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When a cat passes, they will often linger to give you a message. You have to look carefully and watch for the sign. It could be a hunch, a picture in the newspaper that catches your eye, or a feeling that you should go out for a drive. They are trying to fill the empty space in your heart that they know their passing has left.

This has happened several times to us. We have always adopted shelter cats but we have concentrated on long hairs. Many have been discarded Persians or Himalayans. Their owners dump them off on the shelters when they find out how much work is involved taking care of those long, mat-filled coats. When our rescue Himalayan, Boomer, passed after a long battle with kidney disease, we didn't want to look for another. But something was nagging me to check the local animal shelters.

PHOTO: ROBERT BISCHOFF

There were two at a shelter several towns over. However, one had to be the only cat in the house and the other was so ugly with a snaggletooth and wandering eye that my wife wondered whether she could live looking at that face all the time. Many of these have genetic defects due to years of inbreeding that result in clogged sinus passages with infections, bone disease, and neurological issues. They are useless to breeders and few want them as pets because of the work and expense involved.

Still, that nagging feeling wouldn't leave me alone, so we went for a Saturday drive to the shelter just for the fun of it. They brought out the snaggletooth, Isis, and put her on the floor. Clearly overweight, she waddled around, looked up at us with big blue saucer eyes (one wandering) and gave a silent meow that said it all.

"Please get me out of here! I’m so frightened! I lost my bed and my toys. I don’t know why my family didn’t want me anymore. I promised I’d be good! They always gave me treats. That’s why I’m so fat. I’ll lose weight. I don’t know who you are, but please take me home!

"I’ll be good! I really will! PLEASE! Please!...please..."

PHOTO: ROBERT BISCHOFF

Our hearts melted on the spot. We took her home the next day. It was then that we realized what our Boomer was trying to tell us.

When you lose a beloved cat friend, stay alert. They will tell you how much they love you one last time, by filling that empty space in your life that their passing has left. Then they will cross over the rainbow bridge in peace to rejoin the universe's eternal energy.

Story submitted by Robert Bischoff.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!