Most people have been complaining about the hot weather in the big city. My neighbours refused to get outside for two days. But she was luckier than me as she could use the air conditioning system. My place was too old and thexwater would leak out of the air- con tray on to the ceiling, so I couldn’t use the air-con. I didn’t mind this so long as my big fan worked normally. I didn’t want to take the easy way out and it’s better to train myself to take some little discomfort and hardship. I knew the future would be very tough and full of difficulties so I needed my training, just in case.
I forgot to ask the tempke cats whether they could cope with the extreme heat this week. I was too anxious about the state of some cats that looked very thin and famished. It seemed a few cats didn’t have any food for three days. The two black cats with hooked tails were too timid to come out to take food from stranger. I did see some bowls of fresh water left for these cats. So, that lady with white car has been feeding temple cats during the last two days.
A small mother cat came running to me and meowing for some food. She told me she was very hungry. I told her to wait for a few minutes, I had to dish out the food first. I was so lucky that these cats understood my words and waited patiently. I tried to feed those weaker cats first, the stronger cats would be the last in the queue. These cats knew that they would have their fair share so they quietly sat a bit further away.
The famished cats would eat quietly nonstop for at least ten minutes. They would almost finished all the biscuits. So, I knew I had to give them second helpings with more wet food. It saddened me to see some cats losing so much weights in three days. I just wished more kind visitors would come to feed stray cats.
I noticed a new young ginger kitten, about four or five months old hiding near the Chinese shrine. His head was covered in motor oil which meant he had been hiding under some truck or car. He’s very friendly and talkative which meant that his owner had left him at the temple at night. People were getting hard up, so mote pets would be left abandoned in temples and along quiet lanes or along canals. I felt sorry for these abandoned cats.
This skinny ginger cat was very clingy and followed me around. The two local cats at the Chinese shrine wasn’t very pleased and hissed loudly. I had to feed this small ginger cat at the other corner by the newly renovated Ubosod. This cat was used to being pet by people so he had a very warm and affectionate personality. I hoped that the older cats wouldn’t bully him and accept him as one of their gang.
So far, there have been three new groups of kittens born during the last 2-3 months. The mother cat living at the skinny monk’s lodging had three tiny kittens. The other black and white cat who lived behind the nearby building also had two kittens. These kittens were rather wild as the mother cat was a still a feral. I only got a glimpse of one of the kittens. The skinny monk had tamed the mother cat and her kittens as they lived in his lodging.
The young black cat did manage to save all her three kittens during the heavy rain storm two months ago. I only saw one kitten, so I thought the other two were drowned. But last week I saw the mother cat took her three kittens to play on the pile of old wooden planks! I was so glad to see them all looking very happy. No wonder the mother cat was too skinny as she had to feed three growing kittens. I had to give her extra wet food but she wasn’t a greedy cat. She stopped eating when she was full up. The kittens were very lively but easily frightened by strangers. I hoped they would grow up healthy and happy cats.
There are now almost ten small kittens in this temple! This meant more food for feeding growing cats in the near future. My fund has been depleted quite a bit, so there might be a need to send request for donation to a few friends next month. If each contributed 40 cents, I could buy a box of wet food for these temple cats. If there was some surplus, I could offer the skinny monk a box of wet food too. I should send my request just to test how compassionate my friends would be towards stray cats.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.