feline child

they were two big black innocent, clueless eyes looking into mine..it was a bony, furry, scared body, all the size of a big mouse...they were four legs parading on my lap as i drove my car..and there was the incessant meowing... this is the first memory i have of him.

he was homeless, hungry, without his mother, he could not fend for himself let alone for food, it was going to start raining outside, and then he was the most adorable kitten and how could you ever walk past him and not feel bad for letting him be in that hell, for leaving him to his fate, for letting him learn to fight for food. i couldnt. i brought him home.

and since then its been a mad circus in my house. never a dull moment. he's the darling of my extended family. all those who used to be like "eeeewww...you got a cat, how could you bring a cat, they are cruel, they are unfaithful, they are wicked, they leave you and go away..." and all that, now love him...except su ofcourse. she's scared of him...yeah you got that, su is scared of a cat who, poor thing, is atleast 20 times smaller than her. but then we have to give it to her coz she always used to hate cats (and always tell me that i look like a cat...i quite never got the connection).

everyone asked me..."why a cat?". i never had the perfect answer to that. maybe because no dog made me feel like that...coz no dog looked at me with those eyes. coz dogs are also a bit of a hassle. and I NEVER INTENDED TO HAVE A PET. i never thought about bringing him in. it was not like the only aim in my life was to own a cat one day. no, i just saw him, couldnt walk past and got him home. thats it.

and he does the most adorable things (clawing the sofa not included). he starts meowing his lungs out as soon as he hears me taking out the keys to get in the front door. he meows outside my bedroom as soon as i put my feet on the floor in the morning. he doesnt let me wash my hands or face in the wash basin before i let him drink from the tap. and he leads us all to the kitchen drawer where his food is kept...you go where he is taking you or he doesnt let you walk.

and is he a sleepy head or is he a sleepy head? at any time you look at him when he is not waiting for food or running after insects or staring at pigeons with his mouth watering, you can always catch him sleeping or trying very hard to keep his eyes open which automatically close if he has not moved in the past 60 seconds. he hates the water and getting wet or taking a bath. and he bolts and hide behind pillows if the bell rings and there are strangers in the house or we use the grinder or vacuum cleaner :)

this i say like a very proud mother that my cat is almost a pup. he knows when im about to enter the house. he gets all excited and happy on seeing me. clambers all over me, doesnt let me do anything till i pick him up and cuddle him. and no exaggeration, he even licks my face, though biting lightly is his way of showing affection.

all said and done, at times when he cuddles upto me in my blanket at night and refuses to move away even when i push him away, at a time when the one thing my dad told me when i went to see him in the hospital was that the cat came and sat with him and sniffed him head to toe when he was in great pain, at times when i wake up with this cuddly thing right in my face, and at times when im low and lonely and he comes and sleeps in my lap, i know that this cat is god's gift to me.