The abandoned kitten travels 600 miles to find her forever home
The abandoned kitten travels 600 miles to find her forever home
Tricia Mitchell and her husband, Shawn, thought a man carrying a small black cat in a market in Lviv, Ukraine, had just adopted it and was taking it home when they noticed it.
Mitchell told The Dodo, “I had happy thoughts that he could potentially take it home to surprise a delighted family member.” “Instead, the man walked up behind a row of steel-gray dumpsters and tossed the cat into a pile of leaves and mixed trash.”
That’s how Cocoa the kitten was introduced to the couple.
Mitchell and her husband have traveled to over 60 countries in the past few years and have seen too many homeless animals count, but this was the first time they had seen one abandoned before their eyes. They were speechless and wanted to help.
“As nomads who, by choice, haven’t had a home in the last three years, we knew we weren’t in a position to parent this little animal, but we couldn’t leave the kitten on the street either,” Mitchell said.
The couple took the frightened cat back to their apartment and began the process of getting him veterinary treatment. They discovered that he was about 6 weeks old. They arranged for his vaccinations, flea and worm treatment, and microchipping.
Since they couldn’t keep him themselves, the couple decided to take Cocoa home to Mitchell’s parents in Germany. They knew they could find someone to take the toddler, as they had many family and friends there.
After getting her passport, the trio embarked on a 600+ mile quest to find a new home for Cocoa.
As it turned out, Cocoa was made for traveling. He had no qualms about traveling on trains and buses, and he enjoyed looking out the windows at the world as it passed by. “Cocoa was a great travel companion and a great sport considering we were always on the road,” Mitchell adds. “Cocoa would come out of our protective palms during the time we spent inside buses, streetcars, cabs, and streetcars, evoking the warm smiles of passengers.”
It didn’t take long for Cocoa to find a home when she returned to Germany. Mitchell writes a blog, and one of his regular readers, Claudine, was so taken with Cocoa that she knew she had to have him back. Mitchell and her husband surrendered him to his new family just three and a half weeks after finding him.
Cocoa has settled in Switzerland and is enjoying every aspect of his new life. Mitchell remarked, “Cocoa was and still is so sassy and affectionate.” “His new permanent family says he acts like the prince of their home, which consists of four people and five cats.”
Nine months after his adoption, the couple who rescued him had the pleasure of visiting him in his new home. Cocoa was thrilled to see his old friends again.
“He jumped into my lap, looked me in the eye, and stretched his arms over my shoulders,” Mitchell said. “His new owner, Claudine, was certain he remembered us. Shawn and I found that incredibly touching.”
Cocoa went from being abandoned on the streets to living like a king in a loving home, and he will never forget the people who gave him everything.
“‘I remember you,’ he would say as he stared at us. Are we about to embark on another adventure?”
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