It was November 15, 2024, and I had settled down for a nap on top of the lazy chair recliner. Life was good. Well as good as it could get for a fourteen-year-old Russian feline. My landlords are decent. I have all the food and treats that I could want and I can come and go as I please. Naturally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is of course the land of the free and home to many free-thinking cats such as myself. But this wasn’t always the case. Many years ago, when I was just a young kitten, life wasn’t nearly as easy. I remember it like it was yesterday, though it was thirteen years ago. I was born on a rural country farm in the south of Russia. Life was hard. From an early age, I learned how to hunt for mice and small birds. Every once in awhile a saucer of milk would appear for me and my brothers. But being the youngest, it was usually gone by the time I got to it. I remember my favorite part of the day was sleeping and playing in the hay.

But all of this changed one day. The farmer and his wife who were outspoken, were arrested by the KGB. With no one there to run the farm. My brothers and I were left to fend for ourselves. The following day, I gathered as much food and supplies that I could muster and placed them in a knap sack. I didn’t know where I going, but I knew that it was my time to leave.

Sincerely,

Spooky