Agitated

Springer, Pixie, Tripp, and Alfie are kittens. Two boys and two girls and their mother is Eva. Eva loves her kittens and takes good care of them. Moms make sure their children eat, sleep, and play, and Eva is no exception. She wants them to grow up to be happy, sweet, and loving cats.

The kittens are playful. They love to leap at each other and attack the other one’s tail. Eventually, they end up in a big furry ball rolling and tugging. Eva laughs at their antics. Sometimes, she has to break them apart if they are getting too rough with each other. They get along well but sometimes Springer has issues.

Lately, Eva noticed Springer often stops in mid play and her fur stands up and she flicks her tail. If one of her siblings comes close she hisses. This is happening more often. When she was first born she tolerated her siblings. Recently, Springer seems to get upset or agitated at the smallest thing. 

This morning, Springer was playing with Tripp.

 

 

Alfie galloped in the room knocking over a broom leaning up against the wall. The broom crashed with a clatter. Springer jerked straight up! Then she did something she had never done—she yelled at Alfie.

“Why did you do that? You freaked me out! I almost jumped through the ceiling. Alfie, stop running around!”

Alfie said, “I’m sorry, Springer. I didn’t mean to knock it over and frighten you.”

Eva came in. “What’s all the racket?”

Alfie said, “I was running and knocked that over and…”

“He probably did it on purpose!” interrupted Springer.

Eva said, “Springer, he didn’t do anything to upset you on purpose. You need to calm down. Go find a place where you can be alone and think. When you are civil and kind to your brother, you can come back.”

With stiff legs, Springer left the room. She leaped on the sofa. The soft sofa was her favorite place. Soon she felt calmer and began licking her fur with her eyes closed.

Unfortunately, Pixie didn’t know what happened between Springer and Alfie. She didn’t realize Springer was on the sofa. She thought Springer and Tripp were still playing.  Pixie planned on a nap and decided now would be a good time to take one on the sofa. She jumped up from the back and jolted Springer. Springer felt shocked to be interrupted.

Agitated beyond belief, “MEOWWW!” Springer bellowed as she ran out of the room.

"Springer wait!" called Pixie after her.

 

In the kitchen, the sliding door stood ajar; unobserved she squeezed through, darted across the yard, jumped the fence, and sprinted up a tree.

Pixie didn’t get a chance to apologize, nor did she settle down for a nap. Instead, she ran to her mom and told her what happened.

"Mom, I didn't know Springer was on the sofa. I must have frightened her. She yelled like I hurt her and left the room."

"Springer is on edge today. She got mad at Alfie a minute ago. I think she needs some time. Let's leaver her alone."

Springer didn’t come home for supper that night. She didn’t meow to be let in after dark.

Eva worried about Springer's emotions and where she could be.The kittens and Eva looked all over the house for her.

“Kittens, do you think Springer might have gotten out? She doesn’t seem to be hiding anywhere.”

Eva decided to try to be let out. “Meow, Meow.”

Her owners didn’t open the door for her. The cats belonged inside and were never allowed outside. The people didn’t know Springer had gotten out.

Up in the tree, Springer shook with anger and agitation. It was unfair to be treated the way her siblings treated her. She was glad she had run away from them. All through the day, she sat and replayed in her mind what happened. As the day progressed, it didn’t seem as bad. She almost smiled, remembering Alfie skidding.

After dark, her tummy started rumbling and she started missing the warmth of another kitten to curl up against and a bowl of warm milk. Soon, that was all she thought about.
 

All of a sudden she heard a terrible noise. It scared her more than Alfie or Pixie had. She didn’t know what it could be. Springer had never been outside before. Now it was dark. The wind blew her fur the wrong way. Noises from different directions assailed her and she didn’t know which way to face. All she could do was stare with large frightened eyes and shiver. Flicking her tail and arching her back didn’t stop the wind or the noises. She realized she could be in real danger.

“What was that?”

 

 

Find out what happens to Springer in our next blog story.

Have you ever been agitated? Agitated means excited or disturbed. Agitation implies a shaken state of emotions.

How do you think the Lord wants us to respond to others? Should we let things or people make us agitated? Being agitated, annoyed, aggravated, or anxious is not how the Lord wants us to act.

In the continuation of our story, we will see how the Lord wants us to respond.

Memorize: Proverbs 12:25a Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression…Philippians 4:6a Be anxious for nothing… 

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.