So much pure, innocent love is found among animals. Sometimes, one sees a horse giving its very life for its master. One sees a dog pining away and dying in grief after its master’s death. In the same way, Shyam had a cat at home that loved his mother dearly. And just as the cat loved her, so did everyone in the house. The depth of love that humans can feel for each other, that same depth is found in the love of animals. As we give, so do they give back—this is something we see among animals. However much love you give them, they return it in equal measure. Just as Shyam had a cow he loved dearly, so too did he have a cat at home whose affection I must tell you about today.

When Shyam’s mother fell ill and was bedridden, the cat in the house stopped eating and drinking. It would roam about the house, mewing constantly. Seeing it, everyone in the house realized it was hungry, but whatever was offered, it would only sniff and turn away, refusing to eat. It had lost all desire for food. Its name was Mathi. It would always stay close to Shyam’s mother.

Whatever was there, she accepted it as it was. She never interfered in any of the utensils. Whatever food was given to her, she ate it, and she ate it with my mother. If she was given simple rice grains with a little ghee, she would eat it. But she never demanded more by mixing milk or ghee with her portion. There was a special affection between her and my mother. My mother always seemed to care for her. There was a great bond of love between the two.

The day my mother passed away, the cat kept mewing all day. Perhaps she realized that the one who always cared for her was no longer there. That day, she stopped coming to ask for food. After my mother was gone, she just sat in a corner of the house. She neither drank milk nor ate anything. Even when milk was kept in a bowl and placed before her, she did not touch it. Gradually, her mewing stopped. She began to fast. The crying ceased, and on the third day after my mother’s passing, she too ended her journey of life. With my mother’s departure, the cat too was gone. Without my mother’s affection, she could not survive. And so, she too left this world. Perhaps, for anyone, the love she had for my mother was greater than any other. Even Shyam, seeing the cat’s devotion, felt his own love for his mother was lacking. Seeing the cat’s love for my mother, he began to feel that his own love for his mother was somehow incomplete.

Shyam says, “Such was my mother. To find a mother like her in this world, one must have accumulated great merit in previous births. She gave me everything. Whatever goodness, whatever