Matea noticed a little ball of fluff on the side of the road a few months ago while she was riding her bicycle home from work. The fluff turned out to be a little stray cat that was wandering alone close to a major junction as she biked closer.
People weren’t even pausing to look at him, Matea said, “which made me know he probably wouldn’t get the treatment he needed.” I’ve always had a soft heart for animals in need, so when I saw this little guy wandering around without anybody giving him a second thought, I knew I had to take action.
Matea pulled over, and carefully approached the kitten. But when she scooped him up, he relaxed in her hands, as if he was grateful someone had noticed him. “He made no move to run away,” Matea said. “Maybe he realized I was there to help.”
Matea placed the kitten in her backpack, where he quickly made himself comfortable. “At first, he was a bit fussy when I put him in a backpack,” Matea said. “Soon enough, he got cozy on the dress I had in there and he fell asleep on it … I think he realized he had a soft and secure place to sleep.”
At home, Matea gave the little tabby cat a name—Gizmo—and let him continue to sleep in her bag, where he felt secure. The kitten was sent to the clinic because Matea and her partner realized he was in horrible form and needed fluids, a deworming, and flea treatment.
Gizmo soon began to feel better and quickly began to show his endearing personality.
He is like the Energizer rabbit, Matea remarked, bouncing around, biting at your ankles, and playing with all of his toys. “On sometimes, he will hop on my back, as though remembering that trip on my back when I first found him.”
Gizmo and Matea have quickly settled into a routine, and the little cat always wants to be as close as possible to his mom.
“He loves snuggling up to me when I wake up in the morning and when I get back from work,” Matea said. “We start every morning with him taking a nap in my lap for half an hour while I drink my morning coffee.”
Matea is forever glad that she took the time to stop on that crucial day since she now finds it impossible to imagine her life without Gizmo.
Matea stated, “I simply want my tale to maybe encourage someone else to look out for the most vulnerable creatures and help in any way they can.
