In the fall of 2010, a particularly dirty cat started coming around the compound I lived in.  Unlike our spoiled indoor cat, this one looked like a half dead bobcat.  I wasn't able to do much beyond feed him until I returned the following summer.  I took him to nowzad to get neutered and vaccinated, deflead, dewormed, and medicated for various infections.  That summer and the next he would announce his presence at my window with a loud, screeching yowl that most of my housemates found obnoxious.  He would regularly sleep in my bed and spend most of his time cuddling and some of his time biting me.  Through the summer of 2012 he remained healthy and I wasn't terribly worried to leave him when I left for the winter.

Upon returning to Kabul in July, I found Bobby in terrible shape.  He had developed a very bad mouth infection and was not able to eat well, so he had lost a lot of weight.  Green pus poured out of his mouth and his fur was dirtier than usual and matted.  After taking him back to nowzad and getting him treated, I decided that I could never leave him here.  The other members of my compound, even those that normally liked animals, dubbed him "ugly shit cat" and found him too gross to take care of.  

Bobby has a bent tail and bumbs and knobs from previously broken bones.  His ears are a bit ragged and he loves nothing more than to roll around in the Kabul dust, at least until now.

I want to take Bobby home and give him the comfort he showed me when I first arrived.