Gifts of love

1.I would like to know the meaning of "gifts of love"

2. I wonder if the next sentence means "a" or anything else

Sammi was not to be discouraged.a. Sammi was not going to be discouraged.
Sammi, a very successful hunter cat, always left one or two field mice outside Susan's door each morning. These were the mighty hunter's gifts of love. When Susan moved to a small apartment in a more urban environment, there were no mice to be found and only a few trees to climb. However, the resourceful Sammiwas not to be discouraged. He took to leaving two pine cones outside the door and continued to do so until he died. Susan says in the book Animals as Teachers and Healers:My little cat showed me that no matter what the situation we can find a way to make the best of it. To thisday, when things are hard to deal with, I see her at the door with those pine cones.”