This post of mine hasn't much to do with feral cats cares in the straight meaning of the term, but it's related to taking care of and doing the best to save them.
I found this original post on an Italian website on last Sunday, I cried like a baby when I read it. To me it was like reliving the first time I met my beautiful Tom, a stray/feral cat who wandered for months (his body conditions were clear evidences of what he had gone through) and then decided that my courtyard was the place where to stop for good. He was grateful till the last minute of his life for the cares he had received, I will never forget him.
I thought to share that post with you and I translated it. I hope you like it, just like I did.
LETTER FROM A CAT
You know, I, too, have been a child.
You know, I, too, have had a mum, and only God knows how beautiful she was.
I imagine her black, with a long grey tail, long whiskers on her little face, and two green eyes, green like the sea... like mine!
You know, I, too, have stumbled on my own tiny paws while chasing the butterflies. I was so funny! And I, too, have been rocked by my mum's purrs.
She was there when I lost my first tooth and when I learned to hunt mice, but, you know, I just wasn't willing to eat them. She was there when I was in trouble.
And she was there when she had to say good-bye.
I don't know why she did it. I heard some humans whispering "Maybe she's been run over, or poisoned. Let's throw her away, she's dead" while they were taking her away from me.
Yes, you didn't see me, but I, too, have been a child.
Then, I don't know what happened, I had to face the world on my own.
I grew up and lost the child in me.
And I became the shadow of myself.
That child became one among many.
People would call me "Dirty cat!" or "Go away!"
For many years I tore the waste bags open, but I couldn't find much.
For many years I slept under the rain, in the cold.
For many years I struggled to find some water.
For many years I had to suffer the heat.
For many years I heard the same words: "Do not feed him, he will get used to it and won't go away. And he may carry some diseases too".
But I didn't want to get used to. I only wanted to stop being hungry. I only wanted to live.
I wandered for a long long time. I met the wickedness, hunger, thirst, cold, loniless and the saddest thing of all - people's indifference.
I faced what was going to kill me, before I met you.
Before I stepped into the right courtyard, where I was hugged by gentle hands, welcomed with good food and, at last, a bowl of water, a soft bed and cuddles.
You took me by the hand, you led me into a dream. You took me to a magic place, where there's no pain. Where there's only the certainty to be everything to someone.
And I don't care if you think you're not doing enough for me.
I don't care if we could argue when I don't want to take the pills.
I don't care if you are tired and don't want to talk to me. I don't care if you think you're not good for me. I don't care, because you are my everything. Because you saved me. Because you, like nobody else before, believed in me. Because you are there, always.
Probably now I'm 10 or 12, I don't know. And it's true, I lived most of my life like a shadow. But as from today I have a new life, I have found the child that was in me again.
And I have found a new mum.
Yes, I'm still just a cat. But I'm YOUR cat, and I hope this is enough for you to be happy.
Dedicated to all stray and feral cats, and to all those good people who fight everyday to make the difference in their troubled lives.
I found this original post on an Italian website on last Sunday, I cried like a baby when I read it. To me it was like reliving the first time I met my beautiful Tom, a stray/feral cat who wandered for months (his body conditions were clear evidences of what he had gone through) and then decided that my courtyard was the place where to stop for good. He was grateful till the last minute of his life for the cares he had received, I will never forget him.
I thought to share that post with you and I translated it. I hope you like it, just like I did.
LETTER FROM A CAT
You know, I, too, have been a child.
You know, I, too, have had a mum, and only God knows how beautiful she was.
I imagine her black, with a long grey tail, long whiskers on her little face, and two green eyes, green like the sea... like mine!
You know, I, too, have stumbled on my own tiny paws while chasing the butterflies. I was so funny! And I, too, have been rocked by my mum's purrs.
She was there when I lost my first tooth and when I learned to hunt mice, but, you know, I just wasn't willing to eat them. She was there when I was in trouble.
And she was there when she had to say good-bye.
I don't know why she did it. I heard some humans whispering "Maybe she's been run over, or poisoned. Let's throw her away, she's dead" while they were taking her away from me.
Yes, you didn't see me, but I, too, have been a child.
Then, I don't know what happened, I had to face the world on my own.
I grew up and lost the child in me.
And I became the shadow of myself.
That child became one among many.
People would call me "Dirty cat!" or "Go away!"
For many years I tore the waste bags open, but I couldn't find much.
For many years I slept under the rain, in the cold.
For many years I struggled to find some water.
For many years I had to suffer the heat.
For many years I heard the same words: "Do not feed him, he will get used to it and won't go away. And he may carry some diseases too".
But I didn't want to get used to. I only wanted to stop being hungry. I only wanted to live.
I wandered for a long long time. I met the wickedness, hunger, thirst, cold, loniless and the saddest thing of all - people's indifference.
I faced what was going to kill me, before I met you.
Before I stepped into the right courtyard, where I was hugged by gentle hands, welcomed with good food and, at last, a bowl of water, a soft bed and cuddles.
You took me by the hand, you led me into a dream. You took me to a magic place, where there's no pain. Where there's only the certainty to be everything to someone.
And I don't care if you think you're not doing enough for me.
I don't care if we could argue when I don't want to take the pills.
I don't care if you are tired and don't want to talk to me. I don't care if you think you're not good for me. I don't care, because you are my everything. Because you saved me. Because you, like nobody else before, believed in me. Because you are there, always.
Probably now I'm 10 or 12, I don't know. And it's true, I lived most of my life like a shadow. But as from today I have a new life, I have found the child that was in me again.
And I have found a new mum.
Yes, I'm still just a cat. But I'm YOUR cat, and I hope this is enough for you to be happy.
Dedicated to all stray and feral cats, and to all those good people who fight everyday to make the difference in their troubled lives.
