What Does a “Soulmate” Look Like?

The Kitten Who Changed My Life — artwork courtesy of the artist author

I had just got my first job after college and moved into my first apartment when I met my “soulmate.”

I didn’t recognize her right away because she was only six inches tall. It was love at first sight, though, because she was a kitten. She was going through her own “firsts” just as I was.

The kitten made it clear from the start that we were meant for each other.

The first time she came to my aid, a beagle had almost been hit by a car right in front of my apartment. Police tried to take the dog to the pound so I had to argue with them to keep the beagle safe.

Long story short, my friend adopted the beagle. The kitten noticed I was shaken up by police threats and she climbed up on the couch to sit beside me. She offered unconditional comfort like a best friend.

As a social worker for Southern Indiana Rehabilitation Services, I did outreach in the rural countryside where rolling hills put on a spectacular show of Autumn tree color.

Internet wasn’t widely available so I drove to ministers’ homes with information for church goers about free services for people with disabilities. During one of these meetings, a cat sat on the arm of my chair.

That’s how I learned the minister was going to commit the crime of abandoning the cat while she was pregnant. Of course, she came home with me.

She gave birth to 11 kittens. There’s no way the mom could have fed herself and all of those kittens if he had abandoned them in a strange place.

Since I was renting, 12 new cats were too much for the landlord. The landlord’s daughter adopted the mother cat. While I was still visiting, the mother cat escorted two male cats outdoors and came back inside to lie down. She made herself right at home.

The kitten who consoled me showed her deep connection often. She would sit up on her back haunches trying to raise up enough to see my face. Then she’d tumble over backwards. She was so adorable.

With our immense compatibility, we traveled far and wide, growing together in mutual understanding.

Pepper took it in stride when we moved to a new city. My new landlord said that Pepper watched all the work he did around the house from the windows. She even woke me once by growling at a strange man looking in the bedroom window. It’s the only time I ever heard her growl.

Then I moved more than 1,000 miles to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Pepper stayed with my parents until I found an apartment, and then she was great company on the road. We even made a few trips back to Indiana to visit Mom and Dad.

She was my girlfriend with advice on dating, too. She only nipped me once and that was to let me know I should avoid one guy. She seemed quite smitten with another boyfriend, though.

Pepper was my constant companion through the early years. She made transition easy. She was always ready for anything as long as we were together.

With her devotion, with her sensitivity and her protection, Pepper set the bar high with impeccable standards for my human friends to live up to.

When someone cares about you so consistently, when someone is always happy to be with you even if all else changes, that special someone must be your soulmate.