me
October 24th, 2010 was the date that changed my life. It was cold. Harsh winds had already taken the place of cool drafts that were active just a month ago. I heard an unsettling noise. Crying of some sort. I looked outside and saw a bundle of kittens cuddling in between a fence and a wall. I went outside and was amazed to see this new life right in front of my eyes. Their mother was away hunting for food so I left them milk and meat. A day later, all of the cats were gone except for a single black cat.
I waited and waited for its mother to come back and take her child but the temperature kept dropping and the winds kept blowing. After a whole day of hearing it suffer, I caved and went outside with a shoebox. I had zero idea of what to do with this animal. My family and I were all allergic to cats but I felt it in my heart that this was the right thing to do. I couldn’t bear hearing the kitty meow outside, with no body heat to keep itself warm and no eyesight to even know what was going on.
The next few days were extremely difficult for me. I had to research ways to feed it, keep it warm, and put up with its cries that went on all night. My days revolved around raising this kitten and making sure that it would live. I never had the responsibility of having to keep something alive so it was a very foreign idea to me that I wasn’t quite understanding yet, but I knew that I couldn’t just give it away after it got old enough to walk on its own. After a few days, its eyes opened up to reveal a bright blue color that stood out against its luxurious black fur.
Weeks passed and we finally figured out that our new kitten was actually a boy. My family and I couldn’t think of a name, so my dad randomly decided on Dusseldorf, which is Dusik for short. I can’t believe that we even considered giving him away because of the joy that he brought to our family. He brought us all closer and helped me get out of a very difficult time in my life. Every day I wake up and hug him, even crying at times when I see him because of how much this regular street cat changed my life for the better. I am forever grateful for finding myself in the situation of having to rescue him because I can’t even imagine what I’d be like if I didn’t find him on that night.