A Resolution Gone Awry
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Cat
By Nancy Sullivan

It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens.
~Cynthia E. Varnado

One steamy July afternoon in central Arkansas, I was working on an important project in my home office with a dear friend and colleague. My trusty printer was churning out a time-sensitive report when it simply stopped. After fifteen minutes of trying to coax, cajole and tickle the device back into operation, we conceded defeat and left to get some lunch and buy a new printer. Upon our return, my heart froze to see the cul de sac teeming with fire trucks, a web of hoses, and heavily-suited emergency personnel sprinting toward my house.

Despite having spent much of my life crafting prose, I still stumble for adequate words to describe the sick, sinking feeling of seeing your home, business, and belongings going up in flames along with photographs and memories collected over a lifetime. But the panic that filled my stunned heart in that awful moment was for the nine cats that shared my home after being rescued from situations of abuse and abandonment. (Keep reading)