Deployed Marine finds U.S. home for Afghan cat - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Deployed Marine finds U.S. home for Afghan cat

A 9-month-old Afghan cat is living it up stateside after a Marine downrange partnered with an animal rescue group to ship it home.

KiKi is one of several cats befriended by members of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, while the Hawaii-based unit was deployed to Patrol Base Jaker, in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. The cats — and their Marine caretakers — have become media sensations online in photos showing the unlikely pairing of burly Marines and tiny kittens.

Cpl. Brian Chambers, from Houston, said KiKi and another kitten came back with a platoon one day in late November. After buying a few more from some Afghan children, the Marines soon had a handful of cats. These unofficial pets quickly became “something to keep you sane at the end of the day,” said Chambers, who served as a base guard.

Being on base was not without danger. On one occasion, KiKi spent at least one of his nine lives, turning up with multiple gashes. His injuries required aid from a corpsman, Chambers said. Chambers knew he needed to get KiKi to the U.S. and enlisted the help of his wife, Yianna, and the Nowzad Dogs Charity.

The rescuers were able to raise the $6,000 required to send KiKi and a second cat to the states in June, said Chambers, who has been reunited with KiKi.