💛 About They Saved Me First
This is part of our They Saved Me First series—real stories from people who’ve been through loss, illness, or major life shifts… and how a pet helped them heal.
These are the animals who stuck by our side when life got hard—and somehow helped us keep going.
🎙️ Episode Snapshot
When Joyce Garber received a life-changing diagnosis, she wasn’t expecting a small tabby cat to become her lifeline. Tails—once her niece’s cat—chose her instead. What started as quiet companionship soon turned into something deeper: a bond rooted in comfort, healing, and wordless understanding. In this episode, Joyce opens up about what it’s like to live with metastatic breast cancer, how Tails helped her sleep, and why cats don’t stress about the small stuff—and maybe we shouldn’t either.
✨ In This Episode:
🐾 The moment Tails made it clear he wasn’t her niece’s cat anymore
🩷 How a surprise cancer diagnosis changed everything—and who stayed
😴 Why Tails became her sleep companion and emotional support
😼 The quiet ways cats teach us to drop what doesn’t matter
🏠 Finding peace (and purrs) in a new chapter, just the two of them
🌸 What it means to land on your feet, even in the hardest seasons
📍 Where to Find Joyce
Joyce writes personal reflections on her life, health, and healing journey over on Substack. You can read her writing here:
👉 tailsmama.substack.com
🐾 One More Walk: A Reflection from Joyce
"Love passionately. Tread lightly.
Land on your feet."
🧡 Final Thought
“He crawls onto my chest, turns upside down, and expects me to hold him like a baby.
He nuzzles my face. And purrs and purrs and purrs.
It’s amazing. It’s pretty cool.”
🎧 Listen + Share
Know someone who’s been through a tough season and found unexpected comfort in their pet? Share this episode with them. It might be the reminder they need today.
🎙️ Golden Whiskers Podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
And if you haven’t already…
💌 Join the Golden Whiskers family at goldenwhiskerslove.com so you never miss a story that heals, inspires, or makes you whisper “good cat.”
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