Missy Kitty's wish list for this Christmas

By Missy Kitty

This has been a wonderful year for me. Lots of people who like to pet my soft, clean fur have asked what I want for Christmas. I think I have it. I think I've had it all year. It's called a loving family.

A lot of cats I know don't have what I have. If I had opposable thumbs and could write my wish list for Christmas, I would put that at the very top. I'd wish for happy homes with lots and lots of food and treats for every stray cat in the world.

I know. That's lots of cats. But that's what I would wish. I can wish for anything I want, right?

Along those same lines, I'd wish for lots of donations to places like Safe Harbor, the no-kill animal refuge where my humans found me after looking at hundreds of other cats. Was it just luck they chose me? Fate? I think everything turned out exactly the way it was supposed to.

Safe Harbor and the Humane Society and lots of others who care about neglected and forgotten animals try so hard to make lives better for animals. They need all the help they can get. You can give it. If I were a human and had a job and had a bank account and could write and knew how to look up addresses, I'd be writing a check right now to one of the great animal shelters. What will you be doing?

There are other things I could put on my wish list. More treats, of course, come to mind. But the fact is I get all the food I can eat and treats every day. Those humans love to watch me eat. I'm glad it's so easy to make them happy. Some pets I know have to do tricks like roll over and play dead. Speaking for cats everywhere, I can tell you that's not my cup of tea.

Another item for my wish list is more neutering and spaying. Ouch! I didn't mean to upset anyone. But it's a fact that too many cute animals can quickly turn into an ugly problem. If you have a pet, make sure it's taken care of. If you adopt a pet from any reputable shelter, this will be required. It's the sane, sensible thing to do. So do it.

My list, if I had one, could go on and on, just like yours. Most of all, cats like me and all those other cute pets who get so much love from their humans want that love to be spread around. Anyone who loves a cat ought to love his neighbor, and the clerk at the supermarket, and the nurse at the doctor's office, and the teacher at your kid's school and the police officers and firefighters and everyone else who risk their lives to keep everyone, including cats, safe.

That's what I want most of all: love, and a lot of it. You can afford it. I can take it as well as dish it out.

Merry Christmas from one lucky cat.

One of Missy Kitty's humans is Joe Sullivan, cat lover and retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.