She's hung around the neighborhood of the officetel for more than a year. Of that I'm absolutely sure. Because she was the first to greet me in the wee hours of New Year's Day 2017 when I was making my way back to collect a few things, and she is still there today, January 2018.
Did I see her this recent New Year's Day?
No.
I didn't manage to head in that direction.
But I'm sure she was lounging about comfortably somewhere.
When she first came, or how young she was when she first came to this area, or whether she was always in this area, I don't know. I wasn't here yet. She was already here by the time we arrived.
And I didn't take notice of her at first, this area being, you know, an area of cats, and cat feeders surreptitiously placing little dishes of cat food where the cats gather. But one day she just came up to me and my colleague and started winding herself around our legs and from then on, we were more or less smitten. :)
She's a charming feline, this one.
And in all this time, whilst she has migrated from the power box where we first saw her, to the drain where she sometimes decided to hang out, to the parked cars and even some of the residential homes, she has become a friend.
Our friend.
We find ourselves doing things we wouldn't normally do. Like walking further just so we can visit her in the evenings. Like calling out her name (the one we've christened her) unabashaedly when we're in the area. Like peering under cars- to the amusement of one owner who asked us what was the problem with his car-and peeking into the lovely homes just so we can grab a glimpse of her and call her out to us. Like standing around, hands in pockets, whilst we make all sorts of funny sounds just so she'll hear us and come out.
And she does.
Every time.
Sometimes she runs (I think she runs like a puppy). Sometimes she sneaks up and startles us by curling around our legs. Sometimes she gazes at us sleepily for a second or two before deciding whether to come over. Sometimes when she's scared, she peers out at us from her hiding place before happily bounding over. And when she's snoozing away, she ignores us for a couple of minutes before lazily stalking her way over.
Watching her is quite a delight, I admit, despite my self-proclamation that I'm more of a dog person. I love the way she curls around our legs and thumps her tail against our calves. I love the way she eyeballs us whenever we turn up and purrs when we come by. When she sits at the side and cleans her paws, she's just so adorable. And more often than not, she just does what a cat does- lie down in the middle of the road and eyeball us for belly rubs.
We've watched her clean herself, dramatic style included. We've watched her play with lizards. We've watched her creep up to birds and sniff at them (with us yowling frantically at the side to not eat the bird, thank you very much!) We've also watched her make that funny sound she does when another cat steps into her turf. And we've seen her make friends with a white cat whom we jokingly refer to as her boyfriend and ask if she is gonna have babies.
We've watched her clean herself, dramatic style included. We've watched her play with lizards. We've watched her creep up to birds and sniff at them (with us yowling frantically at the side to not eat the bird, thank you very much!) We've also watched her make that funny sound she does when another cat steps into her turf. And we've seen her make friends with a white cat whom we jokingly refer to as her boyfriend and ask if she is gonna have babies.
We bring her snacks and food from time to time. Sometimes I bring her remnants from a fried salmon dinner. Sometimes I bring her bones and fins and fish parts from the fish that I've eaten- all nicely tied up and stored. Sometimes we bring her proper cat food that we specially buy from the supermarket and which is really fishy and we know she likes it.
Last Christmas we sneaked off a couple of d*** solid steamed fish pieces from the buffet table and hand carried them back to the neighborhood where we gave them to the cat as a Christmas dinner treat. Judging from the way she cautiously sniffed each one, then carted each piece off one by one to eat, away from prying (!) eyes, I'd say she had a fine time.
With all this feeding, and this unexpected interaction that has been forged between the cat and me, so much so that I get worried for the cat whenever it rains heavily, I guess, in a tiny little way, I'm continuing the legacy of my late maternal grandmother who fed the cats in her neighborhood faithfully and who, at birthday dinners in Chinese restaurants, had the family swipe remnants of the roasted duck, roasted chicken and steamed fish dishes off our tables into plastic bags bring home "to feed the cats".
And I'm thankful for it.
Really, really thankful for it. :)
And I'm thankful for it.
Really, really thankful for it. :)