Have you ever felt that the weekends are grossly over-rated? There is something magical about Saturdays and Sundays which make us long for them as though they would solve all problems and would rejuvenate us such that we can meet the bad old Monday without flinching. Well, I would like to share my experience about my ‘just finished’ weekend.
Ours, as you must have realized by now, is not a normal family. When my friends talk about their errant maids or tiring days, I quite envy them and feel like sharing my woes. I usually don’t as I do not expect anyone to understand.
This Friday I was feeling good as it was not a working Saturday. I had my plans chalked out. In fact I intended to finish all my work on Saturday so that I could take Sunday really cool. I was returning from school when I heard that one of our escape artists, Blondie, had managed to escape. I groaned, for catching her is not a joke…
Friday went by without any sighting. We were not unduly bothered as we had the fifty odd security guards on our side. Not for nothing had we been distributing sweets for helping us to locate some sneaky cat or the other. Honestly, they are a God-send and without their assisting us it would have been a more difficult task. They not only call us up when a cat is sighted but also protect them from dogs and do not allow the errant cat to cross over to the nearby woods. In fact, Blondie would not have strayed so far without us being alerted if the security near our house had not been a new one!
Saturday was a busy day for us. Climbing walls, peering into dry man-holes of the neighbouring unoccupied houses, flashing torchlight to see if she had been trapped in some house were some of the weekend entertainments we had. Just as we were beginning to get alarmed (no one seemed to have seen her), we began to get alerts — sighted in some lane, some wall, near the wood etc. etc. Unfortunately our Blondie is more than capable of providing stiff competition to the infamous Macavity. She would be gone before we could reach the spot. We ourselves saw her sleeping on a high wall. When we pretended not to see her, so that we could take her by surprise, she craned her neck as though to say “aren’t you missing something?” She disappeared before we could take two steps towards her. We gave up. Now that we knew she was fine we waited for good sense to prevail. (Did I tell you we are optimists?)
Saturday was over but then one hoped Sunday would be better… and sure enough it was!
The day began early. R and B decided to drive round the block. Through the night we had got calls telling us about her whereabouts (usually followed by another call to say she could not be seen any longer!). B, as usual was taking her time while R waited impatiently for her to join. Call it telepathy or whatever, R flipped open the bonnet for no rhyme or reason. Inside, curled up on the battery was… no not Blondie but a beautiful jet black civet cat! On being discovered it slid out from somewhere underneath and took off to the nearby park. B felt disappointed but she needn’t have been.
The day was far from over. Some old friends decided to give us a surprise visit. Actually, with so many animals, a surprise is a strict No, No- for, it’s more likely to be a shock. As one of the friends was petrified of animals it complicated matters. Maggie is the mistress of the drawing room (my dream of a drawing room free of animals has long been dashed) and hates being displaced. However, there was little option. She was confined in the attic.
Hate to admit it but we were not exactly unhappy when it was time for the guests to leave. With Blondie absconding and Maggie frantic you can’t really blame us. B insisted that the bonnet be opened just in case… With little expectations the bonnet was opened and who should be there curled up but our Civvy! Blood curdling screams were let out and Civvy decided that enough was enough and expertly slid out and walked down the road into a nearby garden. B had her fill of looking at him.
Hardly had the guests driven off that the caretaker from a nearby house rang the door bell with a broad smile. He had been watching the TV when Blondie had strolled in through the window. As he had helped us to catch Kutzn the week before he knew exactly what to do. He had immediately shut all the doors and windows in the room. Bringing back Blondie was child’s play.
Exhausted but satisfied we sat down for dinner when R realized she had not brought down Maggie from the attic. She went up and there was no light in the terrace but she could see that the floor was a mess. At first she thought Maggie had shredded the red cushion when she found to her horror that it was blood! Maggie had climbed onto a table where there happened to be a sheet of glass and managed to cut herself in three places. Our initial relief that she had only hurt her paw was short lived as she was bleeding profusely. Hasty bandage with Betadine did not work. She continued bleeding. At last R decided to use pressure to stem the flow of blood. Maggie seemed to quite enjoy the fuss. To keep her still, B held her on her lap feeding her continuously-it began with egg, then biscuits and finally Pedigree! (Will share the live video shortly.)
We felt exhausted and wished that the next day was a Sunday!
four legged nonsense 