In our house, what goes out, stays out. The fence put up to keep the animals in, is worthy of any self respecting prison. Those who manage to escape usually find it difficult to make their way back and have to be caught and brought in. Being fairly honest, I have to admit that we have never seen any of them, so far, exactly panting to come in. In fact, being told of one or the other has been spotted, the rescue team is usually there to see the animal take off as if we were …(God knows what)!
In case you do not know, let me tell you each animal is different. There are ones like Jhandu and Trina who may escape but, if spotted, will walk up to you and allow you to pick him/her up. There are some like Bijli and Tuki who would not dream of venturing out – even going up to the garden is an avoidable adventure. There are cats like Kutzn and Blondie who have a field day outside and are not in a mood to return any time too soon. There are a large number who have no desire to escape but if they happen to find themselves outside they get totally freaked out and are very difficult to handle. Lastly, we have a category called Smudge. She is so slim that she can pass through the grills. She is usually found trapped on some impossible ledge or the other, waiting to be rescued.
Having categorized the cats let me now categorize the wardens. I would like to inform that of the many cats we have only four who need supervision. Kutzn, our escape artist, who out of the room means out of the house in a flash (but has been restrained by the latest tweaking of the fence ), Blondie her sister, (who lulls you into a false sense of security by ambling around in the garden, till you see her on the wrong side of the fence) Pepe, who is still too small and can pass through the grills like Smudge.
Among the wardens we have B who would like to let the cats out but would like the entire family to stand guard, R who will stand guard, T, a banker, who would like to put them in the vault and throw away the key and D, a believer of free spirit, who will let them out hoping nothing will happen. Needless to say things become interesting during D’s watch.
Smudge escaped. One minute she was with Kutzn and next moment she had disappeared. Smudge escaping is usually taken seriously for she gets trapped. However, this time she was nowhere to be seen. It was only on the next day that she was spotted…not trapped but with her boy friend!
This time Smudge was in her elements and the last thing she wanted was a speedy return. There followed a week of endless combing of roads and unoccupied houses in search of Smudge. The diligent security and helpful neighbours woke us up with the latest information about our errant cat. Ultimately, on the nth fool’s errand, D managed to grab her (by a stroke of luck)! She returned home in a nasty mood, totally famished and ready to slap up all the other cats.
All’s well that ends well…except that it was not the end. Smudge, other than Pepe, is the only cat not operated on. It was unanimously decided that, since a litter was not welcome, we would have to do something. The vet was contacted and Smudge was duly operated. With so many cats at home, the operation was not given too much importance. We are veterans.
Smudge woke up late evening, walked around and had some food. We were delighted. Next morning, before leaving for work, N informed that Smudge was not liking it when left alone and that she was toppling over! We took this information with a pinch of salt as she had been fine through the night. However, we soon realized that Smudge was no longer walking and was rolling over when she was trying to get up! Suddenly she was a pathetic rag doll which needed to be propped up. Later on in the day she had a little food, doubled up in pain and sprang up in alarm, hitting her head repeatedly on the bed. She was rushed to the clinic located on the other side of the town only to be told that she was a hyper, ill tempered cat who had got scared. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her. We were relieved.
The next morning nothing changed. She continued rolling and held onto her big and small job and even ran a slight temperature. There was no sign of any improvement.
Day 4 seemed to be as bad as ever. She lay quietly on the bed not even trying to get up. She looked reproachful and vocalized if left in the room alone. N decided that the bandage should be removed or she would forget how to walk! Absurd as it was, she seemed to be headed towards it. Attempts to make her walk failed miserably. Her hind limbs dangled loosely and trying to make her stand, even with support, was of no use. She behaved as though she was paralyzed and but for the fact that she had walked the first night, we would have been convinced that there was something drastically wrong with her.
Smudge sat glumly making no effort to go to the garden. Suddenly she vomited. We were alarmed but before we could react she suddenly took off to the garden. To our amazement she sprinted out as though the last four days were a figment of imagination. She took a round of the garden, chased some insect and then bolted up the staircase. Next she was seen sitting on the pelmet.
We are nominating her for the Oscars this year.
Kutzn and Smudge in the garden
four legged nonsense 