Happy Caturday: temple cats have become much bigger and smarter.

7 months ago

As soon as I could, I would rush to feed those stray cats at the temple the day after my arrival at the city. I knew they would be somewhat thinner after my absence. Though there was a rich lady in white car who came to place bowls of dry cat food and water bowls at various spots, these cats have become a sharp food critics. They wouldn’t eat certain brand of cat food. So, the stray dog would regularly finish the leftovers.

Unless these cats were really I’m famished, would they close their noses and ate the dry food in those bowls. I haven’t tried to taste or smell these food pellets as they looked rather uniform in colour and had no fish smell. They seemed like dried mud pellets. Other pet food would have various colours of the combinations of green vegetables and orange carrots. The smell of my cat food was also nice like barbecue pork. I was tempted to taste one piece but I reminded myself that I was a vegetarian. This brand of cat food was quite respectable as the quality has been very consistent though the packaging has been reduced to one layer to cut cost.

As soon as the cats in the car park heard the my car engine, they quickly came out of their hiding. These were the first gang of cats to be fed as they controlled the car park. I needed them to look after my car and make sure other outsider cats wouldn’t scratch my car. The black cats seemed to be smarter than other cats as they had survived the crazy woman’s abduction and torture in the river. I was glad she had disappeared from the temple for three weeks. Perhaps the spirits of those dead cats came back to haunt her and chase her away. These black cats used to be tiny kittens last year and they wouldn’t allow me to touch them. Nowadays they just assumed to be my close friends and would brush against my legs too often. I was afraid of stepping on them accidentally.

I had to wait for these cats to finish the allotted food so that I could use the dish for feeding other cats. These cats took at least fifteen minutes to stop eating. No wonder they have become much bigger and longer. I liked to observe the cats while they were eating. They hardly stopped to breathe while munching all the food. No cat looked at the other while they were eating diligently. The lady in white car would have been surprised at how intensely they were concentrating on swallowing as much food as possible. I wished she would get a new brand of cat food, so that these cats could enjoy their infrequent meals as much as possible.

The second stop would be the smaller cars near the riverfront. The two older cats were made to disappeared together with a black kitten that was very weak from a car accident. These three cats knew me very well and it hurt every time I was reminded of how they had to suffer. But the other sibling kitten who lost one eye has become my favourite as he became very affectionate and less timid. The black mother cat came to join our circle of friends, I still couldn’t find out where she hid her babies.

There was a recent member to this gang, he’s an old black male cat. He looked very aggressive with his big jaw and unsmiling face. But he turned out to be very sweet and he allowed the black kitten to get close to him. The black and white cat was always very timid and a loner. She had lost a lot of weights over last year, since the lady on motor bike had stopped coming to the temple. I did hope and pray that she was alright and not having the bad effects of her four jabs. These cats could take about twenty minutes for their meal, some cats came late so I had to wait. They have become my boss!

Then there’s Samsi who liked to hide in front of the school for novices. Luckily some novices fed her some leftover food everyday. I did ask a few novices to look out for the crazy woman who liked to murder temple cats. The other cat and a small kitten that used to eat here were gone by the river too. I still missed the small orange kitten. The fourth stop wound be in the yard besides the skinny monk’s quarter. This spot would take over half an hour to feed all the cats.

Sometimes the skinny monk would be so busy that these cats had to wait till two hours after sunset to get their food. They only had one meal per day in the evening. So, the skinny monk was very glad whenever I arrived early and fed all the cats before he returned from his evening prayers in the Main Hall. Only three kittens survived the attack by the crazy woman. These kittens have put on weights and have become lively again; their siblings were poisoned and drown. One day the bad karma would catch up with crazy woman.

The final destination would be the four stray cats living near the Chinese pavilion on the temple. There used to be five cats, but one tabby cat somehow went on an adventure. I did see her once last month looking very skinny so I fed her extra wet food. I thought she would stick around her sister, Julia. The new cat was a beautiful flurry white cat with orange patches. She was abandoned by her owner at the temple. I was glad she could adjust to her new life quite fast. The first day I found her, she looked very fat and beautiful. But she was complaining a lot and grieving about being alone in a strange place.

Luckily, the local stray cats was nice to her and showed her how to survive. She became skinny and her fur got all muddied. She liked to ask me giving her a body massage to get rid of loose hair. Coco was the senior cat who preferred to be by herself, Julia was so gentle and sweet while Bkackie became very friendly and contented with temple lifestyle. These stray cats have become my friends and they showed me their complete trust in me, they let me carry them around. I had to stop their quarrels sometimes, they listened to my voice and stopped the drama. I hope I would be allowed to feed these temple cats for as long as possible.