Chichi

                    We had several window cats in our last house. In many ways they were better off than our cats who were confined to the house. They roamed around freely and appeared at the window whenever hungry. Usually they did not have to wait for meal time. Chichi made her appearance with Cassie (one of our regulars) very much after the others and at first we mistook her for a kitten. It took us time to realize that she was not going to grow in size and that she had littered at least once before discovering our window. She usually made her presence felt by her plaintive calls and that’s how she got her name Chichi Popo.

 

Chichi ,by her very size, was at the bottom of the food chain- till she became a mother. Chichi had the most handsome boyfriend -Goldie. Goldie was not our favourite cat as he did not get along with our window tomcats. Our family is nothing but loyal when it comes to our animals. Any sound of cat fight and we would be out trying to break it up. At times it meant rushing to the terrace with a bucketful of water to throw on the warlords. (if possible it was aimed at the rival-mostly Goldie)

Goldie scored some bonus points when it was realized that he was Chichi’s steady boyfriend. The friendship did not end with the mating season and our mousy Chichi had Goldie in the hollow of her paws. Wonder of wonders Goldie was immensely patient with his kittens disproving all theories of  tomcats finishing off their babies.

Chichi’s first litter consisted of Graffiti and Pixie. Graffiti was one of the most handsome kittens who, even when he was tiny, walked with a swag. Pixie looked so innocent that one felt immensely protective towards her.

 

Chichi was a wonderful mother and kept her kittens safely on a neighbouring garage top. Things went well for quite sometime with the happy family living far from the road. Chichi, in spite of her size, would take on anyone she perceived as threat to her babies.  

Soon Graffiti found life boring and trouble began. He began moving around the place with Pixie trailing behind him. Poor Chichi in spite of her best efforts began to lose grip over him. She found it more and more difficult to carry her kittens up to the garage top as she was hardly bigger than them. We too were different- we were still trying to control the number of animals inside our house. I still regret the day  Graffiti and Pixie finding the main door open walked in and we shooed them out. Two days later Graffiti went out on the road and got attacked by dogs. There was no bite mark so he probably died of fright. Pixie was lost without her brother. Always the quiet one, she seemed to shrink visibly. We brought her in and I think both Chichi and us felt relieved.

A few months later B spotted a kitten who she mistook for Graffiti on the terrace of a two storied house. It was not Graffiti but a kitten from her next litter. We will never know whether he had any siblings to begin with but when we saw him he was alone. Chichi had managed to take him a floor higher! This poor kitten was half starved and certainly lacked Graffiti’s swagger. He desperately wanted to come down but lacked courage to do so. We watched helplessly and tried to throw some food onto the terrace.

 

I was not there when he finally made it to the ground level. Apparently it had been raining heavily and he almost drowned as the water kept accumulating. Chichi was frantic . she rushed around madly without being able to do anything. The combined effort of the family managed to put the kitten into the cage. It took  while for him to calm down. Chichi relaxed as soon as he was in our care. Soon he made up for his lack of food and earned his name-Toady. He is really a cuddly cat.

Chichi littered one more time before she finally got sterilized. Her next litter was on ground level and we took no chances. Chichi came in for sterilization and her babies …just like that. Chichi enjoyed her motherhood once she was inside. She could just play around without having to worry about food or safety. Unfortunately one of her kittens escaped and never came back. I am sure he has turned out to be a looker like his father and has been having a field day. Her other son, Chess, has his father’s good looks but Chichi’s size and her daughter -Toffeechu is a copy of her mother with the dainty look of a Japanese doll.

 

 

So , if you want to live life to the full-make it large! Larger the family, greater the fun.