And Then Came Maple

By Esther Phan

Everyone deserves a second chance – humans and pets alike! A true down to earth yet heartwarming story about forgiveness, personal growth, and relentless positivity.

 

When Esther needed a hand the most, Felix, a stray cat, came into her life and gave her his big, soft, pink toe beans. In the heart of this big, strong, and sometimes ferocious cat, Esther found a true friend, a companion... and new hope.

 

Felix and Esther were inseparable. He was with her during her teenage years and well into her late twenties. He even helped her choose her husband! Their life was perfect after adopting two senior cats from a local shelter. Everything was good.

 

That is, until it wasn't.

 

Death too soon came knocking on their door and took two of their cats away in the span of just two brief years. Felix was taken from them - gone from their lives, but never their hearts.

 

They thought they had already hit rock bottom. Little did they know just how rocky rock bottom could be. A bottom which Maple, their newest rescue cat, showed them was still a long way down. Everyone knows rescue cats often come with a lot of past trauma. In a moment of blind panic, Maple bit Esther hard - 10 times! - and nearly put her in the hospital.

 

Undeterred, with hearts full of love and a hand full of bandages, Esther and her husband were determined to do everything in their power to give Maple the second chance everyone deserves.

 

Share in the furry hero's journey as Maple - once feral, fanged, and frightened of everything - blossoms into the loving tabby she was meant to be... and discovers newfound curiosity about what a world beyond fear has to offer.

 

This is Maple's story. An inspiring, heartfelt message for all animal lovers, a true story about hope that never gives up, mutual rescues, and their priceless love.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Esther Phan
• Release date: Oct 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201281854

Esther Phan

Esther Phan is an Animal Lover, Dog, and Cat Person who loves good stories and has an empathetic, shining-bright, and funny personality. Her laughter is loud and contagious. If you want to get in contact with her, feel free to do so!

Book preview

And Then Came Maple

A Heartfelt Story About A Former Biter And How She Learned To Love

And Then Came Maple

Copyright © 2019/2020, Esther Phan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Disclaimer: The events and conversations in this book have been set down to the best of the author´s ability, although some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

A picture containing text, cat, mammal, domestic cat Description automatically generated

Dedication:

To all those great pets that brighten our lives with their presence. To my heartbreakers, Felix and Samson, who left my life way too early. To my loving husband, who always stands beside me and helps me to overcome and grow every day. I love and appreciate you so much. Thanks for being there with me. Thanks for your love. Thanks for loving the cats so much.

Special thanks to Katzenhilfe Stuttgart. You gave us one of the best cats we had in our lives, and you helped us through a rough time.

Special thanks to Kerstin Schwarz for your help with the cats through training. Through that, you opened up new possibilities for us we never thought would be possible and brought us so much closer to the cats.

Stay in contact with me:

www.andthencamemaple.com

https://www.facebook.com/estherphanauthor

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Contents

Chapter One: Felix

Chapter Two: Samson

Chapter Three: Samson and Bambi

Chapter Four: Bambi

Chapter Five: Bats and Maple

Chapter Six: How to Deal With Emotional Scarring

Chapter Seven: Train Your Cats

Extra Photos

References

Chapter One: Felix

I wanted to have dogs my entire life. I had asked my parents for one when I was seven years old, and I asked for three years. After that time, my mom decided that her former boss could help her out. I could walk with her dog and see how much work it was, and then I wouldn’t want a dog anymore. It was the best thing my mom could’ve done for me. I walked five dogs for the next three years, most of the time, all five at once. They didn’t pay me, but that was fine with me. I was just happy to be with dogs.

I enjoyed it so much and learned a lot about animals. I memorized their language and their behavior, and that helped me to be better around them. I usually walked them for about three to eight hours per day. Yeah, when you are still in school, you have time for that. I walked them every single day, no matter what kind of weather it was. The owners were so happy about that. They knew I loved it so much, they could relax, and of course, they didn’t need to pay me anything.

On a rainy morning during the holidays, I got up to walk the dogs again. I opened the door, and there he was. A beautiful cat was meowing at me—my Felix. He stood in front of the porch with cold feet and wet fur, a little ball of fluff. I fell in love instantly. I bought him food, a litter box, and toys, and in the next two weeks, it was all about him.

He conquered my heart immediately. The owners of the dogs I used to walk called my mom and asked if I were sick or if something happened. She said that I was okay and had fallen in love with a stray cat. The dog owners were so shocked because it was a cat and not a dog. They even asked my mom if they heard that right. But she reassured them that everything was fine and that I would continue to walk their dogs, just not during the next two weeks.

He was somehow so tiny, yet strong and confident. I learned everything I knew about dogs from books and from observing dogs, but Felix taught me everything about cats. He showed me what he didn’t like and what he loved, so I learned from him. When I walked the dogs, I trained them. I taught them how to act, how to sit, and basically how to behave. But with Felix, it was so different. He was so perfect and so proud to be like that: like a lion. Now I know why it is called a pride of lions. He was a huge cat with ginormous paws, and he was half the size of the dogs I walked. And I walked German shepherd size dogs.

His jellybeans were pink and had black sprinkles on them. That was so cute, but they were off-limits. Every time I saw them, I really had the urge to touch them. Just imagine a big tiger, a predator, and then you see those jellybeans as tootsies in pink. That is quite irresistible. He was a fighter outside, so strong and confident. Felix had some fights with other cats, so he had scars on his ears, nose, and head in general. His ears were split on the tips. It must have been very tough for him.

He always knew what he wanted. And as soon as he was with me, he was cuddly and my little teddy. But only with me; the rest of my family didn’t like him so much and vice versa. Felix was always chasing their hands or feet. When they walked up the stairs and held their grip on the rail, he was hiding somewhere and attacked their hands. Everyone got scratches from him. But with me, he loved to purr on my lap, and I loved it too.

We had many guests coming over at that time. My brothers were very outgoing with a lot of friends, and everyone had the utmost respect for Felix. If not, he would have put the fear of God in them. Felix liked to hide in the top part of the stairs of the two-story house. My siblings and I lived upstairs. Every time one of my brothers’ guests came to visit and held their hand on the railing like ordinary people would do, Felix lurked in the shadow and suddenly jumped on the hand, scratched the arm, and went happy away. It was his way of showing visitors around. You’re welcome.

Once I got my driver’s license, he was my bodyguard, always walking me to the car and waiting until I left or for my return. He would’ve waited for me until I parked the car and then walked me home. He was such a great cat, my protector. I was always worried about him, but we lived on a quiet street, and thankfully, nothing ever happened.

When I had a hard time at my first job, he was there to comfort me. Always purring, he calmed me down. He was there for me when I needed him. Felix never used his claws on me. He knew when I felt down or desperate. He listened to me, and sometimes he talked to me. I didn’t know what he said, probably something about how I should feed him, but he was always there. I cried so many tears in his fur, and he handled it all. It was like he said to me, It is okay, I can take it, tell me everything!

I remember we had a few balloons left after a birthday party for one of my cousins. Felix thought balloons were fantastic. We played together, and I tried to play with something like a mouse or a catnip toy, but he really liked the balloons. Felix was so young and full of stupid ideas at that point. Of course, he popped the party balloon with the first strike of his claws.

Felix always had a way of hiding something when it was embarrassing. That made him so funny. When he popped the balloon, his paw did not move. We could clearly see that the sound had scared him, and he tried to