A little cat was born about a year ago in a part of Taipei called Nanshihjao.
She was part of a litter of only two, and she was the only one to survive.

A few weeks later, a sweet Canadian asked a Taiwanese friend about finding
a kitten for his girlfriend. Christmas was coming, and the sweet Canadian knew
his girlfriend would love to have a kitten, but that she would never get one for
herself, because it wasn't very practical to get a kitten in Taiwan, now, was it?

The Taiwanese friend had a friend who had a kitten to give away. The friend lived
in a small apartment with his mother, and there were already four cats in the house,
see, including the new kitten's mother. On Christmas morning, then, the Canadian
girlfriend gleefully unwrapped a can of cat food; on Boxing Day, the two Canadians
and their Taiwanese friend trekked out to Nanshihjao in a taxi, with a cardboard box.

The little kitten, which was referred to as Dien-dien (meaning little dot or spot),
was very shy. The Canadians were invited to stay for a big hot-pot lunch, and the
kitten spent much of their visit under the couch. She ventured out at one point, but
when someone tried to pick her up, Dien-dien ran and hid behind the refrigerator.
She was so tiny, and so fast! Finally, she was captured and put into a pink carrying
case that the friend of the friend loaned to the Canadians. From the moment they all
returned to the Canadians' apartment in Taipei, the little xiaomao brought joy (and
shredded toilet paper) into their lives -- but it turned out that she wasn't a dien-dien.

No, she was a Beatrix.

And now, here she is. She has moved halfway around the world. She no longer
runs and hides. She goes outside and picks fights with the neighbourhood cats.
She sleeps in the people's bed. She chases her tail. She drinks from the toilet.
She meows very loudly. She brings joy and leaves bitemarks. She is a year old!