Written on 25. December 2023
Diary entry 1: "My little Christmas miracle story":
My first diary entry is a little Christmas miracle story that happened to me on 22/12/2013. I'll say it right away, the initial story takes an unexpected turn:
I usually meet up with a nice Spanish lady on Fridays to practise Spanish/German together. On this day, I cancelled because the day before I had seen a very thin cat lying on the side of the road, desperately trying to warm itself up in the winter sun. For those who don't know, winter nights are hard and cold here in Spain. Humidity is very high, especially near the coast, which makes the cold particularly painful for the joints. Cold winds intensify the unpleasant effect. So it was 21 December 2023 when I saw the poor creature for the first time. The little one was lying asleep on the pavement. When people walked past, she remained unimpressed. She was already too weak to run away. But none of the few passers-by were interested in the pile of misery anyway.
I saw the scene by chance when I was looking for a car park in the remote fishing village near me, where I only ever went for a walk with my dog. I had tried to offer the cat some dog food that I had with me. But she couldn't eat it because she was in so much pain. Instead, other street cats, who were very well fed, came and ate it and put her to flight. All these cats were fed at a supervised feeding centre. Here, the animals are caught by animal rights activists, neutered, their ears slit to make this clear and then fed regularly. This prevents the animals from reproducing and begging in the restaurants so that holidaymakers are not disturbed.
Not many animals have this luck in Spain, but this colony of cats does. Only the small tortoiseshell cat somehow flew under the radar. For some inexplicable reason, the people feeding the animals didn't notice their miserable condition.
I realised that she had to be rescued and so on Thursday I contacted a local German animal welfare organisation that could provide the cat with medical care if I could catch her.
Then, on Friday, I sat at breakfast and told my dear Spanish friend Camela that I couldn't come because of a cat-catching operation. I also told her that it would be a bit difficult in the near future anyway, as I was so worried myself. After all, I've been looking for a new job for a long time without success. My existential worries are huge! I told her about some plans I have and that I would like to switch to a different industry. I have the best prerequisites for this, but unfortunately I don't have any contacts there. So, despite my high qualifications, applying is still a gamble.
She said that she might be able to help me because she has a friend in Germany who works in exactly this field. He might be able to give me a few contacts I could turn to. No sooner said than done. She contacted him immediately and sent me his positive feedback. I could call him straight away. I was in a hurry because I was still in my pyjamas having coffee and I still had to get ready. My window of opportunity was short to meet the cat at the right moment. It only works when the sun shines on the pavement for 2 hours, which she turns into her personal radiator during this time.
But the chance of getting good information about a job was also important, so I called this friend called Peter. He was very helpful and I told him what position I was looking for a job in. So he kindly gave me a few details to apply to various addresses. I thanked him and hung up. Then I hurried to have a shower and get dressed. After all, I still had to prepare the cat basket and pack some thick gloves and wet food to attract the cat.
In the meantime, I was in constant contact with one of the animal welfare workers to arrange a drop-off point in case I succeeded in catching the cat. At the same time, I continued to exchange audios with Camela and Peter suddenly sent me a notice that he had just found on his company's notice board: it was a job offer that exactly matched my qualifications. I was impressed by his commitment! However, it said that you had to apply by August 2023, which I pointed out to Peter. He immediately contacted the HR manager and asked whether the notice was still relevant. He also told her that he knew exactly the right person for the job. Namely me! How nice! We don't even know each other. :)
Then he gave me the number of the HR manager and told me to call her immediately. I was running out of time because of the sun, but I tried my luck. The lady was at the table. So I packed my dog into the car and used the last of my petrol to drive to the fishing village to find the skinny cat. During the journey, I received countless messages from Camela, Peter and the animal rights activist Paula: Camela continued to encourage me, Peter started to tell me about his private life (I had the feeling he was lonely and looking for a partner) and Paula planned the cat handover with me.
Just as I was driving up the road, I saw the little tricoloured lucky cat lying down on her usual spot, the pavement. I turned the car round so that I could see her from the opposite side. She was only 5-8 metres away from me and asleep. My dog was well-behaved, as always, in the footwell of the passenger seat and dozing. I thought I absolutely had to call the lady from the HR office again. After all, it was the Friday before Christmas. She certainly wouldn't be staying long.
So I picked up my mobile phone and tried my luck again, looking at the cat. The lady answered the phone. Yay!
She was very friendly. I introduced myself and said that Peter had told me about the job offer. I told her I was just the right person for the job. I briefly explained what my last job position was, but that unfortunately I didn't come from the same industry. She replied that that was essential because I would have to do this and that. She then went on to surmise that I hadn't done any of that before. I was amazed at how quickly she thought she could judge me.
Still looking at the little fighting street cat, I decided to fight for myself first and said in a friendly but firm manner: "MOOOMENT, it's not that easy to pigeonhole me, because I have a broad CV. After all, I've worked internationally and originally come from the graphics sector."
The lady took this in good humour and laughed. I think she liked my statement that I can't just be pigeonholed now. I added that it would perhaps even be very good for the company if someone with a broader view from the outside worked in this area.
I insisted that I could send her my documents and she agreed. We ended the conversation and so I moved on to my originally planned task for the day: I got out of the car, put on my gloves, grabbed some wet food and the cat basket. Then I went over to the little one.
She didn't run away, but immediately the other cats were there again, making it difficult for me to attract her. One fat black cat with an injured eye was particularly insistent on playing first fiddle. He too would soon need help.
I decided that I had to feed him and the other strays properly first. I used the hard-earned food for my own cats for this. While I was doing all this, I thought: "It's crazy, you don't have any money yourself and don't know what to do next, but you're still giving the shirt off your back.... But well, that's just the way you are. So keep going! She needs you. No one else will save her!"
After my first failed attempt to pick her up, I thought I wouldn't be able to catch her. But I didn't want to give up. Finally, the other cats were well fed and went their separate ways. I spoke to the thin cat and said: "Lucky... that's what I'm calling you now. You've already brought me luck today, because just because I cancelled my training session because of you, so much has now happened that might help me. Now don't be so shy. I want to bring you luck in return. Come with me!"
Believe it or not, she suddenly came over to me and nuzzled my legs. I knelt down to her and stroked her. She was so bony and thin that it was heartbreaking. But she enjoyed my affection and purred. Then I stroked her neck and made a small test grab to see if I could pick her up straight away. She allowed it and so I lifted her very gently by the nape of the neck and supported her hind legs with my other hand. I gently carried her to the upright cat basket and placed her in it. She put up with everything. I would like to mention that it is sometimes very difficult, if not impossible, to catch feral cats by hand. You usually need a trap for this.
I was very relieved at my success and covered the basket and put it in the back seat of my car. My dear dog waited patiently. Then I packed everything up and rewarded my bow-wow with a walk on the beach. The cat slept in the cat basket for so long.
I informed Camela and Paula about my success. I also informed Peter, who I didn't really know, who kept telling me more about himself in the meantime. I had to grin, because it was clear to me that he was looking for a woman. I, on the other hand, am standing on a beach somewhere in Spain with my old adopted shelter dog, having just rescued a half-dead cat and thinking about how I can save myself...
No, I really don't feel like romance at the moment, but it's impressive how unexpectedly life can often play out. Camela said Peter had fallen in love with my voice because he hadn't seen me. How cute!
Isn't it crazy? None of this would have happened if I hadn't happened to see this cat that I really wanted to save.
I thought, if I get a job and Lucky is fit enough, I'll adopt her. This poor old cat deserves it.
Paula made sure that Lucky was taken to the vet and given infusions. She was totally dehydrated. The blood could hardly flow any more. Her mouth is inflamed, so she can't eat anything. Everything will be fine now, even though she certainly doesn't have much time left to live. However, she will not die of starvation.
So my dears, that was my first diary entry. Isn't it a turbulent little Christmas story? Feel free to let me know in the comments how you liked my experience. Like and share it 🤗
For my part, I very much hope that the sun will shine on me again soon. Because existential worries are bad. Anyone who has never had that doesn't know what I'm talking about. I don't wish it on anyone. Not even poor street cats.
Have you ever rescued an animal?
Yes, I'm happy to tell you here in the comments section.
I would like to do it often, but I don't have a plan.
No. I'm not interested in the suffering of others.