Digital Gallery – Issue 6

Tracing Paws

A Digital Gallery to Remember Our Beloved Furry Friends

Lai Qian

Name: Lai Qian
Background: Stray cat, rescued in 2010; age unknown
Lost: One year, got stuck in a fourth-floor screen door; found two days later
Died: April 2023, from complications of FIV (pneumonia)

My Story with Laiqian

Laqian was a stray I took in the year I started my business. At the time, we were renting a villa as our office to run a pet food business, and we always left some opened or unsellable cat food by the door to feed stray cats.
While the other cats would just stop by for a bite and leave, only Laqian came at the same time every day—and when he did, he wouldn’t let any other cats eat; he’d attack anyone who got too close.

At first, I thought he was too domineering, but later I realized he actually had a great personality. Compared to other cats, he’s exceptionally perceptive; he feels like a human soul trapped in a cat’s body. When I moved, I took he with me.

During a health checkup, it was discovered that he was infected with FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus—commonly known as “feline AIDS.” It is transmitted only through fighting, saliva, and blood, and cannot be transmitted to humans. It is said that about 5% of stray cats carry the virus. He is prone to pneumonia, and since there is no specific treatment, I give him azithromycin—crushed and dissolved in water—which I administer into his mouth using a syringe.

*New adopted a Shiba Inu as a companion*

There really was no explanation for the time it went missing. It had been living there for a long time, and then one day it was just gone. The first day, I didn’t realize what had happened—I thought it was just hiding. The next day, I sensed something was wrong, so I looked for it thoroughly and confirmed that it was really gone. I later concluded that it must have jumped out through the screen door on the fourth floor.

I was really upset. After I got over it, I spent the whole day just spacing out, and then I made a decision: to go find him.

I printed an A4-sized “Pet Missing” flyer, attached a photo, and clearly stated the reward: 5,000 yuan for finding the pet. I figured that to get something done, you first have to let people know what it is—and even more important than just letting them know is getting the word out. I printed a lot of copies and posted about a hundred of them all over the elevators and at the entrances to every apartment unit in all the nearby residential complexes.

Then I did something else. His cat food and bowl were still sitting there, and it was hard to look at them. I thought, “Since I can’t get him back, I’ll just feed this to a stray cat,” so I carried the food downstairs and placed it near where he might appear if he jumped out the window. In the evening, I went downstairs, sat down next to it, looked at the bowl, smoked a cigarette, and sat there for two hours—and then he came out on hiss own to eat. I grabbed him and brought him right back home.

It's that feeling of gaining something only to lose him again—a false alarm.

Later on, one day when I came home from work, he had already passed away. There were bloodstains scattered across the floor. I assumed he had died from pneumonia, coughing, and blood loss. When he passed away, he was curled up just as he usually slept.

I made a plaque for him to serve as a tombstone and placed him in a shoebox—which was just the right size for him to curl up and sleep in. I’d originally planned to cremate him, but since that wasn’t very convenient, I buried him in the woods behind our apartment complex. To bury him deep enough, I needed to spread lime on the ground; a friend suggested digging a hole one meter deep.I dug for about a week, starting at 10:00 p.m. every night and working for two hours, until I reached a depth of 70 to 80 centimeters—at which point I simply couldn’t dig any deeper.

It was the first cat I’d ever kept as a true pet. I’d had one when I was a kid—I treated it like a stray—but my memories of that time are hazy.Later on, I had three or four cats over the years, but it wasn’t until I got this one that I learned to treat them as family and roommates—not in the sense of children or younger relatives, but in a closer, more equal relationship. He has a personality as independent as an adult’s; he doesn’t seem particularly close to you, nor does he seem particularly distant. He roams freely around the house, never touches anything, keeps his claws retracted, and can skillfully avoid every single object. I think he’s incredibly spirited.

*The First Anniversary of Lai Qian's Passing*

💌 A Letter to LaiQian:

Laiqian:

During those two days you were missing, I posted exactly one hundred missing posters in every elevator.
That evening when you came back, I wasn’t really holding out much hope—I was just sitting downstairs, smoking and staring at that cat bowl.
When you came out, I still remember that feeling of losing and then regaining you—it was deeper than ever having had you in the first place.

Later, when you left, I came home from work and saw you curled up there, as if you were asleep.
I buried you in the woods on the hill behind our house; it took me a week to dig the hole. My hands were raw, but I didn’t feel any hardship.
You were so smart—you never knocked anything over—so I always felt that you wouldn’t have thought that hole was too shallow.

I’ve heard that when cats get to the other side, they remember the way back.
If you really do remember, don’t jump through the screen door—come in through the front door. Xiao Chai and I are waiting for you.

Textby Tao (age 40+, private business owner)
Photos by Tao, Laiqian, and Xiao Chai (dog)

Tracing Paws
We’ve all experienced the heartbreak of parting with a pet, but sometimes we have nowhere to share it. We understand that empty feeling when you come home from work, open the door, and don’t see that familiar figure; we also understand those moments tucked away in your phone’s photo album—moments you’re afraid to look at but can’t bear to delete. This space allows those of us who have lost our furry friends to connect with others who’ve gone through the same experience, to heal together, and to find closure.