Vilniushka: from Humble Beginnings to a Truly Pampered Ending.

All the way across the ocean, where Vilniushka joined the family of three other cats, previously rescued by Ms. Letitia during her trips to Russia!The narration of not-so-ancient events by Vilniushka's mom, presented below, shows that love indeed knows no boundaries and that animal people are the BEST people, wherever they live.

We'd like to sincerely thank Ms. Letitia not only for adopting Vilniushka, but also for her support and attention to "Pifas". Ms. Letitia, you ARE an angel for animals, God bless you!

"Whenever I look at Vilniushka lying in the sun, or sleeping on a warm radiator, I think back to New Year's Day 2008, when I found her in the abandoned tourist market on Pilies between Sv. Jono and Svarco Streets. The temperature was about -10C, the pavement was snow swept, none of the merchants were there selling their souvenirs, and here was this little white stray cat hiding inside a merchandise kiosk, all huddled and cold. I knew Vilniushka already from several earlier trips to Vilnius when I saw her in the Old Town and fed her myself. So I was on the lookout for her, as I knew she would be hungry. And there she was. She ate three packages of Whiskas, and then she walked off into the courtyards and alleyways of Vilnius old town. I could only hope she had adequate shelter in some cellar, but at least I knew she had eaten her fill for the day.

On September 1 it will be one year since Vilniushka left the Old Town streets for life in a home. I remember in June, 2008 when I asked the ladies who sell souvenirs on Pilies if they minded if I adopted Vilniushka and took her to the US. One of them started to laugh and asked, "Do you think we mind if you take that cat off the streets for a much better life in the US? We would love you to adopt her!" So with help from PIFAS, which I contacted in July, 2008, I did adopt her and take her to the US in October. For about six weeks, from early September to mid-October, she lived in the apartment of a PIFAS volunteer in Vilnius, after which she came to the US with me. Of course, the flight from Vilnius to Boston was hard on her, and she meowed almost constantly from the time I arrived at the Vilnius Airport to late that night in the US when I deposited her in my laundry room with her own food, water and litter box. During the trip she only stopped meowing when she fell asleep from exhaustion on a couple of occasions. She even meowed all the way from Boston to my home in Vermont, and frequently scratched my legs through the carrier as I drove homeward in the night.

Since her arrival last October she has blossomed into a loving, chatty cat who even has her own little quirky sense of humor. She has the sweetest disposition, always happy to see me, always interested in being pet, greeting me with her chirpy little meow. When I lie on the sofa and watch TV, she walks along the edge, back arched, tail in the air, flirting with me in order that I pet her and scratch her neck. We spend many evenings that way. Some night she sleeps with me on the bed, all curled up in a ball, but more frequently, she sleeps next to my dog on his blanket. It's very cute.
She runs the length of the house as she plays with her toys, and jumps and dances around these crackly, aluminum-foil balls that are her favorites. Whenever I buy fresh cherries from the market and leave them in a bowl on the table, I find several of them on the kitchen floor the next morning. She flicks them out of the bowl with her paw, and then she plays with them all over my white kitchen floor. (So I have to clean up most of the kitchen floor the next morning.) Now that summer is here she lies on the windowsills for hours in the sun. I have screens in all my windows so she's safe from falling. She has a cute way of lying on the sill with her hind legs extended backward, making her look a bit like a frog. She will often see me coming home when I am still out on the street. And when I open the door to the house, she's waiting there right for me - almost as devoted as a dog!

I thought I was totally crazy a year ago when I began the effort to adopt her. I was not very optimistic that everything would work out, but it did, thanks to the energy and optimism of the PIFAS volunteers and the ladies at the market (one of whom actually caught her in her market stall which allowed me to take her off the street), every thing worked out Vilniushka's story has a truly happy ending, as she's no longer on the street, she's loved and she has everything she needs - and more - from me. And most of all, a full stomach and a warm radiator sure beat the cold, hungry street in the dead of winter."