Marine Rescue Mission
Feline war refugee: Kiki the Afghan cat comes home to Houston
Kiki on Marine D.J. Gombeda's shoulder back at the base
Brian Chambers and Kiki home in Houston
Kiki, Ra-ko and Simba cuddling in their office box in Afghanistan
Kiki at Brian's parent's house in Pearland
A touching article about war and kittens has been making the Internet rounds recently, and it turns out it's got a Houston connection. The story — about a group of Marines who rescued four stray kittens at their base in Afghanistan — eventually made its way to Jezebel in an aptly named post: "Adorable Marines Rescue Adorable Kittens in Afghanistan; Cuddling Ensues."
One of those aforementioned Marines, Brian Chambers, who saved a tabby called Kiki (a boy), is a Houston native and has been in town since last week reuniting with his friend from the barracks.
Kiki was one of four kittens Chambers and his buddies rescued in November when they were just two weeks old. Kiki was stabbed in Afghanistan and badly injured, but Chambers told CultureMap that he's far from skittish. "We brought a local Afghan vet in from out of town and our corpsmen actually stapled his wounds closed. He was back on his feet in three days; it didn't even phase him."
Another of the kittens, KeyKey, went to live with Marine Chris Berry's parents in Detroit.
Kiki has been living with Chambers' parents in Pearland, and will remain there until he comes home for good next June. He reports back for duty July 18.
Of his friend, Chambers says he'll be missed. "He slept on top of my head every night. You know, you get attached."
