Mumbai, India, What began as a desperate rescue effort has, more than a year later, turned
into a gesture of thanks reaching dozens of stray cat caregivers across Mumbai. Content
creator Sawan Koull recently distributed 100 kilograms of cat food to individuals who feed
and care for community cats in the city, fulfilling a promise he made while his rescue kitten,
Laxmi, was fighting to stay alive.
Sawan found Laxmi on 19 June 2025. She was little more than a few weeks old, severely
weakened, and in a condition that immediately raised concern. A veterinary check confirmed
the diagnosis: feline herpesvirus, an infection that, left unmanaged in a kitten so young and
frail, can quickly become fatal. The veterinarian was direct about the uncertainty ahead,
Laxmi's chances of pulling through were genuinely in question.
The days that followed were, in Sawan's own words, some of the most difficult of his life. He
found himself balancing hope with the very real possibility of loss, spending long hours
managing Laxmi's treatment and monitoring her condition for any sign of improvement or
decline. It was during this period of fear and uncertainty that he made a private commitment,
not for public attention, but as a personal bargain born out of desperation and love. If Laxmi
survived, he decided, he would use her next birthday to do something meaningful for the
people who feed Mumbai's street cats every day, usually with little support and even less
recognition.
Laxmi's recovery did not happen overnight. It took sustained veterinary care, patience, and
consistent attention over several months before her condition stabilised and then steadily
improved. Slowly, the kitten who had once struggled to survive became a healthy, active cat,
a transformation Sawan describes as one of the most meaningful experiences of his life as a
rescuer.
When Laxmi's birthday arrived this year, Sawan kept the promise he had made twelve
months prior. Rather than a conventional celebration, he arranged for 100 kilograms of cat
food to be distributed directly to caregivers across the city, the people who routinely feed
stray and community cats out of their own pocket, often on foot, in all weather, without any
formal recognition for their efforts.
"I wanted to thank the people who do this work every single day, often without anyone
noticing," Sawan said. "Laxmi's recovery gave me a reason and a reminder to give back in
her name. It felt like the right way to close the loop on everything we went through together."
Sawan said the timing and structure of the distribution were deliberate. Rather than treating
Laxmi's birthday as a private milestone, he wanted it to serve as a point of connection with
the wider network of people who quietly sustain animal welfare efforts in Mumbai, feeders,
volunteers, and everyday residents who look out for the cats in their neighbourhoods.
He also spoke about what he hopes the story communicates more broadly. "Laxmi's journey
wasn't easy, and there were moments I genuinely didn't know how it would end," he said. "But it turned out okay, and I think that's worth sharing, not just because it's a happy ending,
but because it shows what consistent care and attention can do for an animal that has
nothing."
Sawan added that he hopes the initiative encourages more people to consider rescue and
adoption, and to recognise that even modest, recurring efforts, such as regularly feeding a
stray cat, can meaningfully improve an animal's chances of survival and quality of life.
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