On our wonderful month-long trip to rustic San Miguel de Allende, we had the pleasure of an unplanned encounter we didn´t quite expect…
This is the story of Conchita, the thousand-year-old cat we met in the heart of Mexico…
Casa Rustica
In our upcoming Top 10 Things to do in San Miguel, we talk about staying at Merle´s Casa Rustica Airbnb. There we found Conchita, a street cat, that has made this Airbnb her safe haven. But she didn´t quite like all the Airbnb guests that would walk around her courtyard. The other street cat, young Pancho, loved all the attention. But Conchita is a whole different story. This thousand-year-old grey-haired cat has had a rough life. She is as old, beat-up, and rusty as a cat can be. Tired, weak, skinny, frail, grumpy, dirty, stiff, and just visibly done with life. The only thing keeping her alive was life itself.
The first time I saw her, she was very skittish, afraid, and didn´t trust us at all. When I attempted to touch her, she let out this hissing sound cats tend to make, but it was like she smoked a million packs of cigarettes. Her voice was so raspy…
A little side project while traveling
I then set out a mission: in this month of me being here, I will make her final chapter in her long rough life a little better.
The first thing to do was gaining some trust. So when I passed her very slowly, making her feel comfortable with me walking in her general area. I even made a soft clicking sound, so she could recognize me by my sound (she seems kinda blind, but her hearing seems perfect). She would immediately move away from me when I came close, looking pissed off and just really tired off to displace herself her whole miserable life. About a year ago, she found comfort in Merle´s courtyard, who has given her a place to be safe. But still, she was very untrustworthy, and wouldn´t let anybody touch her. Petting her, and her liking it, was another long-term mission!
This poor old cat seemed damaged, mentally and physically. She even had some bad-looking markings on her mouth and neck. And little dickhead Pancho wasn´t letting her have any space in his domain. He would regularly slap her if she became too comfortable.
But, with all that being said, could I win her trust? Would she regain trust in humanity after all that she´s been through? Could I tame Pancho to be nicer to Conchita? I didn´t look like I could…
Taking her to the vet seemed quite impossible. And sedating her to move her would probably kill her because of her old little heart…
Tuna to the rescue
Conchita was quite skittish in the first week. She would move out of the way every time anybody came close to her. And then it dawned on me: this ancient kitty must love tuna as any other cat! So I bought a can and seduced her with the intense smell of tuna. Wow! Her behavior was actually quite funny because she clearly never had tuna in her long and miserable cat life. I don´t even wanna think about what she ate while being in the streets all these years. She devoured the tuna with passion!
And then after looking down to the ground for all these days, she finally looked up and looked me in the eye. As if she was to say: `who, in the hell, are you, giving me this heavenly food?!`.
Never had a bed
I noticed that Conchita would always lay on the hard cold tiles in the courtyard. She would sleep there at night, and during the day. When the sunbeams would enter the courtyard, she would move her old body towards the warmer tiles. The other cat, Pancho, would have the confidence of walking in the living room area and sleeping like a spoiled prince there, but Conchita was too shy to even enter (and she was too dirty, probably too stiff to really clean herself!).
Did Conchita ever have a dedicated place for herself where should could sleep, chill, relax, and feel at home?
So, in the last week of being in San Miguel, I bought her a Mexican basket (the best thing I could find), filled it up with old newspapers and an old mat (the best stuff I could find), and tried to build a little spot for her in Merle´s green and colorful courtyard, right next to our room. And of course, Conchita looked at me like I was being a noisy nuisance, but when I lured her into the basket with tuna, she immediately loved her new spot!
I was very surprised she adopted this basket as hers so fast. It was her new little place. Her basket. Her home. Aaaahhww!
Buenas dias Conchitaaa!
When we woke up the next morning, we checked if she was there, and lo and behold, Conchita was knocked out, curled up, sleeping like a baby! She woke up from my heart melting and telling her softly ´buenas dias Conchita, did you sleep well?´. She did.
After a couple of more tuna cans, making clicking sounds for many weeks on end, and sitting close by her for a couple of times, I could finally pet her!
She extended her stiff old neck, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the petting she probably hadn´t had in years. Or even ever.
Mission accomplished.
Unexpected travel stories
I love traveling, not only because of the breathtaking vistas, the delicious food, and the epic adventures but also because of these little simple unexpected side stories. You would never encounter a thousand-year-old neglected Mexican street cat in your safe and picture-perfect suburb. You find these unique and spontaneous encounters only when you travel!
Conchita, I hope I made the final chapter in your life a little better. I think I did.
Wanna see more of the adventures we had in SMA? Check out our Instagram Stories!
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