We’ve had many cats over the years. Most of them were outdoor cats. Life can be tough for exotic pets and the local fauna might not treat them differently. Luckily for us all of them were foster kittens we got from friends or neighbors. Well, all except the first.
Our very first cat in many years was a tom cat. We called him T. He had a lush white coat and more fur than the average cat and the fluffiest tail I have seen in a non-exotic breed. I still remember first seeing him on a cloudy way. We had some people over fixing the front yard and I noticed this tiny furball near the banana plants. He was tiny, and probably could use his mothers milk for at least a couple of months. Someone had abandoned him and it was about to rain soon.
My mom and grandma tried to get a hold of him. For a tiny little thing, he was nimble. It eventually took one of workers grabbing him by the scuff to bring him home. Initially, we did not know what to feed him. Mom tried milk, he didn’t take to it. It was only when she started cutting some sardines that he came out and lay claim to one of their heads. It was almost as big as he was! It was amazing seeing him eat something so large.
Months passed and he grew up, the little guy would often get complemented for his fur. For a white cat he sure loved making sure it looked brown. Dad used to “train” him to catch moving targets and he loved it. I liked it less when he decided I would be a fine target.
Cue him stalking me across corners and climbing up my legs. Me, who had last dealt with cats in my childhood was woefully underprepared. Sometimes, he would let you pet him. Other times he lived up to his name.
We had him for almost 1.5 years before he left one day and never came back. I like to think its a tom cat thing. But you never know..
We got this beautiful calico as a kitten from a friend of mom’s. She was slightly older and it took longer for her to get used to us. Once she did, she was honestly one of the nicest cats we had. The only trouble she ever got into was with grandma while she preparing fish!
She stayed with us for the longest, almost 2–3 years and had 3 litters.
Her first litter was special. It was the first time we had one in years. We were already pretty grateful for the reduced mice population. Although they never quite stopped bringing them to us as trophies.
The first litter she had was the most beautiful combination of black and white kittens, 3 female and 1 male. We lost the male to dogs and one of the females went missing. The other two couldn’t be more different.
I called them Black and White. Black was a wild soul, would eat anything that moved. True to her name, she didn’t like when you touched her. White was the exact opposite, more timid and adored pets!
I loved them both, perhaps I like Black a little more. Black went missing one day and I was down to the Calico and White. I was devastated losing all these cats and couldn’t stomach losing more.
Sometime later, Sundari got pregnant again and gave birth to a ginger and a mix. Chembu and Ashu we called them. Ashu was adorable but didn’t like others touching her. Chembu, didn’t mind as much and occasionally enjoyed it. We lost Ashu a few months later, she was the runt and wouldn’t eat much often letting her brother have most of the milk or fish we fed them.
Something I’ve noticed is that cats are surprisingly resilient. I’m not talking about this physically. They obviously get sad when they lose fellow cats but don’t dwell too much on it. I always made sure to pet and talk to them whenever I was home. Much to the chagrin of my dad and grandma.