08/02/2026
“Paka wa Coast” 🐈🌴
If you grew up at the Coast, you already know the stories.
Cats that stare too long.
Black cats that appear at the “wrong time”… Nuksi!
Cats people whisper about… uchawi, majini or something unseen.
So let me tell you about the cat I met the other day.
I was visiting a relative in the neighbourhood. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed a cat seated quietly on one of the steps, almost deliberately, as if it was waiting for me. Calm. Still. Unbothered.
At first, I thought nothing of it. Just another paka wa mtaa.
Then I moved closer.
The cat slightly tilted its head, almost intentionally, revealing what immediately caught my eye. A large swelling just below its right ear. For a moment, it looked like a two-headed cat. And yes, I know what some people would immediately think.
I paused.
The cat locked eyes with me. Not threatening. Not mystical. Just…pleading.
If cats could talk, this one was saying, “Please, see me.”
Creepy? Maybe.
Black magic? Not even close.
What followed surprised me even more.
The cat calmly adjusted itself like a well-trained patient, turning its head to give me a better view. When I examined the swelling, it winced slightly. Pain, not possession. Then it requested to climb onto my lap and sat there quietly, trusting.
At that moment, all the cat myths faded away. I couldn’t help but remember how my mother used to call me “Abu Huraira.” Abu Huraira was the nickname of one of the companions of Prophet Mohamed ﷺ. He was a renowned narrator of hadith, whose name literally means “Father of the Kitten.” He was known for his deep affection for cats and for carrying his little kitten with him wherever he went.
Perhaps that’s why my mother chose that name for me.
In today’s language, I suppose that makes me a cat dad 😸
Here is the truth we often forget.
Cats are mammals, just like us. They get sick. They develop swellings. They suffer infections. They form cysts.
What I saw was most likely a Congenital Pharyngeal Cyst (vets will clarify).
A medical condition, not a curse. A problem of tissue, not uchawi. Something that needs care, not fear. Treatment, not stones or whispers.
And it made me think.
How many times do we, as a community, label illness as something supernatural. Whether in animals or even in humans. When it is simply biology? How many people delay seeking medical assistance because a swelling is called “something else”? How many conditions worsen because compassion was replaced with suspicion?
That cat didn’t need exorcism.
It needed medical attention.
And maybe that’s the bigger lesson.
Sometimes what we fear most is simply a cry for help wrapped in silence, stigma and old beliefs. Whether it’s a cat on a staircase or a person in our home, illness deserves understanding, empathy and proper care.
Not every swelling is a mystery.
Not every condition is spiritual.
Sometimes, it’s just medicine waiting to happen.
Let’s choose compassion over fear.
Knowledge over myths.
Care over judgment.
Because healing, whether for humans or animals, always begins with seeing, not assuming.
