La historia de una Sultana / The story of a Sultana
It was a day in the middle of March 2019 and I went out in the morning to do some shopping in the center of the city, it was very sunny and I crossed a street to walk in the shade, I had barely taken a few steps when I saw on the sidewalk that a small black cat slept curled up next to a lamp post.
Como cualquier persona amante de los gatos, me acerqué para verlo, acariciarlo y confirmar que no estuviera herido. Lo toqué y se mostró muy receptivo y cariñoso, cuando me miró vi que sus ojitos tenían un poco de secreción amarillenta, lo cual me preocupó un poco. Luego lo cargué y vi que era hembra, por su tamaño calculé que tendría más o menos unos 4 meses de vida.
Like any cat lover, I went over to see it, pet it, and confirm that it wasn't hurt. I touched it and was very receptive and affectionate, when it looked at me I saw that its little eyes had a little yellowish discharge, which worried me a little. Then I loaded it and saw that it was female, because of her size I calculated that she would have more or less about 4 months of life.
Miré alrededor, en esa acera hay varias casas, una escuela y un restaurante, no había ninguna ventana ni puerta abierta para preguntar si esa gatita era de alguien, por lo que concluí que estaba viviendo en la calle y corría peligro porque cualquier carro o moto que pasara por ahí podría atropellarla, así que sin pensarlo mucho me la llevé.
I looked around, on that sidewalk there are several houses, a school and a restaurant, there was no window or door open to ask if that kitten belonged to someone, so I concluded that she was living on the street and was in danger because any car or motorcycle passing by could run her over, so without much thought I took her away.
Decidí ir primero donde un veterinario amigo que nunca se niega a revisar a los animales sin hogar que le llevan, sin cobrar nada, pero cuando llegué él no estaba, esperé más de media hora y me tuve que ir. Bueno, lo de sus ojos no se veía como algo tan grave, después le pregunté por teléfono qué medicina podía ponerle.
I decided to go first to a veterinarian friend who never refuses to check the homeless animals that they bring him, without charging anything, but when I arrived he was not there, I waited more than half an hour and I had to leave. Well, her eyes didn't seem that serious, then I asked him over the phone what medicine I could put on her.
En ese momento me dije, bueno, la tengo que llevar a la casa, no puedo dejarla de nuevo en la calle, ya le conseguiré un hogar, a alguien que la adopte.
At that moment I said to myself, well, I have to take her home, I can't leave her on the street again, I'll get her a home, someone to adopt her.
En casa tenemos dos gatas, la de mi hermana y la mía. Cuando llegué a mi mamá no le agradó la idea jajaja, a mi hermana le gustó la sorpresa. Para no molestar a nuestras gatas puse a la gatita en el baño con una cajita para que hiciera sus necesidades, agua y comida, mientras arreglaba un poco el balcón para ella.
At home we have two cats, my sister's and mine. When I arrived, my mom didn't like the idea hahaha, my sister liked the surprise. In order not to disturb our cats, I put the kitten in the bathroom with a box so that she could do her needs, water and food, while I tidied up the balcony for her.
Se portó muy bien, no maullaba, y luego en la tarde la saqué del baño para que interactuara con nuestras gatas. La de mi hermana, que se llama Ze Pequeña, quiso jugar con ella, pero Guillermina, la mía, la atacó, no quería saber nada de esa gata intrusa jajaja.
She behaved very well, she didn't meow, and then in the afternoon I took her out of the bathroom to interact with our cats. My sister's, whose name is Ze Pequeña, wanted to play with her, but Guillermina, mine, attacked her, she didn't want to know anything about that intruder cat hahaha.
Le tomé varias fotos para compartir por redes sociales y whatsapp y así poder encontrarle un hogar definitivo pronto. Luego le di un baño y la peiné, era gracioso que su pelaje siempre le quedaba como electrificado.
I took several photos of her to share on social networks and WhatsApp so that I can find her a permanent home soon. Then I gave her a bath and combed her hair, it was funny that her fur always looked electrified.
Esta gatita era de muy buen comer, cualquier cosa que le poníamos se la devoraba, ni siquiera olía primero para ver qué era, se lanzaba de cabeza sobre la comida jajaja, a los pocos días su panza se puso redonda.
This kitten was very good to eat, whatever we put on her she would devour it, she didn't even smell first to see what it was, she threw herself headfirst on the food hahaha, after a few days her belly became round.
Se dice que si no te vas a quedar con un animal es mejor que no le pongas nombre, pero no pudimos evitarlo. En esos días estábamos viendo la segunda o tercera temporada de una serie turca que tenía fascinada a mi mamá: Ertugrul, y a la esposa de Ertugrul, Halime, le decían sultana Halime. No sé por qué, nos gustó esa palabra y decidimos llamar a esta gatita negrita Sultana.
It is said that if you're not going to keep an animal it's better not to name it, but we couldn't help it. In those days we were watching the second or third season of a Turkish series that had fascinated my mother: Ertugrul, and Ertugrul's wife, Halime, they called her sultana Halime. I don't know why, we liked that word and decided to call this black kitten Sultana.
Por supuesto que nos encariñamos con Sultana, era muy risueña y juguetona, además en esos días, específicamente el 19 de marzo de 2019, ocurrió en Venezuela el mega apagón eléctrico, lo cual nos mantuvo con racionamiento varias semanas, con muchas horas al día sin luz, sobre todo en la noche, y una de nuestras distracciones en esos momentos era jugar con Sultana.
Of course we fell in love with Sultana, she was very smiling and playful, also in those days, specifically on March 19, 2019, the mega power blackout occurred in Venezuela, which kept us rationed for several weeks, with many hours a day without light, especially at night, and one of our distractions at those times was playing with Sultana.
Cada día se ponía más tremenda y a veces la convivencia con nuestras gatas se complicaba, sobre todo con mi gata Guillermina que la odiaba jajaja, entonces ya que yo no había tenido éxito en conseguirle hogar, le pregunté a una amiga que tiene experiencia en eso de dar en adopción a animales sin hogar a ver si me podía ayudar y ella me dijo que iba a tratar, divulgando la información sobre Sultana.
Every day she got more naughty and sometimes living with our cats got complicated, especially with my cat Guillermina who hated her hahaha, so since I had not been successful in finding her a home, I asked a friend who has experience in that from giving homeless animals up for adoption to see if she could help me and she told me she would try, spreading the information about Sultana.
Unos cuantos días después mi amiga me avisó que tenía a una persona que estaba interesada en adoptar a una gata para su casa porque se le había perdido la que tenía, le pregunté si era alguien confiable y me aseguró que sí. Era un señor que tenía un programa de radio sobre agricultura, ella lo llamaba “el agro-hippie” jajaja. Me dio su número de teléfono y acordamos en que yo le llevaría a la gata unos días después.
A few days later my friend told me that she had a person who was interested in adopting a cat for his house because he had lost the one he had, I asked her if he was someone trustworthy and she assured me that he was. He was a man who had a radio show about agriculture, she called him “the agro-hippie” hahaha. She gave me his phone number and we agreed that I would bring him the cat a few days later.
Cuando llegó ese día yo estaba muy ansiosa y también algo triste, ya saben, los que le han dado hogar temporal a algún animal, me entenderán, en total estuvo en mi casa casi un mes y medio. Esa tarde puse a Sultana en un bolsito y me fui a la parada del autobús, mi mamá me acompañó, jamás olvidaré la mirada de la gatita en ese momento, como diciendo “¿a dónde me llevas?”, se veía asustada con el bullicio de la calle.
When that day arrived I was very anxious and also somewhat sad, you know, those who have given temporary home to an animal, you will understand me, in total she was in my house for almost a month and a half. That afternoon I put Sultana in a bag and went to the bus stop, my mother accompanied me, I will never forget the look of the kitten at that moment, as if to say "where are you taking me?", she looked scared with the bustle of the street.
Al llegar a la emisora de radio, el Sr. Víctor, quien iba a adoptar a Sultana, estaba al aire con su programa, sin embargo me hizo señas para que entrara a la cabina y me senté allí con mi mamá y la gata. Cuando terminó lo primero que me dijo fue: “oye, gracias por traerla, la estábamos esperando, la necesitamos, ya en la casa tenemos todo listo para ella, su lugar para dormir, su comida”… esas palabras me tranquilizaron, me dieron confianza.
Upon arriving at the radio station, Mr. Victor, who was going to adopt Sultana, was on air with his program, however he motioned for me to enter the booth and I sat there with my mother and the cat. When he finished, the first thing he said to me was: "Hey, thanks for bringing her, we were waiting for her, we need her, we have everything ready for her at home, her place to sleep, her food" ... those words reassured me, gave me confidence.
Me agradó el Sr. Víctor, era exactamente como me lo había descrito mi amiga, con su cabello blanco largo, un agro-hippie jejeje, con muy buena vibra. Me pidió que le diera a la gatita para cargarla, a ver cómo se portaba con él y me contó que cuando era joven había tenido un gato negro llamado Ghandi.
I liked Mr. Victor, he was exactly how my friend had described him, with his long white hair, an agro-hippie hahaha, with a very good vibe. He asked me to give him the kitten to held her and see how she behaved with him and he told me that when he was young he had had a black cat named Ghandi.
Le dije que le había puesto de nombre Sultana, pero que claro, él podía cambiarle el nombre si quería. Conversamos un rato más, me despedí de la gatita y me fui con mi mamá. Estaba contenta por haberla dado en adopción a alguien que sentí la iba a apreciar, aunque sería difícil volver a verla porque el Sr. Víctor vive algo lejos.
I told him that I had named her Sultana, but of course, he could change her name if he wanted. We talked for a while more, I said goodbye to the kitten and I left with my mom. I was happy to have given her up for adoption to someone who I felt would appreciate her, although it would be difficult to see her again because Mr. Victor lives somewhat far from me.
Un tiempo después recibí las primeras noticias de Sultana desde su nueva casa. El Sr. Víctor me dijo que su esposa y él habían decidido seguir llamándola así, que estaba muy bien, se había adaptado de lo mejor y se portaba excelente. ¡No saben cuánto me alegró recibir ese mensaje! Y unos meses después me escribió para contarme que ahora Sultana tenía un nuevo amigo, un gato llamado Federico.
Some time later I received the first news of Sultana from her new home. Mr. Victor told me that his wife and he had decided to continue calling her that, that she was very well, she had adapted the best and was behaving excellently. You don't know how happy I was to get that message! And a few months later he wrote to tell me that now Sultana had a new friend, a cat named Federico.
Siempre es reconfortante ayudar, pero ayudar a los animales, seres que no tienen voz, es doblemente reconfortante. No duden en hacerlo, el bien siempre vuelve a nosotros.
It's always comforting to help, but helping animals, beings that have no voice, is doubly comforting. Don't hesitate to do so, the good always comes back to us.
Excepto las mencionadas con su crédito, todas las fotos fueron hechas por mí / Except those mentioned with its credit, all photos were taken by me