I always looked forewards to visiting Yannawa temple to feed those stray cats. Feeding these skinny cats gave me lots of positive vibes and made my mood very optimistic. This weekly rituals (every three days) gave me hope about the possibility of changing my bad habits and procrastination. Watching these cats eating very intensely, I realised that I was emotionally dependent on them and their friendships. So, I hoped that I would have the resources for buying cat food and that the temple continued to let these stray cats lived around the old buildings.
After feeding the older cats in the car park, I would proceed towards the temple pier. There, the old orange cat, black and white cat and a young black cat would be waiting for the sounds of my footsteps. The cats at the car park could recognise the sound of my car, the pier cats could remember my footsteps. These cats surprised me with their smartness and affection. These cats at the pier didn’t get along with each other as the younger cats came to the temple as adult cats so the eldest black and white cat was bullied by the two new arrivals.
Though these three cats have been living in this area for almost three years, the younger cats felt the need to show their dominance. They wouldn’t get into a fight but I thought they were jealous and wanted to have all my attention exclusively. So, I had to feed the black and white cat at a separate location further away from those two younger cats. The yellow male cat has become very talkative and liked to complain that he didn’t get enough wet food.
The young black cat had given birth to three kittens two months ago. These kittens grew up very quickly even though the mother cat looked very skinny and undernourished. I tried to give her extra food but she wasn’t a big eater. Her kittens looked very healthy and lively. They were very timid last month so I had to leave them cat food by the pile of old planks. The young mother cat was very good at looking after her kittens. It was very difficult to get good photos of these kittens in the evening.
Meanwhile, two mother cats living near the skinny monk’s lodging had given birth to although six kittens. Three were about two months’ old and were well looked after by the monk. The other three kittens were living on the roof of the opposite building. I tried to observe these tiny kittens, they seemed healthy and lively. But I didn’t see the mother cat for a forthright so I just left her some food hidden under the pile of broken porcelain.
Last evening I did see the mother cat for the first time since last month. She looked very skinny so I gave her a lot of wet food. The three kittens on thr roof watched me feeding other cats so they became very hungry too. They started meowing loudly to attract my attention and to ask for some food. They saw me feeding almost ten cats in the yard so they weren’t too shy about showing their faces on the ledge of the roof. I had to put some food in a small plastic bag and threw it on to the roof. That’s how I fed those kittens oj the roof. I hoped that the mother cat would bring them down on the ground level soon.
Then, I found two kittens had been abandoned at the temple around the Chinese shrine. The small kitten was white with blue eyes, he looked very beautiful though skinny. The other was a small orange cat who was very friendly and inquisitive. The older cats around the Chinese shrine just let them lived there without any hostility. It was very sad to see small kittens left to face difficulties by themselves all of a sudden.
These two kittens tried to follow me around and wanted to get inside my car. I had to tell them that they had to adapt to the new place and try to make some friends. They had to learn from older cats around the shrine. Life seemed unfair to abandoned kittens and to most people. But I knew it’s useless to cry over the harshness and cruelty in life sometimes, we just had to try to survive with what inner potentials and resources which we could muster. I told the kittens that life would get better and they would be able to live peacefully in this temple. So, I would be checking out these newly arrived kittens and to feed them too.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.