Through a Cat’s Eyes: A Rescue Story

I didn't ask for any of this. One moment, I was theirs. The next, I wasn't. I don't know what I did wrong. I don't think they even looked back.

The door shut behind them, and it was quiet in the kind of way that's loud. Loud enough that your chest tightens and your ears ring. You try to convince yourself that someone's coming back.

They didn't.

Instead, I sat in a strange room that didn't smell like home. It smelled like bleach and sadness. And cats. Lots of cats.

I didn't meow. I didn't hiss. I didn't even move. What was the point?

But then... soft hands. Gentle voices. Eyes that didn't look past me. They didn't ask me to be brave. They just showed up again, and again, and again. They called me sweetheart. They gave me blankets that were warm and didn't smell like fear. They left the door open a little longer each day.

It was slow, the thaw. Like maybe, just maybe, I was allowed to feel safe again.

Other cats came and went; tiny ones with too-big eyes, older ones who moved like the air hurt. We didn't speak, not really, but we understood. This wasn't where we started, and it wouldn't be where we stayed. We just didn't know when or how or who would change that.

Then one day, it was finally my turn. A new person came. A different scent, a calm voice. They sat on the floor like they weren't in a rush, like they knew I needed a moment to decide. I climbed into their lap and felt something I'd forgotten existed.

Belonging.

They didn't promise me forever, but something in their voice said they meant it anyway.

Now there's a new window. A name that's said with love. A bowl that's always full. And a quiet that doesn't ache anymore.

I'm no longer abandoned. No longer broken. No longer waiting for someone to see me.

Creative short story written by K.B. Riley, author of Marked by Fate.