Khinkali

• Age:
• Location: Armenia
• Sex: ♂
• Neutered: ✅
• Vaccinated: ✅
• Passport: ✅
• Microchip: ✅

Khinkali’s story is a frightening one—but also a fortunate one. And it is not over yet.

Khinkali appeared in a courtyard (that would later come under the care of Kotoprovod volunteers) back in 2020, when he was still a tiny kitten. Although he grew up outdoors, wonderful neighbors looked after him. He and the other cats always had plenty of food and places to shelter, and even the winters in this area are not too harsh. It was not a happy life, of course—but it was far from the worst a street cat can face.

Khinkali remained one of the last unneutered cats in the courtyard. We planned to trap, vaccinate, neuter, and return him, but catching him proved difficult. Then, one day, Khinkali disappeared. He stopped coming to his usual feeding place, where he had always been inseparable from Cheesecake, a female cat who had already been through Kotoprovod. We were terribly worried.

Then a resident of the courtyard sent us a message with a photograph. It was our Khinkali—but he looked awful. About a week earlier, he had left the relative safety of the courtyard at night in search of adventure. Unfortunately, adventure found him first: as he ran across a road, he was hit by a speeding car.

Thankfully, a night-shift employee at a nearby café witnessed the accident. He took Khinkali to a clinic, where the cat was placed in intensive care. Khinkali was diagnosed with a serious head injury that left him blind and possibly deaf in one ear.

The man did not know where a blind cat could go after leaving the clinic, so he began contacting everyone he knew who might have some connection to cat rescue. That chain of messages eventually reached a resident of the courtyard Khinkali had left on his fateful walk, and she contacted us immediately.

There was only one way we could respond. Khinkali came back under our care—but this time, he would not return straight to the street. We arranged another medical examination, which confirmed that he was blind. We also learned that some or all of his sight might return once the swelling from his head injury subsides. For now, he needs peace and quiet, medical care, nutritious food, and the correct course of eye medication. He also has an injured ear, which he made worse by scratching it severely because of stress.

UPDATE: Khinkali will not be returning to the street. There are two sad reasons for this. Our hope that his sight would return proved unfounded. One eye may recently have begun distinguishing between light and darkness, but that is the most we could hope for. Khinkali is blind.

The second reason is FIV. A rapid test, followed by PCR testing, confirmed that he has feline immunodeficiency virus—just like Pumpkin. Most likely, one of them infected the other during one of their fights in the courtyard. In an ironic turn of events, the former sworn enemies, now united by the same diagnosis, share a room—and they get along wonderfully! Sociable Pumpkin is overjoyed to have Khinkali for company, while Khinkali takes comfort in familiar scents and the presence of another cat nearby.

Like Pumpkin, Khinkali has turned out to be an incredibly gentle, affectionate, and well-mannered cat. Neither friend has any trouble using the litter box—and yes, being blind does not stop Khinkali from finding it!

Now that the swelling has completely subsided, another problem has become apparent: the injury caused his eyelids to turn inward, so his eyelashes rub against his eyes. This makes Khinkali’s eyes itchy and watery. He is scheduled for eyelid surgery on October 28. Please wish Khinkali luck!

And if you are ready to give Khinkali a place in your heart and your home right now, please contact us. We can prepare our cats for travel to families anywhere in the world.

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