The Ugly Duckling

I have never liked cats. I was suspicious of them and thought cats as mysterious animals. They have a mind of their own. They do not possess the loyalty and simple mindedness of dogs. That was, until Girlie came along. Girlie was a stray orange tabby which “selected” me to be her mistress. Two weeks after I opened my food stall in a Food Court, Girlie started to visit my stall. She greeted me first thing in the morning as I opened the roller shutter. She stayed and kept me company as I cooked, seated right beside me and watched. Frequently, I have trampled on her or kicked her like a football accidentally as I reached out for sauces or ingredients. Girlie was a delightful cat, so intelligent and responded to my calls. She behaved like a puppy and followed me around the food court, or walked with me to my car. When she jumped on a table and I raised my voice to chide her, she seemed to understand and quickly jumped down to a chair. Then she sat beside me as I read. Once, her paws reached out to my book and she flipped the pages of my book and purred as if asking “what are you reading?” I had Girlie spayed 4 weeks ago, as I wanted to prevent unwanted stray kittens. Shortly after being spayed she was taken away from the Food Court. I hope she was adopted by a kind owner.

At the food court are a group of 3 stray kittens (A, B and C) probably a few weeks old. C is a gray scrawny looking tabby. She was the smallest of the lot. She had a very lost look. One morning when I came to my stall, I saw C suckling on A’s nipples. It appeared that A took over the role of being a mother cat for C. There is an orange large female tabby which was so round with pregnancy. Big Mama (the pregnant cat) kept entering my stall but as long as Girlie was in the stall, she guarded my stall from all other cats. I took a pity to the strays and started buying cat food and feeding them.

It has been two weeks since Girlie was taken away. Last week, Big Mama came into my stall. I did not want another cat since losing Girlie. However, Big Mama was persistent. After entering my stall, she started to survey my stall and looked into a large wooden crate where I kept the woks. A few minutes later, she returned with a tiny white round “cotton” bob in her mouth. Then she climbed on the wooden crate and dropped the little white fluff into the crate. I was curious and went to pick up the white fluff and held for the first time a tiny baby kitten in my palm. I gazed into this Lilliput cat, and a pair of large sapphire eyes stared back at me. Then, this fragile little kitten gave out a very loud “meow”, compared to its tiny form, it was a roar! My heart melted.
Since that day, every other day seems like a documentary from National Geography but better, it’s life.

Mother Nature’s Exemplar of Motherhood

Big Mama is a role model for motherhood. Baby Fairy (I christened her that yesterday) is one handful of a “toddler”. She is curious and crawls all over my stall and outside of the stall. Whenever she crosses the boundary (which is outside my stall), Big Mama would purr loudly and when the toddler does not return she would pick up the naughty kitten and carry her into a carton box. The carton box became Baby Fairy’s crib and play pen. Three days ago, I placed a small basket in the box to serve as a bed for Baby Fairy. Big Mama grooms Baby Fairy and like a human mother who changes her baby’s diaper, Big Mama cleans Baby Fairy’s bottom thoroughly. Every few hours, Big Mama would nurse Baby Fairy.

The adoption

Three days ago, the gray kitten C started to enter my stall. She timidly approached Big Mama as if, asking for permission to enter. Then she rubbed her body against Big Mama to show affection. Big Mama responded by licking C’s body. Two days ago, as Baby Fairy slept in her crib, C came and sat for a while beside the crib and watched Baby Fairy. Then she very carefully stepped into the crib, one leg over the basket to avoid stepping on Baby Fairy. After that, she curled around the basket and slept beside Baby Fairy, her head rested on the edge of the basket against Baby’s head and a paw rested on Baby’s chest, to cuddle Baby Fairy.

Yesterday, C behaved like an older sibling and playfully wrestled with Baby Fairy as Big Mama kept a watchful eye. I noticed Big Mama stood up when she thought that the play was too rough.

Sibling rivalry

This afternoon, Big Mama laid on her back and C came first to snuggle against Big Mama and then started to suckle on Big Mama’s nipples. Baby Fairy was discovering my stall. When Baby noticed C suckling the mother cat’s nipples she hastily crawled towards Big Mama and then with all her might and tiny paws, pushed C’s head aside. Then she tried to squeeze her little head in between, to suck the same nipple. I gently pulled C away to a lower nipple. Then Baby noticed C sucking the other nipple and immediately decided that the new nipple would taste better. So, again that little rascal started to push her “older sister’s” head aside. All this while Big Mama laid back patiently and contentedly as two hungry kittens greedily suckled on her.

I could not help but be filled with amazement at the greatness of nature and the animal kingdom. This stray cat has shown so much motherly love not only for her own kitten but her heart is so big and generous that she could extend her love by accepting another stray kitten.

When I look around me at what is happening in society these days, the gruesome stories of child abuse and new born babies being abandoned, I am filled with sadness and hopelessness.

What is happening to the human race? Despite all the evolution that we have gone through, are we actually evolved? Can we say that we are sophisticated beings when we can be so cruel to our own kind.
Open your eyes people.