Meet Nala! Nala is a unique creature that I found during quarantine. She is with me for just over a year. I found her inside an apartment building. When I first saw her, she was in very bad shape. You could see that something's wrong with her eyes, some kind of infection. After I asked all of the residents of that building and nobody would claim her or take her, I decided to foster her till I find her a good home.

While fostering her, I checked her health state. Then it was when I found out that she has a non-curable eye disease. A disease that eventually will lead to blindness. I got even closer to her but still didn't take the decision to keep her. I did that after one family took her for one week and returned her when they realized that she would turn blind. I did notify them certainly in advance but apparently wanted to check by themselves.

When I got her back, I knew that I wouldn't stand to give her away again. I decided to keep her and keep on searching for a cure for her disease. I will everything in my power to make sure she won't lose her vision!

I found Yakot in 2012 in Astana (now Nur-Sultan). At that period of my life, I was not even thinking of getting a pet.

2016. Astana city. Outside temperature -53. I was approaching my home when I heard desperate cat cries. Cries that would tear anyone's heart into pieces. Hearing them one could understand that wherever this cat was, it was dying and these cries were its last ones.

After some time, I eventually found him under a car. I almost cried when I first saw him. I saw an extremely skinny cat - so skinny that you could count his ribs just by looking. I knew that if I didn't take him home at that very moment, that night would be his last one. I decided to catch him. This took some time cuz, afraid as he was of people, he couldn't approach me. I managed to catch him only thanks to the fact that he was very hungry and couldn't resist the cat food I just got and gave to him.

He was the first animal to ever enter my apartment. I was in a panic of course. I was afraid of the diseases he might have had. The same night I took him to the vet who confirmed my thoughts that he wouldn't have survived the night. That was when it all began. Yakot opened to me a whole new world full of kindness and forgiveness. Although people obviously had treated him very badly, from the first days he showed me extreme gratefulness and trust. It took me just a couple of weeks to fall in love with this lovely creature and decide that I would never give him away.

It has been over five years now and not I have never regretted taking him in that day, not even for a moment! Now I cannot imagine my life without him!

This fluffy belly is Zhanik, or Taz-Mania, how I first named him.

Winter of 2020. Astana. I received a call from a friend, an animal volunteer also, to assist in catching a kitten that no one could. I came across two issues, finding his current geolocation and catching him. The first day I went on a search for him, I saw him. I thought it wouldn't be that hard since I have already some experience in catching big cats and dogs. Ha! Catching him turned out to be the hardest one. So, that first day after luring him with food to come to a more open space, I grabbed him instantly from the spot that cat moms use to immobilize and move their kittens. Nevertheless, the kitten started swirling around like Taz-Mania (thus, the name)! After around five minutes of him swirling, biting and scratching my hands AND legs, he managed to escape. This event followed ten days full of anger to myself and anxiety since nobody saw him afterwards.

On the tenth day, I received a call that they just saw him. This time, I went prepared! It took about one hour after me and my friend spotted him to catch him, but eventually, we did it!

Now, Taz-Mania is called Zhanik and is being spoilt in a warm house and has a wonderful caring family!