Meeeeooooow

                                                      

      There are two categories of people in this world - those who love cats and those who loathe cats. The division is so stark that there is no middle ground and there can be no conversion or migration from one faith to the other.

     I belong to the former faith, the minority, and thoroughly revel in idiosyncrasies of the feline kind.   

     I am 16 cats old, yet can never claim I owned them. Every cat lover understands that one can never own cats as they consent to the luxury of domesticity on their own terms. They are free spirits and don’t like to be restricted like canines.

     There’s always a dog-cat comparison in the pet-world and one senses pride when a cat lover tells a dog lover that cats don’t need toilet training and that they perform the feat with remarkable flair. The cat lover would also smugly assert that a cat is clean and loves grooming itself. On the contrary, you can spend an hour bathing a dog and grooming it and he can roll in the mud soon after, much to the owner’s chagrin.

    Dogs wolf down food while cats dine with decorum, except that, when eating fish, cats forget all about etiquette. A dog’s welcome for the master is always boisterous, even if returning home after a half hour walk. But a cat can be placid and ignore you even if you are returning from a vacation. At best, he might just open his eyes from his snooze and stretch his limbs, which is almost like saying, “Oh, so it’s you” !

     Kitten watching is a delightful pastime but not if you are studying or engaging in serious concentration. They are simply enticing clowns that scamper around with extraordinary ease and fervour, chasing nothing, raising their backs, puffing up their tails or just frolicking with little bits of paper or strings or anything that moves.

     Cats strike a variety of adorable poses and each pose is a reflection of the mood. They can climb heights with ease and soft land gracefully on their four feet. A cat’s purr is the most peaceful sound of happiness and contentment.

     Bangalore is home to a sizeable population of cat lovers, as was evident in the 3rd International Cat Show held here recently. These were among the 80 stunningly beautiful cats, of all sizes, shapes and breeds at the show.