Every week, I had to travel to Yannawa temple to feed stray cats in the car park or at the construction site. This meeting with stray cats has become a routine which I had to follow or I would feel very uncomfortable knowing that they were waiting for me. I have to quietly enter the big gate to the construction site which has become a forbidden area for outsiders. I just ignored the sign and walked in to feed a few stray cats hiding among the piles of bricks and cement blocks.
Luckily, the engineers had allowed me to feed these stray cats before they locked up the gate. I wondered if they happened to lock up inadvertently, I would have to climb up the tall gate to get out! The management wouldn’t be pleased and I would certainly get into trouble with the head monk.
Three cats seemed to be living among the brick piles for safety. These cats couldn’t get along with the majority of stray cats living in the car park area. The black cat used to be part of the five black cats but he got chased out of the gang; I wondered what he did wrong. But Grey was a very timid kitten abandoned by his mother, he became very ill and skinny that I thought he wouldn’t survive.
I was so glad that he pulled through the hard time and has gained some weight. He became very good friend with the black cat. At least Grey was no longer a lonely cat. The other fat and elderly black cat seemed to have disappeared altogether. It’s possible that she was already dead among the piles of rubbles.
Feeding time is getting more confusing as all the cats seemed to come out of their hiding places at the same time. Once a cat started to cry out for food, the others would rush out to get some too. Before the construction began, I wound able to go quietly to each corner to feed a few cats at a time. Some cats had to move into the parking lot as the site became very noisy with machines and workmen during the day.
Uncertainty in life has affect several cats lifestyle as well as mine. I just hoped that once the heavy machines arrived to do piling work, these cats would be smart enough to move to safer places.
Stray cats marching in the car park!
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.