Dobby’s Diary

Day two – life in a bathroom

This is a lot better than where I was born just a few weeks ago – crouched in the dirt underneath a deck. I’m here because this human woman started putting food out for all uf us – my three brothers and one sister and my mother, who is so wild. But we didn’t understand what traps were and we went right in them. And here we are. It’s not terrible but my siblings are terrified. Me? I’m not scared of anything, because you don’t get anything in life by being afraid, and life is short, you know? At least mine will be. This woman doesn’t know that yet. 

Day four – “these two are so small!” 

The animal doctor came today and gave us all our kitten shots. She was cool about it but I could tell that she noticed my brother and I are so much smaller than the other three. She even wondered if we were from a different family of cats, because the others were so much bigger. But we were from the same mama – we were just born… different. With a few problems. 

This woman decided on names for us! They are all in a book that she loved – something called Harry Potter. My little brother with the white chest is Harry, my sister with the beautiful brown, gold and black fur is Hermione, my biggest brother with the orange fur is Weasley, and my big, fluffy grey brother is Neville. Me? I’m Dobby. I’m all black and I like the name. It sounds tough and smart, which is what I am. 

Day seven – The vibrating begins

This woman comes in to the bathroom all day long, bringing us food. Then she sits on a chair and picks us up, one by one, and puts us in her lap, and strokes us with her hand. At first I hated it, but something weird happened today. I could feel a little shudder go through my body, and then I felt like I was floating, and all I wanted was more of her hands on me. I was vibrating! It surprised her, too. She smiled and seemed so happy. She put me up to her face and kissed me, and said, “this is it! This is why we’re all here.” I’m not sure what she means, but I’m beginning to understand. 

Her friend who I can tell has so much experience with kittens comes over to see us. Hermione freaks out and bites her thumb, which we all think is pretty funny. But she also holds me and Harry real nice on her lap. When she holds Harry and sees how limp he is, she looks up at my human friend and frowns.

Day ten – the pooping starts

Something else weird is happening to my body. I’m pooping all the time. Not a lot of poop, but just all the time. I can’t help myself. Another weird thing: as I watch my siblings grow, Harry and I stay small — the same size. The woman puts us all on the weighing machine one at a time and I see her get a worried look on her face. SCOOP! She grabs me and Harry and takes us to another animal doctor, who tells her we have a parasite – a thing that grows in us, that might keep us from growing. She takes medicine home. It tastes bad. Being sick sucks.

But both me and Harry are starting to want to be held more often. When the woman holds us we curl up inside her warm clothes and it’s like being next to Mama. But she has to put me on a towel because of… you know… the poop.

Day 12 – a new mama?

A new woman comes over with her two kids to meet me! She says she wants to give me a home of my own. But then the pooping thing happens, and my human has to wrap me in a towel to hand to my new mama. I am embarrassed, but what can I do? She seems to want me anyway, and says she’ll wait until the poop thing is better and I get a little bigger. I’m not sure that will ever happen but it’s nice to be wanted! It makes me feel warm in my tummy.

Day 14 – Done with the medicine

After days of taking that nasty stuff, we’re finally done with it. Our human weighs me and Harry again, and this time when she looks at the numbers, she cries. I guess we’ve actually gotten smaller. She kisses us, and says she won’t give up on us.

Our human moves us to a special place – a circle in the middle of the room that we can’t climb out of – so that she can feed us more often without my siblings getting jealous.

I’m special, I tell ya! Proof? She now gives us tiny bits of cooked chicken all day long – and sometimes at night! It’s pretty much the best thing EVER in this world, but I wish she would stop looking so sad and worried. I’m not scared and she shouldn’t be either.

Day 16 – Not-so-fun playtime

Our human puts me and Harry back with Neville, Hermione and Weasley, thinking we can join them for playing on the stairs. But something is wrong with Harry’s legs. They won’t carry him up the stairs anymore. He just sits down and sighs. It’s hard for me, too, but I can still scramble up one if I really try.

Now our human is really upset. Once again… SCOOP! We’re put in the box and taken to yet another animal doctor. She is also puzzled, uses words I don’t understand like “birth defect” and “fading kitten” but our human shakes her head and says thanks but I’m going to keep trying. I don’t understand it, this thing she feels for us, but I’m glad she feels it.

Once we get home, Harry starts refusing food. She holds him and he is so limp and quiet, and she whispers that she will not force him to eat anymore.

Day 18 – Harry goes away

It’s dark outside and quiet, and Harry and I are snuggling and sleeping, when I feel a little shudder go through him and he doesn’t move again after that. I snuggle closer to him, and when our human comes in the morning, he is very still. She lifts him up and cries and cries while she wraps him in a pretty flowered fabric. I wish I could tell her not to be so sad. Harry is still around, and he’s not sick anymore! That should be good news.

My human says she doesn’t want me to be alone now, so first she tries putting a pretend cat with me. It works okay for a little while, but I’m cold without another kitten.

Then she tries putting me with my siblings, but my brothers are too rough with me. I don’t think they’re trying to be mean, they just want to play, and when they pounce on me and bite me in the neck, I have a hard time getting back up again. My human quickly takes the boys and puts them in another room and sticks me with Hermione who is much more gentle. It’s nice to have someone to snuggle with as my legs keep getting weaker.

Day 21 – Little me

I look at my human with new eyes. She brings me cooked chicken that I’m too tired and feel too sick to eat. When I turn my head away from her treats she gets sad again. But I feel peaceful. And suddenly I get it now – this thing she felt for me and Harry. She calls it “love” but to me it’s just… everything good and warm that connects her and me and Harry too. In this life it’s a gift she gave me – almost as good as the cooked chicken.

She goes off to call her animal doctor friend and while she goes I think maybe this is a good time to go myself – snuggled next to Hermione, feeling the love of my sister and my human and knowing because I was a good boy I’ll be back to try this whole living thing again.

She came back and I was gone, still and quiet. She plopped down in the chair and put her head in her hands and just cried and cried and said loudly that she would “never do this rescue thing again.” I want to tell her stop. Just stop. That she will go on and help other kitties like me, and that love is bigger than her hurt – and definitely bigger than little me. It almost seems like she can hear me, because she stops, picks me up and kisses me, and smiles through her tears. I think she gets it, too.