There was a time back in elementary school when I found a little stray kitty at the school playground. Little me was sad for the poor kitty meowing around, so I took him (it was a male) to class and hid him under my desk. After school, I took him home riding an angkot (a small bus). My mother was super angry when I told her everything and sadly I had to let him go because there was no way that we could take care of him. He ended up becoming our casual pet; he roamed around the neighbourhood all day and he’d go back to our house to eat leftover food that we left for him in our backyard. Sometimes he’d nap there. When he finally grew up, he brought home a litter of kittens at one point. The kittens were his, apparently. I still don’t know about the mother. But the cats were gone one by one. I don’t know what happened to them. We eventually moved from the house.

I’ve gone a long way from there. Now, I can’t even listen to a kitten meowing without becoming full of tears. In fact, I’m on the edge of crying everytime I see a stray cat, especially if it’s skinny. I even put cats in my prayers every night. Does anyone else do that too?

Two weeks ago, Chop-Chop fell ill and I almost died of crying! I lost four cats during Nov ’13-Jan ’15 and the pain is something I don’t want to experience ever again. Chop-Chop’s symptoms matched those of Billy’s before he died three years ago. I was very worried when I found Chop-Chop vomitting and losing his appetite. I took him to the clinic as soon as possible and the vet told me that she couldn’t determine if it was a virus or merely a stomach bug just yet, so she gave him some antibiotics and vitamins and then I took him home. Thank goodness he got better in two days. He’s back to his old self now, chasing Jessi around and trying to fight her (she just wants to be left alone, Chops!)

To me, losing a cat is one of the most excruciating pains in life. I cried every night for over a week when I lost Molly. I’d do anything to keep my fur babies safe, healthy, and happy.