(This story is part of the refugee exodus coverage from Ukraine to Romania in March 2022)

The old couple seem to be in their mid seventies. All they have on them are 5 old tattered bags. 3 of them are meowing.

The old man tells us that when the bombing started all around their house, they didn’t have much time to pack, but “котики это святое» which means their beloved cats is their most essential possession. The literal translation is “the kitty kats are sacred”, and it stems from the old Slavic tradition: when the house is on fire, the first thing you grab is the holy icons from the home altar.

For this couple, these cats are now the only proof of God.

The rest is on fire.

“I’ve never seen a nation with so many pets”, says the astonished animal rescue volunteer. The border crossing is alive with dogs, cats, an occasional ferret or a chinchilla, and then Sima the bunny arrives in his pink carrier, immediately drawing a crowd of instant fans.

Here at the border, seeing babies and pets is what helps us all regain our faith in humanity.

When I see Tania and Valera I beeline straight to them. A cappuccino hued pitbull and a matching Sphinx cat looking annoyed at literally everything is a sight too joyous to miss even at the best of times, so I go to get my dose of happy. Turns out, this is just a sample: they have a total of 8 dogs and puppies, and 3 shivering Sphinx cats with them in the car.

Just as I’m about to start feeling too happy about this splendid zoo on wheels, they calmly tell me that’s the only thing they have left. Because they are from Irpen suburb of Kiev where the civilians were shelled for days on end. So all they now have in life is these 11 souls depending on them.

And even though 3 of them are very easily annoyed at literally everything, still, котики это святое.

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