In 2018, I moved to Vietnam, and within two months of arriving, I had fostered a little ginger kitten who I named Evie.
I remember going to Hanoi Pet Adoption for what I thought was a casual chat to see if I would be a suitable foster mum. I arrived at this five-story house, and inside, every room had cages stacked from floor to ceiling. All the cages were small, some housing two or three cats. The stench of cat pee invaded my nose. The lady then informed me I could pick a cat to take home… and here I was, thinking it was just going to be a chat.
We slowly made our way up the narrow flights of stairs, passing room after room filled with cats. Eventually, I stopped at a cage that had a tiny little ginger kitten inside. I was informed that it was a female ginger (did you know that only 10% of ginger cats are female?) who was around two months old. I took her out of her cage, and she purred instantly. When I tried to put her back in, she clung to me for dear life, as if to say, “Don’t leave me here!”
I knew that I could not leave her, so with a borrowed cat carrier, I took her home, having to ask the taxi driver to stop at a pet shop on the way to buy cat supplies. Once we were home, Evie quickly settled into her new life. She loved lying in the sun, chasing geckos, and snuggling with me. It took her time to realize she was always going to have food and to slow down her eating—she would scoff her food down so quickly that it made her sick. I always thought this was out of fear of not being fed.
Fast forward seven years, and it is safe to say that I am no longer fostering Evie—she is very much my little baby! This cat is treated like royalty. She still loves lounging in the sun, chasing geckos, and going out onto the balcony (something that gives me heart palpitations after she fell from the sixth floor… but that is a story for another day).
As I sit at home feeling sorry for myself (I am still sick), I feel exceptionally grateful for my little fur baby and the amazing companionship she provides me.
J Schmid's! 