08/24/2025
Winky's teachings
I loved riding my horse, Sony. We would take off from the house down the country roads to explore and enjoying time alone. In 1976, when I was 12 years old, while riding, I heard a kitten crying, coming from a wild rose bush. I continued on until I saw a dead cat on the road, not far from the rose bush. I turned around, knowing Momma was dead and the kitten needed help; it ended up being three kittens. My parents had no idea how to care for nursing kittens, so they went to the local pet store and purchased everything needed to feed them. Every two hours I would get up and feed them. Winky ate ravenously, but the other two did not; they didn’t survive. The kitten I heard crying and who crawled towards me when I went into the rose bush survived. She had such a strong will to live and became my best friend. Winky's name was given to her by my sister and me because she would wink at us. I was very connected to Winky as she was to me until I hit puberty. Off I went, hanging out with my friends and teenage boys, hardly spending time with her, another animal friend I had abandoned. I returned to spend time with her when I was around 22. This was my first year experiencing a deep spiritual connection to an animal friend. Winky always knew when I was depressed, sad, or suffering from menstrual cramps. Winky would sit on my tummy during the time of pain. She would sit on my heart chakra when I was feeling sad and/or depressed. Winky had an accident when she was a few years old and had to have pins put in her hind leg. I couldn’t believe my parents spent the money to save her; they did not have a lot of extra money each month. Overall, Winky had a great life living on a small farm with us. My mom was an amazing caretaker for all our animal friends when my sister and I were growing up and after. Winky lived to be 18 years old. Her health declined rapidly when I put her on Frontline flea medication, which just came out for veterinarians to prescribe. I watched her coat go from smooth to gooey, and she ended up in kidney failure. I don’t believe it was just the flea medication that affected her kidneys, but the kind of food I fed her. It was around 1994, while taking a whole food nutrition program, which I began looking into cat nutrition. The kind of food we feed them is the foundation of their health.
