Soldier in Afghanistan Goes To Extraordinary Lengths To Take Stray Kitty Home With Him

Aug 13, 2019 by apost team

The love between a pet and his owner is powerful. When you find that special animal with whom you feel a connection, there's nothing that stops you from taking them home for good.

When Sergeant Jesse Knott of the United States Army was stationed in Afghanistan in 2010, he met a little stray cat that the locals called "Koshka," the Russian word for cat. Koshka was savage when it came to taking care of the army base's mouse problem, but a total sweetheart when it came to interacting with humans.

However, most of the locals seemed disinterested in interacting with Koshka. For Knott, however, it was hard to see this sweet little cat being ignored and neglected, he told CNN.

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Knott started grooming Koshka, using clippers to remove some paint that had dried in his fur. Although pets were strictly forbidden, the young sergeant quietly allowed Koshka to live in his office.

In December of 2011, the unthinkable happened. Two of Knott's soldiers were tragically killed by a suicide bomber. Devastated, Knott excused himself to his office to privately cry. That's when Koshka hopped onto his lap, sweetly comforting him as he wept.

It was then that Knott decided he had to bring Koshka home.

“[Koshka] pulled me out of one of my darkest times," Knott recalled to CNN. "I had to pull [Koshka] out of one of [the] darkest places."

Koshka couldn't be transported via a military plane. However, one of the local translators volunteered to help Knott bring his cat home. The translator helped to get the cat to Kabul, where he could be put on a civilian plane to the US.

After a long journey, Koshka finally arrived at his forever home in Oregon. Koshka was cared for by Knott's patents until the young sergeant was finally able to go home.

Today, Koshka is a healthy eight-year-old cat, indistinguishable from other happy and spoiled house cats. Noticeably bigger in photos, the cat has adjusted beautifully to his new life as a pet in the United States. In fact, Knott maintains a Facebook page for Koshka so that fans of the kitty from all over the world can keep up with his new life.

This story is a must-see for any cat lovers in your life so send this article on to them. Tell us below the biggest lengths you've ever gone to for a fluffy friend.