Two weeks ago, a kitten died in my arms. It began a happy day. Charlie's birthday. He had just arrived in Thailand and I knew I'd see him in less than a week. I was feeling happy with where I am, where I've been, what I'm doing, where I'm going. All was good in GH's world. She was in isolation at Lanta Animal Welfare ("LAW"), where I was volunteering, sick with Feline Panleukopenia Virus ("FPV") and not expected to last the night. When I checked on her in the morning, I thought she was dead, her eyes wide open, her gums pulled back across her teeth. Poor mite, I thought and got on with feeding and cleaning the living. The harsh reality of life at a busy animal rescue centre, I had to deal with her body; the last humane thing you can do for a dead animal; give them dignity in death. She had been on a drip and as I gently unwrapped the plaster to remove the needle from her tiny paw, it moved. Her unblinking eyes focused on me and I realised there was life. Her little heart fluttered in her chest. I shouted for the vet and wrapped the kittens cold body in a towel, cuddling her closely to warm her. She had urinated and defecated on herself. I cradled her little head in my hand and spoke to her quietly of the life she was going to lead when she got better; the mice she would chase, the garden she would roam, the warm fire she would stretch out in front of. In the 10 minutes it took for the vet to arrive, she died in my arms. One final spasm and she relaxed and was gone, her eyes still locked onto mine. She lived in pain but she died in love and with someone who cried tears for her. Two weeks later, it still hits me like a punch in the gut, whenever I think about her. She didn't even have a name. FPV is highly contagious and hits hardest at natures most vulnerable; kittens, sick and pregnant cats. By the time LAW gets to them, it's often too late to save them. FPV is a resilient virus and can survive for years in a contaminated environment, so it puts many other healthy animals at risk. Infected cats at LAW are kept in isolation, so it's time, cost and labour intensive, yet it is totally preventable. The staff here want to run an island wide vaccination programme, to bring this horrible disease under control. They aim to go out into the community and vaccinate every cat they can find, domestic and stray, free of charge, but to do this they of course need cash; to start, £1,000 (THB52,500) which will pay for 150 vaccines and get them underway in one location, with an objective of raising £10,000 (THB525,000) to enable them to vaccinate 1,500 cats in 10 different island wide locations. LAW is a registered charity and works completely on a donation basis, mainly from tourists who visit, and support from its founder, Junie Kovacs, who donates the profits of her restaurant and cookery school, Time for Lime. As some of you know, I have a big birthday coming up. Fifty fantastic years, good health, a loving family, wonderful friends, many blessings. I am lucky enough to have received a lot of emails from people asking what I'd like for my birthday and whilst I appreciate that not everyone reading this even knows me and there are many other worthy causes that people already generously support, if you are one of those that were planning on sending me a card or buying me a gift, what I'd really like instead is for you to make a donation, however small, towards this worthwhile project, which will really make a difference to so many animals' lives. I'm so lucky that I need and want for nothing (apart from a Chanel handbag, world peace and an end to animal suffering). Just £6.40 pays for 1 vaccine; 1 less kitten dying in pain and misery. In the last 10 years, the team at LAW have completely eliminated rabies from the island with their vaccination programme, as well as bringing the stray dog population on the island completely under control. To think that in another 10 years time, as I prepare to celebrate my next landmark birthday, together we could have contributed to a similar legacy with FPV, that would just be the most amazing birthday present ever. You're the best! Gill xx