“The cat distribution system works!”
If you get as many cat reels as I do, you’ve undoubtedly seen these. A woman backpacking in Indonesia finds three kittens crawling out of a drainpipe. A guy biking in Albania stops for lunch and finds a kitten.
The message is to be patient and some mysterious forces at work will allocate a cat to you—even if you're aboard. I didn’t think much of it until it happened to me.
Maxine’s story
It was a Sunday morning, after a long, rainy, cold, dark Saturday in early-November. My wife and I had traveled to Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, for their annual wine festival, which was a total washout the day before.
Saturday was one of those late-fall days where it seems to get dark around three in the afternoon. Or really it seemed to never get light out at all. I’m not complaining for my own sake—we could seek refuge in a restaurant, pop into a store and buy dry socks.
I’m setting the scene for Maxi’s last long cold rainy day spent all on her own, right before we found her. It wasn’t pretty and neither was she when I found her.
It’s not at all normal to find one kitten, all by itself—no other kittens, and no mother around. There are only two explanations. First, the other kittens in the litter didn’t survive, and the mother abandoned this one. Heartbreaking. Second, this kitten was dumped by a family. More heartbreaking.
I’m not sure which scenario explains Maxi, but regardless, when I heard her meowing—from up above me, actually, on a little ledge behind an air-conditioning unit—it was clear she was begging for help and the only thing to do was fetch her down and get her some food.
Important decisions to make as an expat
In my mind, actually, my wife and I had been ready and waiting for the cat distribution system to find us. We were in year two of living in Moldova and seemed pretty settled. We missed our cats in America and I had been thinking to myself that we were ready for the cat distribution system to do its work. A cat would make our lives in Moldova fuller and richer. Coming home to a cat would make our rented apartment more like home.
But still, it all happened so fast. One meow, one step…and I was wondering, was that a kitten? Then the second meow, the second step past it, and a pause. Yes, that was definitely a kitten. But where?
I looked up, where the sound seemed to be coming from and didn’t immediately see anything. But then on closer inspection, I saw a few tiny paws clinging to a thin ledge behind the external compressor for a shop’s air conditioning.
At this point, I grabbed this tiny wet shivering kitten, brought it to my chest, and knew instantly this scared creature belonged to my wife and i.
That's is the easy part: Grabbing a kitten or puppy. In the developing world, they are everywhere.
But you have to realize, this is the beginning of what will in all likelihood be a 10 to 15-year relationship. I knew this and was ready for it, but you need to be ready too before scooping a kitty.
After a quick trip to the market, buying some cat food, and feeding this precious creature, I had to take her back to the hotel where my wife was still asleep.
I walked into our tiny hotel room, put the kitten down on the bed, and let it paw its way towards Brieanne and wake her up. It was love at first sight for the two of them, and then wheels had to go into motion, quickly.
First, we needed to drive back to Chisinau—90 minutes away—and go immediately to a vet. On the drive back, I was messaging my host teachers at the university and one of them pointed us directly to her friend who was at his office (remember, it was Sunday) and could see us immediately.
The best news from that vet was that the kitten was relatively healthy. The vet sold us some shampoo, kitty litter, kitten food and a dose of Frontline in case Maxine (as we were already calling her) had fleas.
Getting a cat ready to travel
Having raised kittens before, I knew what this entailed: vaccines, a rabies shot, and other treatments to get Maxi off to a strong start in life. This was remarkably easy, as we had already found a vet that spoke great English.
We are now at the point, six months later, of waiting for the rabies test to come back from Brussels, so Maxi can get her EU passport. She’s already been microchipped, and with her passport, she’s ready to travel with us wherever life takes us.
We’ve made a commitment to Maxi for the next 15 years or so, and she’s already brought us so much joy and helped us feel like we are really living here in Moldova and not just passing through. There’s no telling where life takes us next but we know for sure that we will take Maxi wherever we go. She’s part of the family now.
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