Sunday, 4 May 2025
I would like to begin my sharing with a story of my cat, Larry. Larry is a male British Shorthair cat. He is never a loving lap cat by any means, and he looks like a grumpy old man all the time. Recently, I realized that he started to bring home some “gifts” that he found in the garden or some random items in the house. He would wake me up in the early morning, with something in his mouth or on the floor. Sometimes it would be a big, green leaf and sometimes it would be a small stone. Yesterday, I woke up to him on my bed with a yellow flower petal. At first, I did not seem very appreciative about these gifts, and I even asked him not to be a kleptomaniac. I guess that is why Larry would look very sad and confused everytime when I wanted to throw his gifts away. However, he did not stop bringing different random objects to me. I didn’t quite understand why my cat would bring me gifts from time to time and so I went online and checked if this happens to other pet owners as well. Very soon I found out that Larry is not the only one who would do that. Apparently, this is a very common behavior of domestic pet cats. Some cats would even steal hundreds of items from their neighbors and bring them home to their guardians.
It is observed that the reason why cats do that, is because they want to show that they love and care for the owner. They want to do what they believe is best for the owner, and this type of special delivery may also be a way to say “thank you” for giving them food and shelter. So I guess this is the way Larry expresses gratitude and thanks to me. To Larry, I am probably his whole world and he appreciates how I take care of him. Now it really warms my heart when I think about how excited he usually is when he tries to find a gift for me.
The way he tries to give back to me has also led me to think of a few questions. Did I ever try my best to show my gratitude to my parents who raised me? Is there anything that is within my ability that I can do to show my appreciation to my parents? Am I thankful enough to people who have helped me in the past?
To many of you here now, as the exam period is going to begin or has already begun, I also want you to remember to be thankful for people who have supported you in your learning journey. Your parents might have given you a bowl of soup just to cheer you up when you are doing your revision, and some of your teachers or friends might have given you a little treat to let you know that you’re not alone when you’re studying. Learn to appreciate all the small things around you, and try to give back to your family, your school and your community whenever you can.
Ms. Wu H. Y.
4 July 2022