A Furry Encounter Reema

For as long as I can recollect, I've always had a deep and compassionate kinship with animals.
As a child, my wildest dream was to one day get a little furry pet, so I essentially spent most of
my spare time(as a kid that meant all the time) researching and learning about them. Now
looking back, I realize it was quite an unusual focal of interest for a child to have, but all that
exposure to the animal world was the sole reason they had become such a prominent part of my
life.

One day, It seemed like my wildest fantasy walked right into my life. I remember that day as
clear as sunshine amid a July afternoon. It was September, summer was coming to an end, and
school was right around the corner. I had some friends over some night, and we headed for a
swim in our backyard pool. The sky was clear and the water was cooler than usual nevertheless,
we ought to enjoy our last days of summer. After spending a couple of hours hanging out, it was
time to get up and go. We scrambled for our towels half-blind due to the darkness that dawned
over the night. It was difficult to navigate; we packed our stuff clumsily and surely made a mess
along the way. But to our surprise, we not only bumped into our stuff but into something else.

With only the moonlight illuminating our surroundings, it was nearly impossible to make out
what "thing" was scuttering beneath us. I didn’t give it much thought that night and went back
inside with no second thoughts.

The next morning was regularly uneventful, though I couldn't help but hear the same familiar
scuttering noises I heard last night. I brushed it off until I could no more. My curiosity got the
best out of me, and I was itching to explore. I stepped foot outside and immediately glanced at
the ground. As I wandered, I began to feel autumn breezing ever so gently. The hairs on my arm
rose with every current of air blowing on my skin. I scanned the grass then shifted my attention
to the bushes. But I failed to find whatever lurked outside, whatever caused me disturbance.
Either that or there had been nothing there, to begin with. I tried to put my consciousness at ease,
so I grabbed a book to enjoy on this breezy fall morning. And so I did. I sat on our backyard
bench and fully immersed myself in the pages I was reading. It had been like I completely shifted
realities. I sat there still for what must have been hours, though it felt like time had no sole
existence at the time. Suddenly the breeze seemed to have intensified; my feet especially felt it. I
remember a thought speaking to me. "Ugh, why didn't I wear socks before coming all the way
down here?" I rolled my eyes and glimpsed at my feet. To my surprise, It wasn't the wind
tickling my feet. Not even remotely close.

It was tiny, so tiny in fact I had no idea how its tiny feet were able to move it around. A little ball
of fur is what it seemed like. It was a kitten! I squealed in awe and giggled at how it cuddled my
foot as if it were a friend. I then concluded that it must've been too cold for the little furry, and
my foot was the perfect heat radiator. "Was it here all alone?" I thought to myself, and I looked
around once again. I had spotted another ball of fur, a mere 3 feet away from its sibling. "Two
kittens?" I looked around once more. "Three kittens?" I was surprised, concerned, and in awe.
All these fumbled up emotions manifested onto my face as a smile. Excitement rushed through
my body so intensely that I began to feel warm and fuzzy. "These little friends definitely make
up for the forgotten socks." I giggled to myself.
I wondered why they were here all alone, so I started to look for the momma cat, but
unfortunately, there was no sign of her. I thought that she had maybe taken off to look for some
food to feed herself. In the meanwhile, I rushed inside to get a cozy blanket for the kittens. I
placed them in a warmer area away from the breeze, and I put the blanket beneath them. I
brought a bowl of raw meats and chicken for the mother in case she needed to feed herself again
as well. I petted the kittens one last time then I went back inside.

Later that day, I proceeded to check up on them yet again hoping that the momma had come to
feed them.

Sadly there was nothing. The food was left untouched and the kittens had been left unfed for god
knows how long.

Luckily there was a pet store a few minutes away from my house. I visit it so often that every
little animal in there was beyond familiar to me. So I immediately grabbed my brother along and
rushed to get them a bottle of kitten milk from there. After an exhausting run to the pet store and
back, there was still no sign of the momma. So with the help of a syringe, I picked up each kitten
and fed it. The kittens were no older than a couple of weeks. I was so grateful for the knowledge
I had accumulated at the time, for I was able to handle the situation with caution and care.

From that day onward I proceeded to care for these little kittens until they could care for
themselves. It was an overwhelming couple of months but I gladly pursued my time making sure
they were well taken care of.

That whole experience really taught me a lot about the approach to care for cats. Even though I
did the research, it was nothing like actually caring for them.

After that entire encounter, I proceeded to volunteer for multiple animal shelters, adoption, and
rescuing enterprises.

I also began to further push my advocacy of animal welfare, and adoption (instead of purchasing
pets).