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When I was just about to turn 18 and move out on my own, I wanted a cat to take with me, so I went to the shelter in search of a kitten. I'm Wiccan, and I loved the idea of having the cliche black cat... so when I saw the little black kitten with the raspy meow, I fell right in love.

It turned out that he had a respiratory infection and was scheduled to be euthanized that day. I nursed him back to health and named him Talvi (Finnish for "winter"). He has been my constant companion for 13 years now, sitting in my lap while I knit or read, and he's never more than 10 feet away from me when I'm home.

Recently, he went missing when I was out of town. My husband didn't tell me until I returned. He sat me down on the steps to our house and told me that Talvi had been missing for three days. To say I was devastated is a massive understatement. I couldn't eat or sleep for days, and I cried constantly. I went out every night between 2 and 4 a.m. to look for him, since the internet said that was the best thing to do.

Finally, almost two weeks after he went missing, I spotted what I thought was him in a neighbor's yard. He disappeared under the deck, but we managed to trap him the next day. He turned out to have a kidney stone a few days later, and he had to have major surgery for that.

He's better now and is even more attached to me than ever before. Where he used to sleep at my feet, he now sleeps curled up against my belly. He's very talkative, and his raspy meow is still the welcome accompaniment to my daily activities.

Story submitted by Megan from Stone Mountain, Georgia.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!