Tiny Paws - Chum

Before I start, you'll probably think that I am a liar if I tell you that I had never seen a cat in my village. I still don't, there are so many dogs and even cattle but cats, I have no idea what's the deal. But I sure am the lucky one. It was like a blessing to have one if you ask me.

So, the story starts in early June a couple of years back. My dad was coming back from his office and while he was making a sharp turn, he saw this barely walking tiny kitten, helpless not to mention and definitely wouldn't have survived that road. God knows how she got there but I'm glad dad picked her up tried to find more of them or if lucky her mother, but no luck so he brought her home. I still remember the tiny creature afraid yet seemed relieved. How do I know? Well, you'll find out.

Just look at her, fearless! Probably hungry but yeah you get the picture, how tiny she was when we took her in.

Well, from that day onwards I was a responsible father, who would barely let her out of sight. I'd carry her everywhere and she used to sleep on me. It was unreal for me at least. Now, the very first challenge was to bathe her. And oh my god! If you ever had a kitten, you'd know how much they hate it. Her claws and my hand, I bet you'd have never seen a battle so fierce. So, I decided to pull out some articles and went through many videos on how to bathe a cat. Finally, with time, I mastered the trick - "Make them comfortable". It was a little less scary now but the threat was always there.

But don’t get me wrong, my chum wasn't scary, not at all, in fact, she was a cute little ball of fur. How could you not love her? You won't believe me if I tell you that she used to sleep with me at night, but would sneak out downstairs to sleep with my sister or parents and then come back up again in the morning at 6 to wake me up EVERY DAY!

With time she started doing all sorts of things, jumping, running and oh god she just loved hiding. She would find the most hideous of the places to hide and It was just so hard to find her. Just look at her hiding in the closet, I have no idea how she even got there.

They say, that nothing lasts forever. Which I know is true but, I had no idea how fast things would change. She fell ill for the first time, probably because of some lizard she might have eaten; I saw her chasing one or I don't know. It was tough seeing her like that, luckily the vet gave some meds and she recovered. Back to being her nippy self.

But it was short-lived, a couple of weeks later she was feeling a little low I could tell, I uh remember my dad saying "We'll take her to the vet in the morning if she makes it". And I got so mad, how could he say something like that? It was crazy. My dad used to have so many pets back in the days from cats to chameleons and what not. He must have seen something that I never could have.

The next morning, my mom wakes me up - "She is gone". I could not believe it; I was wide awake but I thought that I’m probably dreaming or at least I wanted to believe that. I rushed outside, started searching her everywhere, asked my sister, she had the same face as my mother’s.

I never had this feeling before, in fact, I couldn't feel anything it was so empty inside. My dad had buried her in the backyard already, I didn't even get to see her let alone bid my goodbye. All I was left with was this feeling of unbearable loss and the memories.

I still can't believe what happened and how,

I hope that you're in a better place now. Chum <3