Searching for missing cat along the river and fields.

The past weekend has been very exhausting for me. My gardener told me that the big cat, Joan was missing for three days. The sister cat, Kwan, was crying everyday while looking around the place for her brother. But later on the day of my arrival, Joan did turn up to have some food and played with his sister a little. Then, he just disappeared into the bamboo ‘jungle’ nearby. We were quite afraid of big snakes in that bamboo jungle. I thought he would come back in the evening but he disappeared for three days. The younger cat, Kwan had been feeling very lonely and she even jumped on my bed to sleep with me once.

Poor Kwan! Sleeping alone without her brother for a week!

I was quite worried if Joan never came back. It would be very hard on Kwan and I might have to find some new companions to keep her company. Then there would be the problem of getting Kwan to accept new kittens. If they didn’t get along with each other, I would certainly have a headache. So, I had to go searching for Joan and bring him back. There was the issue of my first orange cat who had migrated to my rich neighbours’ house two years ago. She’s being left completely alone in the big house without food and company. I had to pay her a visit and bring her some wet food. But there was nobody inside the house. I stood there shouting the cat’s name and banging on the metal gate. But there was no reply. In the past, this cat would come running to me wherever she heard my voice. Something strange was going on; but I couldn’t climb over the gate!

There was no sign of the grandmother orange cat! No sound from inside the house.

I walked along the edge of the bamboo jungle calling out for Joan. I went to both the left and right side of the river searching for the missing cat. I had very bad feeling about his safety. There were two packs of stray dogs being very unusually active along the river. The small pack on the north side had three dogs. The bigger pack of dogs at the fishermen’s camp had almost ten dogs. So, Joan should be naturally stuck somewhere in the fields between these rival dogs. I couldn’t find any sign of my orange cat after an hour’ search. I wondered where he could be hiding. I had lost a cat and two kittens because of stray dogs in the past, so I was fearing the worst for Joan after four days of disappearance.

I also checked out the next house where the gardener fed the cat sometimes. No one was at home!

I just had to know what had happened to my cat. Perhaps he was lost and couldn’t find his way back. Those stray dogs could have chased him further away from familiar ground so he might be trying to get back home but he couldn’t. I was also afraid that he might by injured and in hiding some where in the fields or nearby woods. So, I decided to take out the old bicycle to go about asking local villagers whether they spotted my orange cat. I checked out the villagers with many Thai hens in the front yard. There was no sign of something unusual. We knew that the owners sometimes poisoned stray dogs that attacked his hens. That was a relief! So I could check out the fishermen who have been farming fish in the river. They didn’t see my orange cat but said if they spotted him they would let us know. There were two old cats there so they were animal lovers too.

Walking towards the south side of the river. Yelling for my cat along the way like a mad person!

The bicycle made it possible for me to explore both the north and south sides of the river. I cycled along the fields yelling out the cat’s name and calling him with my usual cat’s call. Other cyclists and joggers were giving me a funny look. So I had to tell them that my cat was missing. There were several dogs near the fisherman’s camp by the river. They played a game of barking and chasing all bikers and cyclists passing near the huts. These dogs liked to frighten small children. I just told them with my mind to be calm as I wanted to be friendly too. Luckily they didn’t bark at me and let me pass peacefully.

The fishermen’s guard dogs were very noisy and tricky!

This stretch of the waterfront road was quite new and suitable for cycling exercise. The river at the south side seemed much wider and had deeper riverbed. Villagers still depended on pumping water from the river to water their vegetables and plants. The atmosphere was so still and quiet with hardly anyone around in late afternoon. Countryside life here was still very simple and far from the madding crowd. There was no sign of my orange cat and I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t find him. I went back to my neighbours’ house to check out on the grandmother orange cat. She couldn’t be seen either; so I couldn’t feed her the wet food. I hoped she could hunt for food in the night. She used to be a good hunter.

I ride the old bicycle on the second day of my search for Joan.

During my walking mediation at night, I asked the spirit of the land to bring Joan back home the next day if he’s still alive and well. The full moon was very bright and I could still see many stars in the deep blue sky. The air was crisp as temperature was dropping fast; it would drop by about 15 degree Celsius at night. This year the winter season started very early and seemed to be much colder than last year. The mini ice age’s effect has started to warn us of more changes to come in the future.

I search until the sunset by the river. My hope was dashed and I was down beaten.

I was almost giving up the hope of seeing Joan again after missing for almost a week. I just hoped he didn’t suffer the the same fate as his big brother, Snow. At that time, I followed my psychic lead to another village to search for him. A villager saw his photo on my iPhone and confirmed that he buried the cat after it was attacked by a pack of stray dogs. This time my mind was blank as I couldn’t get any message during my meditation. I was trying to let go of my sorrow.

Joan turned up in the afternoon. It seemed as if nothing unusual had happened. He just ate his food and had a rest.

Suddenly, my gardener shouted: ‘Joan is back!’ I couldn’t believe my ears! I took a packet of wet food and rushed to the kitchen downstairs. He was eating cat food. He looked much thinner, he probably lost over a kilo. Kwan gingerly came around to sniff Joan’ strange scent. He must have been living in the bush somewhere not very far from our place. I was so glad he was safe and well. It seemed he couldn’t hunt enough field mice to keep a full stomach. Kwan took almost twenty minutes to feel at ease with Joan again.

Kwan was very happy to see her brother again but she needed to make sure it’s really Joan!

I was so glad to see Joan sleeping side by side with Kwan again. Kwan kept licking his brother; she was totally dependent on Joan for companionship. Joan was always very sweet and calm cat who rarely complained or make meowing noises. Kwan was a great complainer and she would cry so loudly to make sure I knew how much she had suffered from loneliness and hunger. The diet program didn’t work as Kwan kept eating all the food in Joan’s bowl. After two days of staying home with us, Joan has disappeared yesterday. We have to learn to accept that Joan’s hunting instinct has been woken after he successfully hunted a big field mouse and ate it all up by himself. My gardener told me that he now wanted fresh food! But he would lose weight as there weren’t many field mice around. I just hope that Joan would come back to be with Kwan for a few days every week after his hunting trip. This changes in orange cats’ lives are telling me to be more mindful and accepting of new changes in the future. How I wish my cats could remain more kitten-like in nature till eternity!

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.