Like a cross between a cat and stuffed bear, little Teddy with unusually rounded ears, appeared out of nowhere in Veerja Parekh’s building in Gamdevi. “I saw him get hit by a car almost three times after I found him,” remembers the 21-year-old. “That’s when I decided to take him home.” Parekh remembers running onto the road to help the scared kitten get out of harm’s way.
Teddy was injured, bleeding and infested with fleas. He clearly needed all the help he could get. Immediately, it was evident that the kitten was starved for affection, even warming up to Parkeh’s brood of animals which includes two Labradors, two indie cats and one Persian cat. “My dog raised him and he turned out to be a lovely cat,” Parekh smiles.
Once Teddy was nursed back to health, he was ready to find his forever home. “You should always talk to the people and get to know them on a personal level to understand what kind of an animal they’re looking for,” says Parekh. “So when Kandarp and Shailly Ghag got in touch with me, I did just that.”
The Ghags, residents of Navi Mumbai, found Teddy through an adoption page on Facebook. “The post had very few likes and I specifically wanted a cat which other people weren’t keen on adopting. I’ve always wanted an animal that had rare chances of getting a home,” says Shailly.
When Parekh made the trip to the Ghag’s house, she helped them cat-proofing their home, gave them a litter tray, some toys, and other basics to get them started. Parekh stresses on how important it is to add netting to open windows since stray cats are likely to find an escape. At first, even though Teddy grew into a friendly and loving cat, he was quite shy. “The the first day was a little difficult for us because we had no idea how to take care of him,” says Shailly. “So, we played a lot with him. But, at night, he didn’t let us sleep at all. He used to come and scratch our feet and run away, keeping us up till 6.30 a.m. that morning.” In the morning panic ensued when Teddy went missing. After a lot of searching, the little cat was hiding quietly behind a curtain.
Then it took a mere two days for Teddy to settle into his new family. He loves running around the house and playing with his toys. Soon, Teddy was joined by two more rescue cats at the Gagh home – Zorro and Marsha and the three of them love being around each other. “People say that cats don’t like that kind of affection but my cats and I are always cuddling each other,” laughs Shailly.
