Happy Caturday: Joan came back to see us again.

To my surprise, Joan dropped by in the morning the other day. He did come last week for two days then he disappeared into the bamboo groves. Not seeing him for three days, I became anxious sboit him wondering if he was hungry. My neighbour hadn’t returned from her holiday by the seaside, so nobody was around her house to feed the cat. In the evening, I did send a telepathic message to Joan, I asked him to come back home.

Joan was waiting at the front door with Kwan, they were waiting for their breakfast. I was overjoyed that he got my message and dropped by so soon. Joan appeared to have lost about two kilos. He was much lighter and I could easily carry him around the house. It was good to be able to hold him and cuddle him as much as I could. Kwan didn’t like to be hold or cuddled too much, she’s quite emotionally independent in her way. This suited me fine as I’d rather like my cats to be emotionally strong and self reliance. So, they could survive in difficult times better than other weaker cats.

Kwan would allow Joan to eat her food; Joan became ‘greedy’ and tried to eat as much food as possible. Perhaps he had been without food for five days, now he needed to build up his fat reserves. After breakfast, Joan would usually find a quiet place to sleep. He liked to sleep on my bed the whole day. He would wake up for snack time in late afternoon.

On the other hand, Kwan would disappear for two hours in to the banana grove after her breakfast. I assumed that she went to recharge her energy by rolling around on the sunny spot. She seemed to need quiet moments under banana trees and sunshine. Then she would come in for a little snack before she went to take her nap under the table. She slept on my old computer chair until late afternoon.

Both cats would appear around my tea time to ask for some goodies. I tried to keep to their schedule, but sometimes I got carried away with working in the garden. Kwan would make noises to remind me of their feeding time. Joan would patiently sit there and waited for his food.

I wondered why my cats wouldn’t sleep together in the basket as they used to. The weather might be too warm for them to snuggle together. So, I had to test whether they would be comfortable together in the same spot. I carried Joan to the table where Kwan was sleeping. Fortunately, Kwan was very glad to see her brother and moved to sit by his side. Joan was so sweet, he let Kwan be his side. That was a relief to me. So, Joan just preferred the quietness of my bedroom where he could sleep without being disturbed by noises.

In the evening, both cats would have a rest in the front yard. If I was watering the garden, they would sit around watching over me. When the sky became dark and the fields became invisible; Joan would have the urge to go outside the gate and explore the darkened fields. Kwan would watch Joan walking away without following him. I was glad Kwan was not very adventurous. I have accepted that Joan would act more instinctively so I just had to let him be. I knew he could look after himself quite well, but I hoped he would never turned totally wild and independent in the long term.

These orange cats always reminded me of how they behaved as tiny kittens. Their innate natures hadn’t changed at all. I could remember the first time the mother cat brought her kittens out in the open for us to see. The kittens were about four weeks old, so they were tiny with thin legs. Joan was very adventurous, he dared to walk around with shaking legs to explore the new space. Kwan stayed close to her mother, I noticed the small knot in her tail and I saw Joan’s crooked tail.

They looked the same except for their tails. That’s how I could tell who’ s who. I did miss the mother cat, life would have been very different had the mother cat not ran away. The biggest kitten, in all white fur, Snow, never returned home after his trip to the other village. I missed my cats more than my dead relatives! This’s rather crazy how cats seemed to get inside my emotions more deeply than close relatives. I wish and pray that Joan and Kwan would be well looked after by our local guardians and land spirits. I am very grateful to have these orange cats in my house.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.