“7 Days Ago Everything Changed”: War In Ukraine Through Eyes Of A Housecat

War changes everything, be it for a human or a house pet.

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• March 8, 2022

War is hell – you’ve probably heard of that saying. But it’s actually much worse.

Because when you think of it - who goes to hell? Only people who deserve it.

That means there are no innocent people in hell. And in war, it’s the innocent souls who get hurt the most, no matter if they are humans or animals.

The war in Ukraine has caused much suffering to people and animals alike. Here we have a chance to see what it looks like through the eyes of a rescued kitten.

She thought she was finally safe when she found her forever home. But, within one week, everything had changed.

Her owner Anna wrote on Kusia’s behalf:

“Hello, world. My name is Kusia (means Bitey, from “bite”), I’m a 1.5-year-old cat from Kyiv.

When I was very young, I thought I would not survive. On the night of August 8, 2020, I was hiding under the car and that’s when I thought that a big black cat, three times my size, would kill me.

I don’t have much courage, but I was so afraid that I started screaming out my fear as much as I could. I cried so hard.

Some people were walking by. They saw that I was sitting under the car, pushed away from the angry cat and told me not to be afraid anymore.

I went to their hands and from that moment these people became my parents. When they brought me to their place, they saw that all of my paws are white.

Despite the fact that for some reason one sock slipped off on my back foot, they still fell in love with me. And they gave me my name — Kusia."

Just over a week ago, Kusia, a regular house cat, was startled to the core.

"I’m really into playing fetch and bringing the ball. My parents say cats don’t do that.

But I love it! Especially when my parents are still sleeping, I can bring a ball in my teeth and throw it at their noses.

To definitely wake them up, because c’mon, let’s play! If they don’t respond, I can basically became a barber and start licking my dad’s beard.

That’s when he wakes up and strokes me. Then we’d play and have breakfast.”

Kusia wished to leave the shelter and return home, but she realized she couldn't.

“But 7 days ago everything changed. We woke up all together from a very loud siren.

The sky was still grey. My parents quickly began to gather stuff.

At first, I followed my mom everywhere and purred, still waiting for her to give me a treat. But it didn’t help.

I had never seen my mom like this. She was panicking.

And dad was very serious. I became very scared again.

Just like when I was hiding under the car, waiting for a black cat to kill me. So I crawled under the bed and refused to go anywhere.

But the sirens didn’t stop. And my parents forced me into a cat carrier — they said that we needed to evacuate into a bomb shelter.

I didn’t know what it was. Until now. Since then, this is my new home.”

Kusia finds comfort in her parents and siblings

“At first, I couldn’t calm down and I was looking for a way back home. I checked all the cracks and flaws of the bomb shelter, trying to find a way out.

But my mom took me in her arms, hugged and cried. I don’t like the taste of her tears, they’re salty. So I tried to purr louder because then my mother smiles through her tears.”

And she still wants to play

“I’m not bored here. Three more cats live in my new house – Stepan, Kuzya, Mutya and Gerda the dog.

All the cats are also adopted from the streets, just like me. From the very beginning, Kuzya pissed me off, I hissed at him a lot.

But now we are friends and we can even play together. Those games distract us, so we almost can’t hear the explosions and sirens.

My mom doesn’t cry so often anymore, but tries with all her might to find insulin, and dad is on the phone all the time, even more serious. I think his hair went silver.

I miss my favorite cozy bed, I’m tired of sleeping on the floor. I really want to go back home and live in a world where no evil unbearable black cat can attack.”

She has a sibling Mutya to keep her company

Kusia can’t wait to go home

Here’s what Kusia’s owner said:

Anna added:

"Here’s a little update on the situation in Kyiv:

Tonight was insane, we couldn’t sleep at all, because the city of my grandmother was under attack. It’s a really small city called Izyum (means “raisin”) in Eastern Ukraine, only civilians there.

And we couldn’t reach her by this morning. It’s impossible to explain how I felt the whole night, but it’s like your heart doesn’t belong to you anymore and your full mind is so shocked that someone you love, you already lost… you’re trying to put those thoughts down, but it’s like a tsunami.

With all hope and prayers, we already reached her, she was also hiding in a bomb shelter with her dog. Also, this night, there were a few huge explosions over Kyiv and we could feel it really close.

Animals were shocked and they were trying to hide everywhere. Kusia usually sleeps with me and she really was trying to calm me down this night, because I was beyond my maximum.

She’s an angel and the best kittydepressant ever. For now we’re ok with supplies like food, I think everyone has seen some apocalyptic movies, so it’s like this — high-carb food and water is a must.

But still got some problems with medication. I hope with the logistics, it will soon be better. A lot of people usually underestimate the power of vibes animals can give to you, but right now we’re all in one place, living through this hell and hoping this will end soon.”

Unfortunately, there are many stories like this:

Many animals are in the shelters

Their owners try to protect them

And be strong

Animals don't understand what's happening

How can an animal understand?

Some cats are taking this well...

Some are afraid

Animals don't wage wars. They don't kill for pleasure. They don't lie about higher goals.

Poor little thing hiding

They need to be evacuated

We hope that this madness ends soon. War brings destruction, death, and suffering.

So many lives are lost, and the survivors carry trauma for the rest of their lives.

We really thought we had moved on from killing each other over a piece of land or ideas, and this caught us off guard. It turned out that you have to work on peace.

It should not be taken for granted.

Damjan