Happy Caturday: orange cats are my best companions around the house.

The weather has become much warmer in the northeastern part of Thailand. With strong sunshine and dry breezes, orange cats seemed to be more comfortable and active. Last month the weather was much cooler so my orange cars tended to sleep the whole day. They didn’t even get out into the garden at all till the evening.

I had to make sure they didn’t come down with a fever. It worried me sometimes when seeing my cats sleeping too long as they could be down with a fever. I have noticed that my cats could easily be affected by my slight cold. They would have temperature and sleep all day. I had to give them some medication if they didn’t get well after a day’s nap. Luckily they began to get used to the syringe and accepted the brief ordeal calmly.

I should perhaps keep some notes about my cats; I forgot their birthdates so I never celebrated their birthdays. They don’t really mind so long as I treated them as if it’s their special day everyday. Getting up in the morning, the first duty was to check if orange cats were waiting quietly at the front door for their breakfast. The position of my cats would tell me whether the black and white stray cat had been trying to take over the staircase.

My cats would be sitting precariously on the railing. The aggressor cat would probably be on the landing or on the rug. I once caught him sitting on the rug at the door as if he was waiting for me to feed him breakfast! Very bold stray cat! Had he got a gentle heart and good manner, things would have been much nicer for him. So, we had to chase him away every time; he had a house where he used to base as a youngster.

Nowadays we saw him roaming between three houses along the riverfront. I was so glad that orange cats didn’t visit my neighbours’ houses, though Joan used to spend the afternoon at my next door neighbour’s house a few years ago. My neighbour was feeding the grandmother cat mackerels everyday! Joan evidently has very good nose. The orange grandmother cat had disappeared without a trace two years ago. I wished I had spent some time with her before she went missing.

These cats became a part of my daily life, they became my friends and family. Fortunately they were not demanding or expecting to have grilled mackerels. They just accepted what cat food and snacks I could afford to buy for them. Though I would like to give them fresh river fish, I couldn’t go fishing without any experience and proper gears. Perhaps one day I ought to try fishing just for survival purposes.

The other day I was surprised to see a diver coming out of the river with three big fish. He dived three meters deep to hunt for big river fish. He used spears for hunting and kept a record of all his catch. He was a member of a racing team in a nearby province. It surprised me that he regularly drove all the way to the river for spear fishing. I felt sorry for the big fish as this hunting was rather unfair and not for survival purposes. I asked him whether he could knock them in ice bucket to put them out of misery (prolonged suffering). Perhaps I would make a totally failed fishing career so I’d better think about growing peas and beans instead.

Joan has started to sleep on my bed during cold days while his sister still preferred sleeping by the east window. It’s actually warmer by the window but perhaps Joan needed to be by himself sometimes. When Kwan looked rather lonely on the basket, I would bring Joan to join his sister. Kwan would be overjoyed and started glooming him for a while. I hope that these two cats would be loving towards each other forever and live happily in my house for a long, long time.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.