Along with all the cats we are helping to rehome that are former residents at the US and UK embassies and for cats now adopted by soldiers serving at the coalition headquarters in Kabul we have also supported the adoption of some of our feline friends that found their way to Nowzad but never had a home to go to.
Little Ash was found miraculously surviving fairly well on the harsh streets of Kabul. I say miraculously, because Ash had been born without eyes. Just empty sockets stared back at the kind expat who stooped to pick up the curious young grey and white cat sat unwisely on the side of the busy road.
Ash’s days were until that point, surely numbered. Being hit by a car whilst crossing the congested road, straying too close to a hunger feral dog, or most likely getting in the way of humans were the only real endings that awaited a blind cat in Kabul.
But Ash had won the Afghan cat lottery the day he was carried carefully to the Nowzad clinic in Kabul. Within hours he had been visited by all the staff who were desperate to meet this famous blind young cat. Playful and friendly he was a delight as rubber gloved hands checked him over and administered his first of many vaccinations.
Our Afghan vets carefully checked the empty eye sockets for signs of trauma. We found nothing. We could easily see that Ash had, within all probability, been born without eyes. How he had survived this long was a mystery. He had been lucky.
The best thing to do was to permanently close his eyelids so there would be no chance of further infection. Ash recovered from the surgery extremely quickly and was soon released into the main cat room at the Nowzad clinic. He wasted no time exploring, worrying the staff no end as he fearlessly climbed straight up the fenced outer enclosure.
Finding Ash a forever home away from his former harsh existence in Afghanistan was quick. Within days Nina, a keen Nowzad supporter from the US had applied and passed the adoption checks. Nina, in her own words frankly says it better than I ever can;
‘I have a special place for “survivors” in my heart as I also I volunteer with a local non-profit and see people who have not only survived against the odds, but who go on and live purpose driven lives. When I read about the stories of the animals at Nowzad, I see a parallel and want to be able to provide a home with love, safety and peace. A great lesson I have learned is that I’m most fulfilled with purpose in my life and I’m finding that being a part of the Nowzad network and giving a home to cat like Ash brings me fulfilment, purpose, and joy. One of my favourite quotes; it simply says "until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains un-awakened’.
The Nowzad family of supporters pulled together and soon the cost of the long flight was raised and a tearful vet team said goodbye to a Nowzad favourite.
Ash; who has now be renamed Matt Murdoch (AKA DareDevil) for obvious reasons… has settled in extremely well in the USA, especially now he has found out that food is kept in the refrigerator…
Nowzad has many more dogs and cats that need loving homes – if you think you are in a position to give one of our rescues a loving home then please get in touch today.