An amazing year for rescue Ninja

Hello – The Don here.  Hope for Romanian Strays has asked me to do a number of interviews for the anniversary celebrations and I am honoured to kick off with an interview of my own adopted sister Baby Ninja.  This time last year my mum drove to Konstanz in Germany to pick up a tiny, skinny little black kitten that Hope for Romanian Strays had rescued from being thrown out on the street.  Baby Ninja was one of a group of around 20 cats and kittens that the charity had offered to help the owner with, before the owner turned round and decided to throw them all on the street. Link to Baby Ninja’s original blog post

The Don: Hello Ninja – are you ready for your interview?

Ninja:  Oh yes!  I am so excited to be here today and to be able to share my story!! *Ninja runs around in circles full of excitment*

The Don: Yes … so I see.  Well let’s start with this time last year.  Can you briefly fill us in on how it is you came to blight …. sorry I mean delight my life?

Ninja: Well I was in a pretty grubby place with all my brothers, sisters and cousins and we were not really being well looked after.  We were not very happy there and lots of my younger brothers and sisters died, and then it looked like things were going to get worse!  Our owner had decided she didn’t want us anymore and was going to through us out!  Can you believe it?!!

The Don: It is hard to imagine.  Do carry on …

Ninja: Well fortunately for us Hope for Romanian Strays stepped in and offered to take us all and to try to find us new homes. I was one of the really lucky ones because your mum, now my new mum, offered to take me, even though she thought you may not like me. *Ninja chuckles* Like you wouldn’t like me!

The Don: Hmmm yes ….

Ninja: Anyway that was how I ended up coming to live with you in Switzerlands last August.  Wow that seems so long ago doesn’t it?

The Don: It certainly does!  So can you tell me some of the highlights for you from the last year?

Ninja: Well the first would have to be living with such an amazing brother and mum – I love playing with you and our play tunnels, and running around the flat and pouncing on you.  And I love it when mum gives me tuna as a treat.

The Don: Oh yes tuna is great … not so sure about the pouncing …

Ninja: But I think the other main highlight for me has to be the news that some of my other brothers and sisters also found great homes.   Jack, who you interviewed last year too, found a great home in Italy, and my sister Candy found a wonderful home with our Swiss cat-sitter Christa’s mum.  It really was awesome that Hope for Romanian Strays managed to find so many of us kittens new homes, and in such a short time too.

The Don: Yes that was pretty amazing!  Now do you know how Candy is doing?

Ninja:  Oh yes I heard from Auntie Christa that Candy is doing great – she is a little whirlwind and bundle of energy.  She is very sweet and a bit cheeky and apparently she is head over heals in love with her big brother Reggie.  Sounds a bit like me right?

The Don: hmmpth yes it does!

Ninja: She is very happy and her new family absolutely adore her.  So another great success story.

The Don: Now I know that some people are a bit wary of taking in a Romanian stray.  Can you talk a bit about why it is such a good idea? I know we were scared that you wouldn’t fit in or would be disturbed in some way.  We did have some health scares with you when you first arrived but then you were incredibly tiny and frail …

Ninja: Yes absolutely – I really was on death’s door when I was rescued so it took me a while to build up some strength but with a bit of love and TLC I was fine.  And whilst I know you sometimes think I am disturbed when I pounce on you *Don nods in the backgroud*  on the whole I am a very healthy little cat and show no signs of the trauma I went through.  We really are very adaptable – in fact this is highlighted by our recent move wouldn’t you say?

The Don: True – to fill our readers in Ninja and I moved from Basel in Switzerland to Barcelona, Spain, six months ago and then, last week, moved back to Switzerland again.  Mum drove with us from Basel to Barcelona and then we flew last week from Barcelona to Zurich, and I have to admit that little Ninja was incredibly brave and settled in straightaway, both times, to our new homes.

Ninja: So I think that shows people don’t need to worry to much – taking in a stray cat or dog is actually easier than people think, in part because we adapt so quickly but also because we have so much love and joy to give.

The Don:  Yes this is true.  I think the happiness that an animal brings really should not be underestimated.

Ninja: And for people considering giving a dog or cat a home I would definitely look to Hope for Romanian Strays for a number of reasons.  Firstly the dogs and cats in Romania live in dreadful conditions, there are regular mass poisonings of strays  where the animals die horrible deaths.  The ones that are in shelters do not have it much better as the conditions there are pretty bad too.  Any animal that is living in a cage in a shelter will welcome a new home – even if it is small and without a garden – anything is better than the misery and danger of being a Romanian stray.

The Don: True – I mean we don’t have a garden and are indoor cats but have a ball of a time running around the flat!  So if your highlights from this year were finding a home and seeing some of your brothers and sisters find homes what would you like to see happen this coming year?

Ninja: Well that’s easy!  First I would love to see my brothers and sisters from Romania who are still in foster care with Auntie Aniela find their own forever homes – that really would be fantastic!  I would also like to see some of the new rescue kitties find homes and I would love to see Hope for Romanian Strays get even more support and donations so they can help even more stray dogs and cats this year!

The Don: I second that!  Well I think on that note I will say thank you for your time Ninja, and for being so well behaved during the interview.  You did take a bit of getting used to be but I do love you lots now and I am happy we gave you a home.  I also really hope that some people reading this interview might feel inspired by your lovely story to also consider taking in a stray cat or dog from Hope for Romanian Strays, or perhaps even just make a donation to help with the food and vaccinations for some of the strays.

Thank you and please support us by sharing our posts and donating via paypal: hopeforstrays@yahoo.com