed on her round belly that moves up and down with her every breath and loud snore. I can't believe how sweet and serene she looks while she is asleep: it is hard to believe that this is the same cat who can shooting across the room like a bullet to play with a hair-tie or to eat a piece of food off the ground before it can be snatched up.

As she moves her little feet in her sleep, I see the little calluses on her paw pads - hardened tissue left behind from her former life as a stray. It is hard to believe Moortjie - who now lives an entirely catered-to lifestyle full of love, happiness, and all the food she could care to eat - ever lived the hard life of a stray. She scavenged and hunted for food, she slept on the cold, hard streets, and she ended up pregnant when she was barely out of kittenhood. This poor little baby has completely changed my life and made it better, but I wonder just how much I changed her life. She went from the street to a crowded shelter - but she first felt love there. And from she shelter she came to me.

She chose me!

I am so thankful that this little former stray chose me to love her. I am so thankful that she was brought to that shelter. I am so thankful I can give her the love that she has always deserved. I am so thankful for my little Moortjie.