Catnapped

I love animals. I don’t care if they walk, crawl or fly, I love them anyway. That was the line you would always hear me saying. Has anything changed? Yes a lot has changed but I still love animals whether they walk, crawl or fly.

I grew up in a family who loved anything that moved. Our backyard was a haven for dogs, cats, fish, chickens, turtles and many more. This was aside from the wildlife that made its way to greet us every once in awhile. Staying in a village in Goa afforded a chance to meet them all. I’ve seen monkeys, parrots, mynas, foxes, peacocks, rabbits and the list goes on. The beauty of it all was that they were always welcome to stroll into the garden.

That story is the part of my life when I was fifteen and under. That wildlife enthusiast was uprooted from her peaceful village life and placed in one of the busiest and most crowded cities in India. Any guesses? It’s a no brainer. I moved to Bombay or Mumbai as it is better known today. Why? Every girl needs an education and Goa just did not have what I needed at that point in time. For those of you have had your life changed instantly, you will know what I mean when I say that the feeling is overwhelming. Life is slow and peaceful in Goa and in Bombay it’s brisk and fast. It’s a different world entirely.

I won’t deny that it took time to get used to the change. Now as I look back at life I realize something. The world may change but what you believe in should always remain the same. You are you irrespective what others think or how they behave. Luckily for me I learnt quickly. A big city does not mean that there is a scarcity of animals or birds. You just need to keep your eyes peeled to see them. They may not look the same as you see them in homes but their spirit is still the same. That’s exactly what happened to me.

It all started with a large tom cat. Don’t really know if he was domestic or not but to me he will always be just that. This guy had the most frightful yowl I have ever heard till date. Maybe the long corridors in the hostel made the echoes sound more frightful but the major bunch of the kids were scared of him. Me? I couldn’t have been less bothered. I often petted him when he passed by but the great guy never even blinked an eyelid. Most of the girls shunned him as he was filthy and dirty. I however felt that it was great to have him around as the hostel was infested with rats. I mentioned it to one of my seniors. She seemed amused and brought him a bowl of milk.  She made the mistake of putting her face to close to him. A quick swipe left her with a cat scratch on her nose. Don’t think she ever went near him again.

One night I got up with a fright. A furry creature brushed against my leg. Fearing that the rats were attacking me, I switched my torch on. The flickering beam caught my good friend cuddled at my feet. Unfortunately that was one of the last times I saw him. He just upped and disappeared after that. That however was the start to a series of friendships that lasted for varying durations of time.

That should ideally be the end of my story but life never is static. After eight years in Bombay, I married my high school sweetheart and shifted to Bangalore. A new city, a new place… My husband loves dogs but cats were not particularly his strong suit. We spent hours arguing and discussing. Bottom line… No cats in the house. Next came the compromise. We wanted something on four legs that we could love. The most obvious choice was a dog.

Unfortunately for both of us, his job meant that he had to travel. Researching on the different options just meant that a dog wouldn’t be able to come with us wherever we went. There was no way we were going to leave our baby behind. That was it. End of discussion. No animals for us. That in itself was heartbreaking. I mopped for months but I knew that it was futile. The logic was too sound. I couldn’t part with my furry friend once he/she became a family member. It was not right. If I couldn’t give a dog a forever home, it was not coming in through our doors.

A year passed and now as I look back, I realize that God works in wonderful ways. I had a brainwave. I wanted to start boarding cats. My husband was skeptical till I insisted that it was a trial run. Whenever it became too much for him to handle I would stop. That’s when it happened. He got cat(kid)napped. Or rather the cats catnapped his heart.

Boarding led to fostering and all that led to a happy me. As time passed we saved a few lives and got them homes. I was doing something for those that I loved. By boarding I helped those like myself who needed to travel. The money helped me with my foster babies. One passion fed the other and I had animals in the house.

Ironically, I don’t see my husband being too unhappy either. He loves it when our little foster kittens climb up his leg to sleep on his lap. He runs around with a string toy to get the cats to play. Every so often I’ve caught him smothering a cat with hugs. From experience I know that the cats love him. I may put their food out, clean their litter trays and groom them but they seek out my husband when they want to play and cuddle. But hey! Who’s complaining!

My husband however insists that he is doing it for me but I know better. He has been catnapped and I wouldn’t have it any other way.