The Story of Cat Kisa
Support even in the most difficult times – Project Kishka
In the end of October 2022, FOUR PAWS launched Project Kishka (Kishka means ‘female cat’ in Ukrainian) to help the stray cats of Ukraine, who often suffer in silence. While the project has been launched in the Ukrainian cities Chernihiv and Sumy so far, we notice that the demand for support happens to be in other parts of the country as well. Veterinarian Oleksandr Nazaryshyn – who is also our Project Kishka Coordinator – is approached by caring people that nevertheless these challenging times look after their pets, or strays in the neighbourhood. They want them to be taken care of, to be vaccinated and protected.
It is heart-warming to realise that although stray cats are on their own, they are not completely alone: There are still many caring people that try their best to help them.
Kisa – A cat that knows what she wants
One example is cat Kisa – a cat that was treated by our veterinarian Oleksandr Nazaryshyn when he came in contact with Irina Kisileva. Irina is an elderly lady that did not have the possibility to flee the country when the war started, and therefore still lives in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
About 3 years ago, a little kitten with a determined personality showed up at her doorstep and basically decided that she belonged there. Irina allowed this: First and foremost because she fell in love with the tiny kitten, and also because the cat simply did not take no for an answer. She was called Kisa, which basically stands for “kitty kitty kitty”: a cute and very short way to call a female cat.
Kisa grew up to be an independent, stubborn cat lady with a strong character: Most of the day she wanders around minding her own business, and she is not very fond of people – apart from Irina. They have a very strong bond and every evening Kisa comes back to the woman who feeds her, cares for her and loves her. Irina is the only person in the world that is allowed to cuddle Kisa.
Cat Kisa and her owner Irina Kisileva in Kyiv, Ukraine
She is an independent cat that knows exactly what she wants and who she likes.
Eventhough, Kisa is always out and about, she comes back to Irina in the evenings.
As a kitten, Kisa turned up at Irina's doorstep and came back ever since.
About Project Kishka
We are glad that we could support Kisa and Irina by providing her with all necessary vaccinations. Until the end of the year 2022, 461 cats were treated within Project Kishka.
