My latest love affair
Its a cat. I pride myself on being an animal lover but was really only a dog lover. Until this stray cat once waltzed into our house and demanded that we give her food. Of course initially I was skeptical. "Cats are not like dogs." (Really?) Cats are selfish." (as opposed to which species that aren't?) "Cats dont reciprocate love" (I know lots of humans that way but let that be)
But she slowly and surely became my mum's third child. Our life centered around her - whether she had eaten, slept, cleaned, vaccinated, given a pillow to sleep on, given the fish bought for her. She was the first person we sought after coming home, finishing various tasks.
She idolized the microwave because all her fish and chicken and even milk, always came out, hot and piping from the microwave. You heated anything, she had to be sure it was not her food you were eating. She loved digging imaginary burrows on our hard, tiled floors. Climbing into cupboards, sitting among piled, ironed clothes and looking onto us, with bright shiny eyes.
Our arms bore testimony to her claws, that constantly scratched us. Mostly because we were constantly in her way. We brought out dusty, ghastly soft toys just so that she would get a scratching post. We got to know the local vet on a first name basis with him constantly shaking his head in a way that said "she will manage, you need not pamper her all that much."
Then one day she had a miscarriage. Right on my bed. With my sister watching throughout. We had no clue she was going to have babies. She was weak and my sister traumatised. In a weird way we wanted and did not want her to have babies again. Of course Nature did not consult us and she was going to have a litter again.
This time we were well prepared. Dietary and other wise. We were ready. And she did us proud. She had five kittens late last night and they are tiny, mewling small balls of fur. But the cat is who I am proud of. She looked tired, regal and most fragile when I saw in the morning. She looked like a little baby who was having babies of her own. Phew!
Any one for kittens?
posted by Janaki @ 10:06 PM
6 Comments:
congratulations, grandmommy-(a-species-removed) yeah, so kill me, but that's how you feel, right? right? :D
Welcome to the cat-lovers' club! It's a magical world and a small one (at least in India) but the few of us who belong in it feel very privileged and very special.
P.S. "Cats are not like dogs" is true. But why is that a bad thing? As the De Niro character says in Meet the Parents, "Dogs sell out. Cats have character."
(Ok, I sense a barrage of hate mails coming my way from doggites now!)
P.P.S. My own tribute to my cat Sandy is here: http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2004/10/remembering-sandy.html
Well, yeah, cats are much more different than dogs. During my time at home, I was faced with my family who was totally against pets, but, at the rate of one kitten at a time, they were totally won over and pretty soon we had like 13 of them (all strays) in the house at the same time! After witnessing so many of the sights you have been privy to, I still do think that dogs make for much better pets if you are looking for loyality and companionship, though, I always keep telling my doggie lover friends that it is much easier to raise kid than to raise a pup the right way :)
Thank you y'all. and yes all kittens doing fine... we at home seem to be more bothered about the kittens their eating and sleeping then our very own cat.. but the sleepless nights are yet to begin.. unless, unlike dogs, the kittens dont mewl and yip...
Cats are definitly not like dogs.. and yes most certainly not a bad thing but there is this whole school of thought that talks of loyalty, care, love and dogs in the same breath... while cats but yes have to agree with Deniro :) not on the sell out bit tho...
But am learning that cats can be ohhh so adoring.. :)
i like cats they give you a feeling that they don't really care abt u...
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