OUR BELOVED PETS CONTEST

Not Your Typical Rescue: The Kittens From Kuwait

A black cat, a blind cat, and a vet tech meet in a pet store

Working for an animal hospital that operated inside a pet store meant that I would constantly see adoptable cats and kittens.

Every day, walking out of the store for my lunch break, I would see their little furry faces and fall in love instantly. And every day I would text my husband stating once again how badly I wanted a kitten.

We had three cats at home but they had already been his when we got together — I had missed their kittenhood. I wanted a kitten that I could see grow up. But my husband kept saying that I could not get a kitten.

On Valentine’s Day of 2021, as I was walking by the tables covered in kennels holding kittens, a tiny black paw suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm. When I turned to look, there were two kittens in the kennel. One was all black and the other had only one eye. I was instantly taken with them. Especially after the shelter owner told me that they needed to be adopted together. They were a bonded pair and she didn’t want to separate them.

Black cats have a notoriously difficult time finding homes due to misguided superstitions about them. Special needs animals have an even harder time. Both together? If not a vet tech then who? Plus — the little black one (named Lucy by the shelter) seemed to have chosen me. She kept her little paw gripping my sleeve as the shelter owner told me their story. They weren’t your average kittens — they’d been flown to America after being rescued from the streets of Kuwait.

There are certain parts of the Middle East where animals are viewed only as work help or food — never as friends or family. Strays found in the streets are ignored, killed, or sometimes even tortured. Due to this, there are several rescue organizations that fly to Kuwait and save as many stray dogs and cats as they can to fly back to America for adoption.

These two were found together. One of them (named Marble by the shelter), had a terrible eye infection that, having gone untreated, had severely damaged her eyes and hindered her ability to see. They’d stuck together and helped each other.

As soon as they landed in America, they were separated. One went to the shelter and one went to an animal eye specialist. Her left eye was beyond saving and causing her immense pain. It was removed. Her right eye was spared and treated but she was almost entirely blind. She could see some light and some movement but nothing more. When she was healed enough to go to the shelter, the pair found each other again and remained attached at the hip.

I adopted them both on the spot. I decided that it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission from my husband. After all, he said I couldn’t have a kitten — he never said anything about two kittens. And it was Valentine’s Day. He probably wouldn’t leave me on Valentine’s Day.

I like to name my pets by theme but our dog, Rosie, had been adopted with her name and it seemed to suit her so we’d kept it. I decided to name these kittens after flowers to become a theme with Rosie. I named the black one Dahlia. It had a double meaning that I found amusing.

Dahlia is a flower. Black Dahlia was a famous murder victim. I have a weird sense of humor. I wanted to give the blind kitten a really special name. Since they came from Kuwait, I did a Google search for “Middle Eastern flowers” and found a really beautiful one called a Kudu, also referred to as a desert rose. So Lucy and Marble became Dahlia and Kudu.

Needless to say, my husband didn’t leave me and the two kittens from Kuwait joined our family.

They instantly bonded with Rosie, who seemed to decide that they belonged to her. Rosie had a strong affinity for cats and these little kittens were creatures she viewed as needing protection and guidance. In a matter of days — it felt more like Rosie had adopted them than we had. She raised them. And they adored her.

When I brought them to work with me for their first kitten appointments, the vet who’d mentored me asked if I knew about their breeds.

Breeds?

I don’t know why it never crossed my mind that coming from Kuwait, they likely weren’t your average stray cat. And they did have facial and body differences from that of my three older cats. He told me they were Mau cats. Typically, the coat of a Mau is spotted (like Kudu’s) but they can be born a solid color. Dahlia is known as a melanistic (all-black) Egyptian Mau. Kudu is an Arabian Mau. I started researching the breeds and they fit the descriptions exactly.

It is said that you could drop an Egyptian Mau in the ocean and they would befriend a fish — that is how friendly they are with other animals. They are also very athletic — having been clocked running at speeds up to 30 mph, and while they are intensely loving and affectionate with the people that they choose, they are wary of strangers.

That’s Dahlia.

Arabian Maus tend to become extremely attached to one person and will become possessive of them over all others. They are also wary of strangers but are highly inquisitive, food-oriented, intelligent, and very playful.

Absolutely 100% Kudu.

As kittens, they were extremely bonded and stuck together at all times. As they grew into adult cats, they began to separate a bit.

Kudu is a rockstar. You would never know she was blind to watch her run up and down our stairs, climb our eight-foot cat tree, leap from our counter to our table, or zip around our house. She can do anything our sighted cats can do. In a twist of irony, she decided that my husband was her human. I am the interloper in her mind. So I adopted her without his permission and she stole my husband.

Food-oriented is putting it mildly. We had to put child-proof locks on our cabinets as Kudu kept taking entire bags of treats and attempting to hide them in the litter boxes.

Dahlia seems to have decided that she’s a dog. She can always be found lounging with our two big dogs who have accepted her as part of their pack. But when she gets going — watch out! Her speed is incredible and she has boundless energy and absolutely no brakes. She crashes into things and knocks them over. She loves to play fetch and is an incredible hunter. She once jumped up and caught a fly midair with her front paws, clasping it and then bringing it to the floor with her.

She’s also completely obsessed with running water. She loves to play with it and stick her entire head under it whenever the sink is on. She is absolutely hilarious but nothing on this earth can save you if you attempt to go to the bathroom without her.

They still find each other and cuddle together to sleep at night but they are very unique and individual cats. Happy, healthy, and incredibly loved — they are now two years old and our family would not be complete without them.

Might be time to spring another kitten (or two) on my husband! 😉

For more information about the animals being rescued from Kuwait, check out Bridges From Kuwait and Wings of Love.

Thank you Debra Groves Harman for the chance to tell their story.

Please check out this amazing story from a fellow rescuer, Robert Cutrera. It really shows the amazing power animals have to change our lives.