Happy Caturday: friendly stray cats at Yannawa Temple.

over 1 year ago (Edited)

The frequent rain made it very difficult to travel to Yannawa temple to feed those friendly stray cats and kittens. The traffic jam often delayed my arrival at the temple. Sometimes I had to postpone my trip till following day as the heavy downpour would soak me and those cats at the temple. I have become quite attached to these cats so I would get worried whenever some cats went missing for several weeks.

Some small kittens have grown up a lot but they would still run to greet me. I often kicked them by accident as they were running between my legs. I also stepped on cats’ paws as they quietly sat behind me on the ground. Luckily they weren’t nary with me though they cried out very loud in pain. Poor cats! They have started to be attached to me too.

Some cats allowed me to drop medication into their mouths. Lately I have been very successful in healing cats with bad cold. This saved the skinny monk lots of money as he didn’t have to take them to the vet very often. I was very glad no cats bite on my fingers as I pushed a pill into their throats. They probably knew I meant well and there was no harm done.

The trust some cats had shown to me was quite incredible. I could stop these cats from quarreling without being bitten or scratched by accident. They would let me pick them up to be put at the other corner so they would not aggravate the situation. Usually these cats would be wary of people’ touch as they were very cautious with human beings. This gave me a sense of responsibility towards them in a way.

There are three sets of cats that I have to feed in the temple. By the river, five cats would be scattered around the bushes and trees. They always rush to greet me and cried for some goodies. They would refuse to eat the food pellets until I mixed some wet food for them too. These cats have been spoiled by me and they knew I had hidden some wet food in my bag. Some cats would search my carrying bag and all plastic bags for the wet food sachet. They learned very quickly and had good memories.

Some young cats got on very friendly terms with me that they would sit on my feet and started playing with my sandals. Two small cats actually looked me in the eyes for a long time as if he was talking to me in his mind. It was very moving when one cat asked if he could follow me home. The other day, one cat followed me to my car and asked if he could hop in. I always told them to stay there at the temple and be good as I would be back in a few days. If I had to be away for the whole week, I would let them know so that they wouldn’t be waiting for me.

It wasn’t possible to carry cats on long train journey. They wouldn’t survive in new surroundings; these cars were used to living in buildings without open fields and many kinds of snakes. The vicious stray dogs around the village would shock them all. My orange cats would not be very happy with strange cats in the garden.

So, I let things flow naturally hoping that one day a solution would come to me. I had two favourite cats at the temple but they were too old to get used to new surroundings. Life is full of complications with both animals and humans matters! Yet I have to find my balance and harmony among all these demanding vibes around me.

The future is full of uncertainty and sudden changes so I have a lot of pressure to prepare for difficult times ahead as best as I could under limited recourses. It would be nice if some of my wealthy friends could donate some cat food as feeding some twenty cats began to get dicey. I shall have to talk to my rich friends soon.

I have to think about storable food, backup water sources and alternative energy. Lots of things to be done on my long list for survival amidst chaos and broken supply chain during a war or civil unrest. At least I have the know how for healing sick cats and people with adverse effect from vaxx. So, I should be praying more often to calm myself down and continue to hope for the best.