It’s not that easy being a ‘kept cat’, especially in a world where many of their own ilk have to live in the streets and fend for themselves. Even in the case where they receive three meals a day, by a benevolent home owner! I’ve often wondered if the house cats were regarded as less than their peers living outside. The way my little protégées were making their way from the backdoor towards the garden, while having to deal with the voracious bunch.. It was hilarious to witness how differently they dealt with the situation!
ÇıtÇıt just did it! Perhaps while meowing irritably, and handing out a corrective tap to cheeky youngsters if need be… He deliberately continued his path. Kitty, with her talent to be invisible, did pretty much the same, minus the comments and the smacks. Hitler is a big boy who goes his own way no matter what. I’ve yet to meet the first cat who would dare to stick out a paw to him! Tonguç usually wouldn’t even give it a try. As soon as she would spot something looking like a cat in the backyard, she would lose interest. Jerry was cautious. He picked his moment, preferably when the garden cats were having their meal. He would hop by them cheerfully, meowing something that sounded a lot like “bon appetit you guys!!”
Yeter was a whole different story. Upon our first encounter three years previously, she was usually to be found in the backyard as well. She would spend her days there and only came home for food and sleep. Not the easiest one to approach as she was a bit of a scaredy cat! But since Lily, one of the cute little kittens born a year ago, had grown up to be a sturdy young lady, funny to the extent of cheeky. The only one that would manage at least once a day to make her way inside the kitchen and steal the house cats’ food! And if given the opportunity, she would walk around the house curiously, to see what else there was of her interest.
Unfortunately, she terrorized poor Yeter. Nervously, Yeter never quite managed to make herself invisible on her way into the garden. She wouldn’t even try if she spotted other cats, but if she somehow encountered them on her way, she always did something to draw attention towards herself. Such as softly meowing, and it sounded an awful lot like “please don’t hurt me, I’m a good kittie!” And before she knew it; there was Lily, and Yeter was gone! She literally got chased way and lucky for her she was quite fast. She made it to the bottom part of the garden, into the tree and over the wall into another territory. At a later point in time, it proved not to be a simple task to get her back home again. The garden next-door was safe and quiet. Our own garden caused her stress as it was generally overcrowded with cats waiting for a meal. To simply lift her up and carry her inside was not an option due to her anxious personality. It would only make matters worse.
In the end, it was a simple question of distracting the other cats in a suitable way: with food. The perfect way to create an opportunity for the shy young lady to return home safely.
