http://www.alistairdonnell.com/blog/from-balls-into-cats/

I don’t know what I expected, walking into a room full of cats—

But I can’t stop smiling every time I think about that day!

I visited an animal shelter last week, bent on doing a little research. Armed with pen and paper, my purse, I walked into the kitty room and dropped quickly to my knees, my heart melting in seconds.

Black kitties, gray kitties, orange and striped—just about any sort of combination played in that room, basked in the sun, meowing: play with me, love me, I love you already!

Their giant eyes drew me in, their bodies wrapped around my legs wanting to be touched, hugging me in their own way, loving me back just as much.

Suddenly I heard this loud meow right next to my face. I looked over and an orange kitty leaped from his climbing tower, fell in my lap and ran right up my chest with his face in my face, paws on my shoulders and licked my chin!

If I had an ounce of sadness in my soul that morning, I think it was squished the moment I stepped in that room—especially looking crossed eyed into the goldest eyes I’d ever seen, inches from mine.

I had to share this moment with you because that day I was consumed with my thoughts about writing, researching and what questions I should ask the director. But the cats hijacked me. My plan for the day vanished and I had no idea I’d been feeling a little heavy inside. Some days, if you’re like me, the steam just isn’t there.

You can let it bring you down. Sometimes you can’t help it. But what I learned from one morning playing with kitties is how trying something different can pick you up when you most need the lift. And if you can’t think of a way to branch out from your day to day stuff, maybe visit a kitty room in a shelter, and spend twenty minutes petting the cats like I did.

I’ve been around my share of different animals, and yes, I’ve always considered myself more of a dog person than a cat person. But it was a beautiful moment. Inspiring. And I’ll never forget it.