My name is PFC Maggie the Cat. Age 6 months
Log entry 19 Sept 2016
In July 2016 I was stationed on an Army Base in Kandahar, Afghanistan where my mission was to find lost and lonely soldiers who missed their families and cheer them up.
My commander explained to me that my job might become dangerous and very lonely. Too soon I learned how true this was.
As I patrolled the base I became separated from my unit and quickly days became weeks with no food, safe drinking water, or even a safe place to sleep. The scorching Kandahar days were always over 110 degrees. Even doing my recon and hiding under the cement walls was miserable as, for months the cement walls had been baked by the desert sun. They were like the walls of an oven. But I needed to hide…. From those patrols of men with trucks and traps. I had heard that whole squads of my buddies could be taken in a single night … never to be heard from again! There were traps and tricks everywhere.
But I had a job to do….. to find lonely soldiers and make them smile.
Days of hunger and terrible thirst followed….. I was afraid that I might fail …… days and days….
But finally, on one of my midnight patrols, through a familiar zone, I spotted a people…. Not in a normal uniform… but surely a soldier… maybe…and I recognized that he needed my help.
I believe that I had spotted him earlier…. Although smiling, he seemed lonely. I didn’t want to startle him so I s...l….o….w….l….y circled. I spoke to him in my softest cat voice just to let him know that I was a friendly, and I realised that I was so dehydrated and hungry that I didn’t have much of a voice at all….. But I had a job to do…
After minutes….. I finally circled close enough to rub his hand with the top of my head and back. I admit that it did feel great but I needed to help him remember the connection to a family, a buddy, a pet.
I got him!!! …. He even shared his water with me and coincidentally he happened to have some spare rations….. tuna, I think. We said our hellos and then too shortly our goodbyes. He seemed nervous.
And the following night he was there again…. And honestly I was glad to see him. More water and tuna… I continued to rub his hand with my back…. And I started to think that I might be able to complete my mission! Again the short evening ended as he left and went into his big metal cage and I hunkered into a nearby bomb shelter…. To be ready…. Just in case he needed me again.
But then the following night a surprise…. He brought OTHER PEOPLE! ….and more water, and tuna and milk. I sure needed the extra food as taking care of them was starting to be hard work…. All the hand rubbing and playful skittering.
…And then the next night ANOTHER NEW PEOPLE! And rations…. After weeks of zero success I started to believe that I had succeeded in my mission….. but I had no way to find my unit. A cat without a country....lost. But I was getting these guys to smile.
But then one day, I thought that I had really blown it when somehow I let my guard down and got stuck in a wire box with a trap door….. had I failed?
Evening turned into night as my peoples took turns sitting with me as a sat in the wire box…. And waited….. I was scared!!!! …. Was I doomed? Did they betray me?
Is this what happened to my unit?....... now…. all gone?
The sun came up and one of the peoples put me in a truck and took me to meet with a new people. Someone I had never seen before. I was now in another truck and we drove and drove …. And drove…. It seemed like it was all day.
Finally we arrived at a base, FULL of cats and dogs and other animals…..
After resting, I was placed into another larger wire box…. I hated the box but at least it was larger and more comfortable.
In the next few days I was cleaned and examined, I’ve received a TON of medicine and honestly I didn’t know that I was feeling yucky… but I feel a LOT better than before…. Clean, comfy, well fed ….. but honestly I am once again worried about the peoples I was making feel better. I sure hope that they are doing OK.
I’ve heard talk that I’m going to be re-assigned. Sounds like they need me to take care of two older peoples… far…. FAR… away… I have been getting shots and special medicine to prep me for the new assignment…. And I will have to stay here for another three or four weeks while the doctors are sure that I can handle my next job. I’ve also heard that the hospital always has difficulty paying for the supplies and has to ask for donations to get medicine, people food, covering the cost of airlifting me and my fellow four legged troops …. We all have a part…. Do what you can.
I will report with my next log entry as I get new info.
For now, PFC Maggie the Cat logging off.
And about my peoples that I helped out…..If anybody can get them a message, please tell them that … I was happy to help them feel better and… I was only following orders…. But I sure do miss them
PFC (Purry, Fuzzy, Cat) Maggie
signing out
The Nowzad Charity is happy to report that thanks to the generosity of our amazing supporters, PFC Maggie is now enjoying her retirement with her favourite ‘Peoples’, her Soldier, in the USA.