Sämi came running up to me one June evening, meowing loudly: limping heavily, breathing with difficulty, yet purring, with a runny nose.
At first, I thought it was Tigerlilly and that she had been hit by a car. Then Tigerlilly came running up – and I realised that the animal in front of me was someone else. I had never seen this young cat before.
Because he had such a badly runny nose, I brought him into the apartment to separate him from the other cats. Upon examination, I saw a large, festering bite wound on his hind leg, an eye injury, and that heavy breathing.
I treated his wounds, administered painkillers, wiped his nose, and gave him something to eat – he was ravenously hungry. A styrofoam box became his bed.
In the morning, off to the vet: surgery, neutering, nearly a week of inpatient care, fever, IV antibiotics. Fortunately, his FeLV test came back negative.
Because I couldn't take him to Switzerland due to his missing rabies vaccination, I placed him with an acquaintance. After a few days, Sämi ran away. For two months, I was almost out of my mind with worry.
At the end of August, when I returned and arrived at the apartment – who was sitting on the wall waiting for me? Sämi. He was doing fine. All I could do was cry.