Maggie and the tree

​This is our cat Maggie.  A few months ago Maggie fell out of this tree and badly injured her back.  I realise cats are supposed to land on their feet but for some reason our cat is very clumsy and has fallen off tables and cupboards, and very rarely onto her feet!  My theory is that she thinks she is a dog as she spends all her time with our two dogs and has lost some of her cat instincts.

This fall from the tree cost us $1200 in vet fees.  We confined her for a few weeks so she could rest and heal, and gave her lots of pain killers and ant-inflammatorys to keep her comfortable.  When the vet gave her the OK we let her back outside.  You guessed it, before too long she was back climbing the tree.

Maggie is 4 years old and has never ventured beyond our yard fences (remember she thinks she is a dog!) and so when we moved into this house 2 years ago we discouraged her from climbing this tree fearing for her safety outside of our yard.  But since her accident we were even more vigilant about discouraging her tree climbing. 

Home during the day I would constantly watch Maggie in the yard, pulling her down from the tree every time I saw her going up there.  I would get upset, angry and frustrated at her behaviour.  Couldn’t she see that I was trying to protect her safety (and my bank balance!) from another accident happening.

One day, fed up with worrying about her and exhausted from watching her every move I gave up.

I figured she loved climbing this tree and if she fell out again, then so be it - there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

A weight was lifted from my shoulders.

She was happier and so was I. 

She was free and so was I.

There was no push-pull struggle between us anymore.  I just let her be.

Since I let her be, I have noticed she is up the tree less often, more content to stay in the yard with the dogs and me.  But when she does go up in the tree I can see the pride and happiness in her eyes.  I think she appreciates being able to climb and move freely even more now that she is recovered and able to climb again.

Maybe we can all take a lesson from this story in our own lives and let the people we love live their lives the way they choose to, even if we think we are trying to keep them safe and secure by limiting their experiences and protecting them from a possible fall.

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