Pea finds a tiny, filthy kitten in a trash pile on her way to a shoot and drops everything to save it. She documents the scramble to find an open vet on a Sunday, the vet's verdict, and the kitten's recovery over the next four months. The video is also her plea for visitors not to look away from suffering animals in the Philippines.
Setup
- Pea says the way animals are treated in the Philippines will probably upset visitors, and she's been on a crusade about it for over 6 years. This story takes "a miraculous turn": "the luckiest little kitten in the world."
Finding the kitten
- While heading out to film, she finds a kitten in the trash. It isn't weaned yet, isn't making any noise, has ants around it, and is bloated and stinky.
- "This is a helpless creature. We could do better than this."
- She doesn't know anyone in the neighborhood. She asks around for the mother; nobody knows anything and nobody claims it.
- The kitten is dirty and smells, so she guesses the mother hasn't been cleaning it. Either the mother died or the owners threw it in the trash.
- She's careful to say she isn't 100% sure that's what happened, but "most of the time that's what people do here": throw animals in the trash, leave them by the side of the road, or at worst put them in a sack and throw it in the river. "Animals, they have feelings. It's just that people here... they don't really care."
- She wraps it in a cloth she found and moves it into the shade because it's so hot. It finally lets out "a tiny mew." She's afraid it's dying: "Please don't die. I can't have too many deaths in a week." She mentions what recently happened to her own cat.
Her dilemma
- She estimates it's about 2.5 weeks old. Beyond feeding, it needs to be cleaned and stimulated to poop.
- She can't take it with her because it's too young to travel, so she plans to leave it in her mom's care, while acknowledging her mom already has her own problems.
- She has two videos to film that day and is "working my butt off" to make ends meet, but "I can't just ignore this guy." It angers her that she can't save every animal in distress.
- "If he doesn't make it, at least he'll feel he was cared for. That someone cared." And: "We humans sometimes don't deserve their love and their loyalty."
Finding a vet on a Sunday
- The first vet clinic she passes is closed (Sunday, before 9:00). She needs cat formula, not just any milk, and his breathing isn't good.
- She searches online and finds a clinic that's open, though the vet hasn't arrived yet. She buys supplies there, cleans the kitten (he has eye "boogers," so she jokes about naming him Boogers), and wraps him when he shivers. He looks like a "kitty burrito."
- She tries feeding him formula with a small syringe, but he keeps falling asleep.
What the vet said
- He weighs 200 g. He's a boy, about 3 weeks old. She names him Burrito.
- Give him about a week to adjust to formula, then come back for deworming and vitamins.
- The vet said she did the right thing bringing him in since he wasn't in good shape.
- When she asked whether dumping cats in trash piles is common, the vet said it's a very common practice: some Filipinos dump unwanted kittens and puppies in the trash.
Burrito's recovery (narrated afterward)
- His swollen belly turned out to be full of worms (she warns squeamish viewers before showing it). There were so many that he wasn't getting nutrition even when he found food.
- After deworming and treatment for his eye infection, within a few weeks "it was like he was awakened from a bad dream."
- He got playful and came to find her whenever she sat down. He drank formula from a bowl nonstop and would cry for her when it was empty.
- He moved to solid food almost immediately (wet food mixed with water at first).
- A ball toy entertained him for hours. She realized it was probably the first time in his life he'd had "the luxury of playing."
- He explored her apartment, became her constant companion, followed her everywhere, and fell asleep in her arms.
- Four months later: happy, healthy, "the most laid-back cat I've ever seen." He still follows her room to room and even likes car rides.
- She promised to care for him his whole life. He went from hours from certain death to a permanent family member. "As fortunate as he is, I feel like I'm the lucky one."
Her closing appeal
- "The next time you're in the Philippines, please don't turn a blind eye to a suffering animal. You might just be walking right past your best friend."
- Outro skit: she's "the girl next door" with no costumes or superpowers who can explain all things Filipino, followed by the usual like/subscribe/Patreon ask. Gag ending: "Can I borrow a cup of sugar?" answered by a zombie voice: "Brains."
