Today would have been my cat Chili's second birthday.
She was found by a then-partner of mine, miles out of the city, barely able to walk. Her mother was nearby, but seemingly wasn't able to help her.
She had multiple infections, most predominantly in the eyes. It took weeks of treatment before she was able to see properly, and I suspect they never fully healed.
She was a wild cat since birth, and acted like it. She was troublesome but clingy at the same time. Litter training her was the most difficult of any cat, as it was tough to dissuade her from going whenever she needed.
Interestingly, the vet who performed her surgeries described her as "borderline intersex". During development, the positioning of body parts suggested it was anticipating male organs, but she got female ones instead. The vet described this using very helpful diagrams.
Once she cleared the first few weeks, I introduced her to Sandy, my other idiot, who was roughly 1 year old at the time. They bonded faster than any other cats I've seen.
Having two cats was a huge motivator for me to get a more stable roof over my head. The thought of letting down them was more worrying than the thought of disappointing myself.
With the typical delays in buying and moving house, Chili was a year old by the time we finally moved. Outside of visits to the family home, she never had any real opportunity of exploring the outdoors in a safe way.
One of my fondest memories of her is the day of moving - October 30th 2023. The two cats didn't know what to make of everything. The house smelled something bizarre, and they were totally unused to any new environment that wasn't friendly to them. Yet they ran their Sniffy Inspection Squad through every single room to keep me safe :3
Currently testing these video players in a live environment, don't mind me :>
The house move was super difficult for many reasons. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, that I shifted between the two liveable rooms in the house, whenever I needed to work on the other. Chili would join me every night for the first few weeks.
She also took time out to look after Sandy, who wasn't finding the move very enjoyable. On the first night, Sandy saw the miserable-looking mattress that I was hopping on top of, realised he wasn't going back to the flat, and did the closest thing to crying I've ever seen a cat do. Chili was on the case.
She loved the outdoors, and took to the area like a natural. The back garden is removed from the local roads, and the area cats have no need to put themselves in danger unless they feel like it. Chili didn't wander much, but she loved the big pine tree my neighbour has.
Chili thoroughly enjoyed her new lifestyle for the next 6 months. It was the ideal setup, two cats that looked after each other, barely fought, and gave each other space when needed.
Chili didn't return home one random night. I set up the usual for her: both dry and wet food indoors and outdoors, fresh water bowls, and put some used clothes in the garden to mark her home.
She returned the following day, but something was off about her. Despite no visible injuries, she seemed unnerved, shook, or maybe just super curious about something I didn't understand. She ate food happily, but after that was bursting to leave again. She suddenly had no interest in the safe indoors, and only had eyes for whatever was on her mind outside.
I kept her inside for three days, but it fixed nothing. Every time I even glanced at a window or door, she was there by my feet.
Eventually she did slip between my feet and escape. She was never a catchable cat, but I decided to trust her anyways. Whatever had caught her attention, I hoped that she'd take care of it and come back. Of course, she didn't.
We never did find her. I still hope to this day that she popped into someone else's home, preferred the couch, and decided to stay. No other explanation makes sense or gives hope.
So, happy birthday Chili. Your cat yoghurt is waiting for you in the fridge, same as last year.