Many years ago I heard the Christmas legend of the tabby cat and the baby Jesus on Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story.” It’s such a sweet story. I like to imagine my Siamese-mix tabby, Sam, a gentle kitty who welcomed all newcomers to our home, jumping up into the cold bed of hay and snuggling with the Christ child.
Merry Christmas to everyone. Thank you for being my friends.
Dusty Rainbolt:
If my tabby, Sam, had been there, he would have kept the Baby warm.
And so it came to pass that a husband and wife journeyed to the small town of Bethlehem, as the king had decreed that all the people stand to be counted in the small towns and teeming cities from whence they came. The journey was long and hard for both, but especially for the young wife, who was very near to bringing her child into the world.
When they at last reached the crowded and noisy town, the expectant father searched for an inn where they could rest and where the child could safely be born. But at every door, he was told there was no available room. Finally, one innkeeper, though having no space left in his inn, took pity on them and offered them shelter in the small stable used by his animals.
It was there that the child was born, surrounded by beasts of the field. As the night’s cold grew, the baby fretted and cried while his parents pondered how to make him comfortable. His father tried stuffing straw into the open places in the walls, and his mother tried warming him with her meager wrappings. But still, the baby cried on.
All the while, a tiny kitten watched from the corner. “Of course the little baby is cold,” she thought. “It has no fur to keep it warm! I will give it mine, and I will lullaby-purr it to sleep.”
The little cat jumped into the manger where the baby lay. There, she quietly gave her humble gift of warmth and love, gently stretching out her thin, fragile little body over the baby’s, careful to cover all but the infant’s face. The crying was soon replaced by soft purrs and coos, and slowly, the infant smiled.
As Mary, the new mother, witnessed this gift to her child, she touched the little cat’s forehead.
“Thank you, Little Tabby, for your gift of love and warmth. As a sign of my grateful blessing, you and all your descendants will forevermore carry my initial on your forehead.”
And to this day, tabby cats are known by the remarkable “M” on their foreheads, and by their extraordinary gifts of love, so gently given.
Merry Christmas. And in the words of Charles Dickens’ Tiny Tim, “Merry Christmas to all; God bless us, everyone”
Tell me about your favorite cat Christmas memories in the comments below.
Love this Christmas feline tale. Thanks for sharing, Dusty! MERRY.CHRISTMAS!
And to you and the Furry Fab Ones!
A stray black and white cat we adopted used to sleep in my crib with me… this brought me to tears. <3
OMG Dusty. I am crying. 🥺 That is a wonderful legend! It should be made into a short film. I don’t think it would be hard to find a poor, scraggly, stray, kitty to play the role and snuggle up to a baby. That’s what cats do. 😻
Crying🐾❤️
How beautiful crying buckets🐾❤️🙏🏻
I have a tabby she’s my baby this story is so beautiful omg I cry so much my baby is my princess I love her with all my heart
My favorite Christmas memory was when i gave everythong away
I bet that was amazing. Thank you for sharing.
I remember when I was eight years old, I got a kitten of my own and read this story in a book about different pets and looked with delight at my orange tabby kitten (a rare female orange tabby kitten ); the only difference is in the story I remember it wasn’t a stray kitten it was a kitten who left her mother and siblings to snuggle the baby, Jesus!
I love cats and I remember my mom telling me the story about this. I come across where you could buy an ornament with the story about the cat laying in the manger to keep baby Jesus warm. I’ve always loved cats I called them my little angels with fur! I don’t know how anybody could be mean to them because they give you so much love unconditionally.
Cats are wonderful people 🐈 Love them. Jesus does🐱
How beautiful. Of course Cats and kittens are precious gifts from God. My personal belief: The Father sent them as loving tiny Angels. Many, many times in my brain injured life, they have loved me when no one else will, and have kept me going when I wanted to give up. How could I? These, and others to come, need love and shelter. And there are not enough of our kind of hearts out there. When you buy your cat food, buy a second bag and take it to your local Animal Shelter on Spay/Neuter clinic. The less they have to spend on food and litter, the more they can spend on medicine.