Monday, January 23, 2012

My Love for Cats seriously Tested

My baby Achilles sitting on me
My love for Cats is purely unconditional and unmatched. I have loved all my cats as if they were my children. But few days ago, that theory was put to some serious test. It made me question myself whether I am actually a lover of cats and animals in general, whether my love for them is real or not.

Few days ago, that is on the morning of 18th Jan at around 05:45 I heard the meows of kittens just outside my door step, near the front gate. My Mom had already woken up because of the meows (Even she loves cats as much as I do), and few minutes later I woke up as well. It was still dark and when we turned on the lights, we saw two tiny kittens of ginger color of about 5 to 6 weeks old, obviously scared and confused, calling for their mama. We figured out that someone knew that people love cats in this (our) house so they must have dropped off the kittens at our door step hoping we would definitely take care of it.
Minutes after they came to our house, feeling cold and scared. Resting for now.
So I tried to slowly invite them into our house by providing them with some milk. They were very scared but somehow made their way in the house. It was damn cold outside as well. First couple of hours I tried all the tricks to make them feel comfortable, usually it works very well but they decided to take refuge under the cot for now. The whole day they were screaming, even though we understood their situation, it became unbearable even for my mom who is such a huge lover of cats. In the meanwhile one of them decided that the area behind the Television set was the bathroom and decided to poop there. My mom silently cleaned it; I didn't hear a word of anger or disgust from her. I knew she was getting tired of it already. At the end of the day my mom was very tired and so was I, trying to control the kittens and make them go to sleep.
After a few hours both kitties felt a little comfortable and decided to take a nap.
The following day we decided that at least we should give them up for adoption, mom asked me to post an online ad about it. I wasn't willing to let either one of them go, wanted to keep them both. But already there was some tension among the only cat still with us from Alicia's descendants, named Zorro which is 10 months old now. So Zorro didn't like the fact that there were intruders in the house and started hissing at them, and the fiery kittens actually returned the favor by hissing back at him. This went on for a while; my mom has had enough at this point. So I asked my best buddy Rajiv, who is also a cat lover to adopt one of them. So he came to our house and decided he will take the female kitty (the other one is male). I felt gutted to separate the kittens but we had little choice at that point. So we got a basket ready, trying to make the kitty as comfortable as we can, placed the kitty in it. I sat pillion to my friend who was riding the bike with the kitty in the basket I was holding. It was a 25 minute journey but the kitty was so scared, it constantly kept meowing throughout the ride, even though I did my best to console her. Her screams broke my heart. But 4 days later, which is today I hear she has become pretty comfortable in their home.
The last time both kitties were together. Enyo on the left and Achilles on the right.
Meanwhile, when I came back home the other kitty was still screaming as he wanted his sister back. My mom has been consoling him for a while but to no avail. He wanted to get out of the house, constantly scratching the front door, asking us to open it. This is when I made the biggest mistake, almost sinful. I let the kitty go outside thinking I would follow him and bring him back again. Thankfully there were no dogs around. But as soon as I let him go, he ran into those drainage pavements, I tried to keep up with him from the outside, he had gone some 50 meters away from the house, nearing the end of our block. I was afraid he might stumble on to the road where the traffic is slightly heavy, even though it was not a main road. I kept calling for him from the outside; he would respond with meows but would not come out. This continued for the next 10 minutes and then he came out and hid under a stationary car. I tried to persuade him to come out, he finally came out but started running on to the road, I tried to grab him but he bit me on my index finger and scratched both my hands. I was bleeding and he again went back under the drainage pavement. I came back home dejected and furious at my self for my stupidity for letting the kitty out. My mom was nursing my wounds; I was almost shattered because I thought I would never see that kitty again. My mom was consoling me, saying he would come back on his own. Half an hour later I went in search of him again, I could see the pavement where he went under from the main gate of my house, I saw him at the same place where I had left him earlier, still screaming. I called him, and this time he came running towards me after he saw me and ran straight in to the house. I felt so happy and relieved at that moment. I would have never forgiven myself if something would have ever happened to that kitty. Finally he is home and safe and since the past few days he has become very comfortable with us. But still there is some tension with the kitty and Zorro; hopefully they would get along in the coming days.

As he was so brave and courageous I have named the kitty Achilles, in honor of the brave Greek King and the other kitty's name as Enyo - Twin sister of Achilles in the Greek mythology.

But that incident really made me question my love for cats and animals. For now, I am really happy as I was in some way responsible for those two kitties getting a home for themselves and assured that they would be taken care of really well.

All's well that ends well. :)

39 comments:

  1. Cat is the only animal which reminds man that not all animals are made to serve humans :)
    loving them and understanding them is bit difficult i guess :) ??

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    1. Very true.Gaining a cat's trust is really difficult and maintaining it is even difficult. But the love they shower on us is truly unconditional. :)

      Thanks for ur comment bro. :)

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  2. tried to comment a few times earlier, finally.

    cool post, loved it.

    i have two kittens and everyday ppl come to take them. but they r not going anywhere. right now they r learning how to send mail :D. also they r responsible for some of the typos on my post :D

    absolutely enjoyed the read. and u r a good boy :)

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    1. Thanks a lot Deb, finally you were able to comment on this post :D

      Ahh!! I was wondering how you make some silly typos on your posts. Now I know! :P Also please teach my Achilles how to send mail as well! ;-)

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  3. Very interesting incident. You do truly love the cats.

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    1. Thanks a lot Rajesh. That incident kinda shook me up. :)

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  4. Such a touching incident. Very sweetly told. I really admire your love for cats. :) Very moving.

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    1. Thank you Raj, really appreciate your comment. I really liked your take on the Parallel Universe theory. Would love to read more. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. No wonder they say cats have 9 lives!
    Those kitties are sure lucky to have found you!

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    1. Thank you so much Deepak. Really appreciate it. Yes I'm so happy those two kittens found a caring home for themselves. :)

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  6. surely someone who knows ur mom n u love cats left them at your doorstep which is fortunate for them

    like the names you kept for them n the logic too behind it

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    1. Thank you Ma'm. That's what we thought when we saw the kittens that too so early in the morning. :)

      And the name, I thought of the name Achilles because of his behavior and characteristics. Coincidentally the movie Troy was on air when I thought of naming him. :)

      You asked me it was time for a new post, well your wish is my command Ma'm. :D

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  7. Why do u have a doubt about your love for cats?..I would have never done something like that..your narrative is very nice..:)

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    1. I Love Cats but I was stupid enough to let him out. And the fear of something happening to him made me think whether I actually love cats or not. :)

      Thanks a lot Keerthana for your kind comment. Very much appreciated. :):)

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  8. I have presented The Versatile Blogger Award to you
    http://intertwinedthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/01/versatile-blogger-award.html

    Hope you enjoy it!

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    1. Hey Divya, thank you so much for the recognition. :):) I don't know whether I deserve it but I'm really thankful to you. :)

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  9. I am really impressed by the efforts you took to settle both of them.

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    1. Thank you so much Sir, happy to see your comment here. Just doing my part. :) I may not be able to rescue all the stray cats in my locality and provide them with food and shelter but I'll definitely do whatever I can to help them. :)

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  10. That's so sweet of you Akshay. Your love for cats is truly divine...Love the shots...:)

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    1. Thanks a lot Saru :) Yes, I absolutely love them, can't spend a day without their love and care. :)

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  11. i have parrot as my pet and i love him
    i thought of having a cat as pet
    but than my parrot will not be happy ;)
    nice post
    http://drivingwithpen.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks a lot Chirag. Parrots are lovely to have as a pet too. :)
      I can understand what might happen if you bring in a cat when you have a parrot. ;-)

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  12. hmm.. they can be messy! I remember loosing my kitten and running arround every street (with tears) until I found him sitting in our balcony! but as soon the anger goes off.. we love them as always.. nice post.. and lovely pics..! they look happy together.. :)

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    1. I can totally empathize with you on that. :) I have lost a few cats myself, I still don't know where they are, if they are still alive or not. One fine day they just leave the house, never to comeback. :(

      Thank you so much for your comment. Really appreciate it. :)

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  13. Finally you passed the test God had put you through for the love of kittens. As i was reading, for a while, even i thought probably with the arrival of the new baby cat, you would just loose yourself and let him leave. But thats great, you didn't disappoint me, you took care of both the kittens and given them the love they needed and also got throught the test. Happy ending isn't it?

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    1. Thank you Elvirah. I was really furious at myself for my stupidity but finally I'm happy both kittens got a new lease of life. My love for cats was seriously tested, I'm really glad I passed the test. :):) Yes, a happy ending indeed. Achilles is sitting on my lap as I type this. :)

      Thank you for stopping by. Really happy to see your comment. :)

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  14. awwwwwwwwww dey are sooooooooo cute....

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  15. Stumbled on to this blog through IndiBlogger! I love cats too and this post reminded me of my latest adventure with them...I rescued 2 white kitties as well - a male and a female!! And they had to go to 2 separate houses...but the good thing is that they were adopted by an aunt and her nephew! So though they were separated, they are still related!! Its ironic that I am allergic to cats and cant really have one in the house! But I do love em... :(

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    1. Oh I am glad to know your love for cats. Would be happy to read more about your cat adventure as well. Thank you very much for stopping by. Sorry about being you allergic to cats, I can sympathize with you. :(

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  16. Awww.. What a lovely post dis is.. U just made my day by dis post. I hv seen some people above commenting with lots of confusion abt loving a cat. I wonder how on earth someone can not love such a beautiful creature of God. I seriously think cat's are the most lovely creature present on this earth.. Thanks for sharing this post with us.. Following u now:)

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    1. Hey thank you so much Sonia for such a lovely comment. You made my day as well. :) Yes, cats are such beautiful animals, they are very lovable and shower unconditional love on us. :)

      Welcome to my blog and thanks for the follow. :)

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  17. You have such a great love for cats, so rare. I love cats a lot, but due to my mistakes they had to suffer a lot. I remembered all that. You handled the situation really beautifully. Happy to know everything is well. :) Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you so much Mohini, nice to know you love cats too. :) Oh don't feel bad about about it, I am sure you only wished the best for them. I hope those kittens are having a good life somewhere. :) Really happy to see you on my blog. :)

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  18. It was really difficult situation to handle. Your love for cats is really great. I am happy to read everything happy happy at the end..:)

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