In August 2014, I was on Facebook and saw a post shared by the local cat shelter for two adult cats and two kittens that were up for adoption at the cattery. The next day, after discussing with my husband about adopting another cat since we had lost one of my British Shorthair cats in June to intestinal cancer, we decided to make the call. (Niut had moved over to Sweden with me from London and was nine years old when we lost her). Here she is before she became ill.

Having come to a decision to adopt one of the adult cats, we contacted the cattery, but were told the cats had already been claimed by the cat shelter. (Quick aside - although I have previously mentioned how things work here regarding cats seized by the police and retained at a cattery, this was my first exposure to the dark side of animal welfare in Sweden). My husband hung up the phone and told me now we would need to contact my friend at the cat shelter if I wanted to adopt the cat.

I gave her a call saying we had called the cattery to see about adopting one of the cats, while additionally wondering why the cats were all of a sudden at the cat shelter. She explained the cats were going to be shot that day by the police and she had literally just arrived at the shelter with the rescued cats and had settled them in to the quarantine cabin, saving their lives. I admit I was so dumbstruck by her words I actually thought she was pulling my leg. I asked her if she was making it up, because what she had said was so outrageous I couldn't wrap my head around it. I simply couldn't believe a policeman would shoot a cat let alone a pair of helpless little kittens. It was monstrous. Surely a vet would put them to sleep?! 

No, she solemnly assured me, shooting was absolutely going to be their destiny if not for her going in that day and claiming them (a complicated red-tape-infested procedure I soon learned). After a long, shocked silence I asked would we be able to reserve the adult cat we had originally wanted to adopt. She said of course, but suggested we come in to see the cat just to be sure it was a good fit. We agreed to come the next day to give the cats a chance to settle in. (They had to remain in quarantine for two weeks to ensure they didn't have any contagious diseases).

The next day we went and met the rescued cats and kittens, sleeping together in a heap in a big basket by a window. Unfortunately the cat we liked did not seem too keen on either me or my husband but there was one of the four who was. She was a quiet little thing but she made it clear she wanted to meet me. I waited and let her decide. She came to me right away, climbed up into my lap and promptly cuddled up and fell asleep in my arms. I was smitten. I asked my friend if I could change my mind and adopt the little girl who had chosen me. My friend said, of course and that she wasn't surprised the cat we had thought of taking wasn't interested. She said the cats had been seized from a home where the owner had been forbidden by law to own cats, and the cat we wanted was going to need a long time to rehabilitate at the shelter. Although I had thought one of the adult cats was the mother of the kittens I found out that the kittens were actually orphans. My heart ached for the little ones, what a sad start to their lives, losing their mother and staying in a cattery and then being sent to death row. If not for my friend being tenacious, those four little lives would have been lost.

I went back every day for the two weeks I had to wait for the quarantine period to end, and every day my little kitten whom I named Nova came straight to me and cuddled up, content and happy. When the day finally came to bring her home I made sure I had everything ready for her, her own safe space, new toys, blankets, scratching post, etc. She adapted right away to her new environment. I spent my time with her, playing with her, cuddling with her, feeding her, brushing her and bonding with her. Below is a photo I took of her the first day she came to live with us.

Here she is discovering a leaf on Day 2 of her new life with us. At first she was very timid and uncertain, happy to stay in her safe space, but with gentle encouragement and little baby steps she slowly came out of her shell.

Time passed and her courage grew, she loved her new sisters Ninya and Nebewey (my other British Shorthair from London) and her new brother Neh'h. Before we knew it, her personality came shining through and she entertained us with her expressions and antics. In the photo below she was sitting on my husband's lap and I asked 'Who wants tuna?' and she immediately put both her paws in the air, her eyes lighting up. The timing was so cute I had to snap a photo.

We have a lot of birdlife in our garden, Nova likes to watch the birds, on this particular day there were about seven magpies on the terrace.

Nova taunts her sister Nebewey from within the hallowed interior of a paper bag.

Nova has remained a tiny cat, even after almost three years she still looks and acts like a kitten. She loves it when I carry her around in the crook of my arm, with her front paws over my shoulder, her head tucked up against my neck. She often comes and sleeps in my arms when I am watching Netflix. She is extremely affectionate and talktative, chirping hello whenever I walk past her. I have never before known a cat to be so continuously full of love and joy. She brings so much light and happiness to our home, I cannot help but feel deep gratitude for her last-minute second chance. 

Nova. Our little star whose shining light eclipsed our hearts.