Boira. Barcelona, 2018 (iPhone 6)
Sometimes you can find the best subject matter right at home.
This is Boira (“Foggy”, in Catalan), our traumatized cat. She was from an abandoned litter that was nursed by another mom who already had a huge litter of her own. When I picked her out of the bunch, there must of been at least ten–maybe a dozen–little kittens squirming and meowing all over and around the poor, exhausted, mother cat, all looking for the coveted and limited milk faucets.
Boira runs and hides from most anything, especially loud noises or sudden movements of any kind, although she has gotten much better over the past 15 years. At first, she didn’t enjoy being held for more than a few seconds at a time–she felt trapped, I think–but now she will stay on your lap for many, many minutes. She also didn’t used to purr much; now her purr engine can get pretty revved up, especially when we return home after a few days absence.
Yes, trauma doesn’t ever completely go away…but it can be healed to some (a large?) degree by providing a safe space and giving enough loving attention.
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