One orange cat has been missing over ten day. This was the first time Joan has disappeared for more than three days. My gardener told me that she saw him at my neighbours’ house. Joan ran away as soon as my gardener called his name. His sister, Kwan, was complaining like crazy about being all alone on her own for days. I felt so sorry for her that I spent twenty minutes comforting her until she stopped whining in her small voices.
Kwan was so glad I came home so she could sleep deeply in her basket.
I told Kwan that I would go searching for Joan the following day. She slept the night in her bed on the table. To my surprise, Kwan sat quietly on my bed waiting for me to wake up. She kept very closed to me as if she needed more reassurance and security. I didn’t know that cats could suffer from loneliness and feel emotional about being abandoned or rejected. Kwan put on a bit more weight as if food made her forgot her sad situation momentarily.
In the morning, I continued to call for Joan to come back home. If he happened to be near the bamboo grove, he would probably run back home to see me. So, I had to keep my promise; I cycled to my neighbours’ house. The house seemed very quiet so I stood at the gate shouting loudly for Joan. There was no response and I almost gave up; perhaps Joan had gone somewhere else. I made my last effort and kept banging the metalic gate while shouting loudly.
To my surprise, the lady owner of the house came to see who’s making all the commotion. She told me that Joan was there from time to time and that he had a big fight with the black and white cat. The lady fed the stray black and white cat. But Joan would have the food when that cat wasn’t around. I asked her not to feed Joan as his sister cat was crying everyday for Joan. He has been missing over a week so I was worried about his safety.
As we were chatting about two cats fighting, I saw Joan’s tail moving down the stairs. He hid under some houseplants and didn’t come out to see me. He walked passed the lady so she pointed at him. I tried to approach him but he ran away and hid under the bushes. I had to make an effort to reschy him and dragged him out. I told him how Kwan has been crying for him everyday. He looked a bit guilty but I thought he was rather worried if I would be angry with him.
I tried to put him in a carrying bag so I could cycle home with him. But he was too big and heavy to fit inside the small bag. I had to carry him on my shoulder and pushed my bicycle with my right hand. This was quite difficult for me aa my left wrist was injured. In the end, Inhas to leave my bicycle on the dirt road so that I could carry Joan home as fast as possible. As soon as I left him on the yard, he went straight to the house. I had to get back to fetch my bicycle.
I brought Joan to see Kwan where she’s sleeping upstairs. To my dismay, Kwan sniffed Joan then gave him a hiss. It seemed Joan had picked up a new scent or Kwan couldn’t remember his scent any more. I tried to stay calm and see how things would turn out. I fed them some snack for lunch. They were cool towards each other. By the evening, both cats seemed to recognise each other as they could sit together side by side. I had to comfort Kwan and told her to recall how much she used to love him.
Joan gave me a funny face when Kwan behaved threatening towards him at first. He just kept his cool as if nothing happened. He was as gentle as before and remained quiet. At nighttime, I did my walking meditation in the front yard while two orange cats gloomed themselves. They have become brother and sister again; they even play chase around the garden. I was glad that things got back to our usual routine. I hoped that Joan wouldn’t go back to stay at my neighbours’ house again. Kwan was so happy and stopped meowing for missing her brother.
I had no idea why Joan got so attracted to my neighbours’ house. The lady owner was indifferent to cats as she’s allergic to cats fur. She just wouldn’t touch or caress cats. But she liked to feed stray cats as they could catch some mice during the night. I had a feeling that I might have to lose another cat in the future. There’s a streak of wildness in orange cats, as if they longed to roam freely in the wild like tigers. Joan’s aunty and big brother also left the house and never returned home; his grandmother also moved to live at my neighbours’ house for almost two years. She was sadly killed by next door neighbour’s guard dogs.
All I could do was to look after my cats as best as possible and keeping them safe. But these cats do have minds of their own. They couldn’t understand how much I would be worried for their safety. Attachment could bring both joy and sufferings. It would be very hard if Joan migrated to the other’s house as his grandmother did two years ago.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.