Vidhya got her first pet Mittoo, in 1999. She was a kitten of 8 weeks. An orange Tabby, who fit into her palm and was extremely fierce and smart. “She was a gift for my Birthday that year. I was surprised by a friend of mine who is a doctor now. You do not choose a pet, most of the time, the pet choses you. That is very true!”, expressed Vidhya.
She gave birth to a litter of 5, out of which most of them were adopted. One of the litters stayed back, whose name was Minu. Another Orange Tabby with a personality of her own. Again fierce, smart, and Sassy! He was lightning! Minu gave birth to a litter and among all the kittens there was one retained with us who had problems with her hind legs. But she was “Lucky” and boy she was! Mittoo lived for 9 years with them, whereas Lucky lived for 19 years and Minu for 21 years.
One of them in the family always stayed back for the pets. Vidhya would volunteer to miss out on functions, weddings, and travel outside the city.
Pets teach you to love unconditionally. Pets also teach you to love yourself first. “The biggest lesson I learnt from them is to embrace myself and develop a great attitude towards life! They don’ have opinions and do not care about people’s opinions. They live and find Beauty in every simple thing around them. They are very curious all the time. They taught me to never kill that in me. They taught me to never give up in life! Especially when they try to hunt. They taught me to not think about the outcome but focus on what I really want,” shared Vidhya.
Mittoo and Minu were fierce and very smart. They have fought with Cobras, always outsmarting them. Sassy as anyone can be. They would simply slap the snake or just stare at them. Shoo them away with their gaze! They have cleverly chased away packs of dogs and always stopped Tom Cats by putting out their paws! It’s about attitude at the end of the day, you see!
“I am not sure if this can be scientifically proved, but Cats can heal our emotional pain and physical pain. They kept me going and with their presence, I never had dark thoughts, despite my tough times. I always emerged a winner,” she concluded.
Wow Vidhya! I never knew you were a cat person! And 9/19/21 years meant you really took care of them like they cared for you! Beautiful gesture to write about them and pay tribute! 😍