Well, I knew it was going to happen eventually. Everyone warned me 8 months ago when I got the job at the cat shelter.

It will break your heart, they told me.

And, this week they were right.

I haven’t talked much about the work I do at the shelter but I know that many of you who follow my stories here also follow the stories I write for Ten Lives. So, many of you would have seen posts about a black cat named Mowgli come up in their feeds at some point.

Mowgli was a very special boy and from the moment he arrived at the shelter he captured our hearts. I remember standing in on his surgery -he came to us in great distress and his tail had to be amputated. I was there when he came out of the anaesthetic and saw him melt into the arms of our vet nurse as she comforted him.

That was meant to be Mowgli’s second chance, and after his recovery in foster care he was put up for adoption. But, as the months passed finding his furever home seemed impossible, and then things took a turn for the worse.

Today I’m sharing my tribute to Mowgli for you to read.

Read Mowgli’s tribute here.

Even if you didn’t know Mowgli yourself, it’s important to me to share his life with you.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand what lessons we learn from stories like his. Maybe there are none. But all I know is that because of the work Ten Lives does Mowgli passed away not on the side of the road as his fate had nearly decided, but surrounded by people who loved him.

This was just three days ago. So, on days like today, when the week feels utterly S##TE and my eyes are still welling up, I think about what Willow and I can do – and that’s to help other kitties like Mowgli who arrive at the shelter.

You can also donate through the two options in the gifting menu below and I’ll pass it on, or donate directly on the Ten Lives website.

Together we can spread some Willow joy all around the world. Like I say in Mowgli’s tribute, today was a sad day, but there will be happy days again.

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Thanks for reading Mowgli’s story. Next week Steph, Willow, and I are heading off in the van for an adventure and will have some photos and a story for you. Who knows what we will discover!