Tomorrow, I’ll drive over to Portugal to pick up this very special old lady 🥰😍🥹
10 years ago, when I adopted her in Malta, I promised her I would never abandon her. But then life had other plans. Thankfully, dearest, sweet, old Pushka, I managed to keep my promise to you after all.
It’s been a long time coming. But it’s time to tell our story:
My ex-wife and I had 3 cats together. Pushka, Nacho, and Fellini. We adopted them off the streets in Gzira, Malta and Rome, Italy. Afterwards, we took them with us whenever we needed to move for our jobs. From Malta to Germany, to Switzerland, and then, finally, in 2018, to Macau.
About a year later, in October 2019, I was forced to leave my Southeast Asian home. My wife and I had broken up. I had lost my entire savings during our 5-year marriage. And, to make matters worse, the show I had worked for in Macau closed down at the same time, too. Leaving me without a job, without a work permit, without a permit to stay, without a penny, at the worst of times. The Macanese government gave me 1 week to pack and leave. I managed to extend this to 1 month. But it still wasn’t enough time to allow me to organize the cats’ relocation. For that, I would have needed 3 months and a lot of help.
Thankfully, at the time, my ex-wife told me she wanted to keep the cats with her in Macau. She said it wouldn’t be home without them. And my ex-wife promised me, she would send Pushka, Nacho, and Fellini to me, when the time came for her to leave Macau. We agreed she would pay for the cats’ relocation then, since I had already paid over 10’000 EUR for 2 prior relocations of all 3 cats.
When the time did come, my ex-wife didn’t get in touch to tell me she was leaving. And she didn’t organize the cats’ relocation back to me. Instead, I found out through some work mates that she had left Macau and had left our cats in foster care with a friend of hers. Not a forever home, but at least a safe space.
Over the next 3 years, I received almost no information on how Nacho, Fellini, and Pushka were doing. Only when I asked, was I given a few scraps of info. That they were fine. And also, that my help and presence was neither wanted nor needed.
Then, about 10 months ago, I found out through FB that all 3 cats were up for adoption. Imagine, someone gives your children away for good and doesn’t even tell you that’s what they are doing. You find out through social media and when you email to ask and offer your help, you are not allowed to be involved in the decision process, but rather told to stay out of it. You are given no say in who gets to adopt your children. Then, when they are finally given away without your consent, you are not even told where they are, who adopted them, and if it’s a forever home.
Apparently, Nacho and Fellini were adopted last summer by separate families in Macau. I still have no idea where they are and if they are ok. All my questions have been left unanswered…
A simple but sincere, “Don’t worry, they are safe. They are happy with their new family and they are loved,” would suffice and would help me immensely to let go. As it is, all I can do is forever wonder and hope with all my heart that they are ok, loved, healthy, spoiled, and happy!
Last summer, while the boys were apparently adopted, some of my Macanese sources told me that no one wanted to adopt sweet, old Pushka. She was already 10 at the time, and she is a bit of a peculiar cat. Not as easily lovable and cute as the other two. I was at a loss as to what to do from halfway across the world, but knew leaving her to her fate was not an option.
When I told my neighbours here in Switzerland about Pushka and her need for a safe forever home, they immediately fell in love with her and wanted to adopt her. So, I began organizing from afar. It took a good 6 months, a lot of money, patience, nerves, and, most importantly, the help of many amazing people to prepare Pushka for travel.
Then, just a few days ago, she flew with a good old friend back from Hong Kong to beautiful Europe where she originally came from and where she belongs.
She handled the trip with lots of grace and unbearable cuteness, and is now in Portugal, enjoying a few days with my friends there.
Tomorrow, I will go on a road trip across Europe to pick her up. The trip to Portugal will take 2 days. Then I’ll rest for 2 days. After that, good old Pushka and I will drive back to Switzerland for another 2 days. Once in Zurich, I will hand her over to my amazing neighbours who are eagerly awaiting her arrival. Ready to love her, spoil her, and give her a cozy forever home in her old age. Pushka deserves that so very much.
I’m glad to know that at least for Pushka, against all odds, this long story has found a happy ending.
And I hope so much the same is true for Nacho and Fellini.
Thanks with all my heart to all of you who have been there and volunteered to support Pushka and me in this endeavour. We are forever grateful to you. For privacy’s sake, I won’t disclose your names. But you know who you are 🥰.