I had to keep phoning my gardener every few days to check how my orange cat has been doing. Luckily my neighbour would be away on holiday for two weeks. So, no one would be feeding my old orange cat, Joan, who has moved to that house. He would have to walk back to our house for his meals. My gardener told me that Jian has been back for three days then he went out hunting in the fields. At least Kwan would have his company while I was away. I hoped that Joan would still be around the house when I went back to the countryside.
Kwan has always been a very timid and shy cat. She would still hide when we had visitors at the house. She would only get near me and the gardener. But I wish she would learn to be streetwise like her brother. Joan knew who could be his protector and he wasn’t afraid of strangers. He wouldn’t get too close to strangers but he would take time to decide who would be kind and good enough to be trusted. Joan got on very with my neighbour. Though she was allergic to cats’ hair, she allowed him to get close to her. Joan was more affectionate towards my neighbour than towards me!
I did wonder what had happened to Joan’ s mind. It could be my way of training my cats to be independent by not letting them to depend on me emotionally. I would be quite strict about letting the cats staying on the ground floor and garden at night. They used to sleep inside the house during the night when they were young. As they grew up into adult cats, they had to stay by themselves around the garden at night. They could have access to food in the kitchen downstairs. So, they could maintain their hunting and wild instinct for surviving on their own.
If my cats became totally domesticated and depended on humans’ company, I would be very concerned as they needed to be instinctive in order to survive in the countryside. There seemed to be various kinds of snakes in the woods and fields nearby. Several stray digs kept roaming the nearby fields and dirt road. These stray dogs used to come into the garden through the holes along the fence at the back. We had two cats and one kittens killed by stray dogs five years ago. So, I became very concerned that my cats didn’t know how to be aggressive.
Many times I found my orange cats sitting quietly on the top of the railings. There were cornered by the young aggressive stray cat who has been coming for cat food at night. I had to tell my cats to yell for help, so that I could come out to chase the intruder away. My orange cats were too sensitive and considerate; they just didn’t want to disturb me during the night. Once they knew I didn’t mind them shouting for help. I had been awakened by their screaming for help around midnight. I was glad they did as they were told.
Joan was much bigger than Kwan and he knew how to defend himself. But Kwan was just too passive and would walk away from all confrontations. Once she knew she had my backup, she would stand her ground and yelling loudly for help. I have become very attached to my cats so I had to look after them as best as I could. I used to watch the two cats sleeping together in the same basket. But during the last two years, something happened. Joan would prefer to sleep on his own either on my bed or under the bed. Kwan continued to sleep in the basket by the window.
I loved to watch her funny postures during her nap. Kwan could hear me with my camera and would open her eyes to tell me not to disturb her sleep. I thought I might have to search for two nice kittens to keep Kwan’s company. I would have to wait and see how things would develop. However, I have been looking for mother cats with lovely kittens in the village. One day, the ‘right’ kittens would turn up to keep Kwan happy and active throughout her long life.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.