Part 1 - The origins of a catpurrson (...continues)

 Chapter 2 - The accident

It was an early summer day, a nice pleasantly warm day and I was late for school in the afternoon (although the school it was only five minutes away from my home). You see in my country of origin in those days we used to go to school at different times in different days! We had, what someone might call shifts, three days (Monday to Wednesday) we'd go to school in the mornings from 8 to 13.30 and two days in the afternoon (Thursday and Friday) from 2.30 to 7 pm. Occasionally we would change and we'll be in the unlucky shift,  from Monday to Wednesday going to school in the afternoons and then on Thursdays and Fridays we'd go to school in the mornings, which of course it meant that we had only a few hours on Wednesday evening to do any homework and hopefully no extra after school  sessions in the private school everybody used to go,  either for learning English (as you didn't learn much at the normal school) or for some assistance and hopefully some understanding with the science subjects  (maths, physics and chemistry) or later for preparation for the University exams which also included Latin, History, Ancient Greek and Essay writing. Yes, in my days we didn't have much time after school for anything else than more study...forget playing games or watching TV...such luxuries were only permitted some weekends, ha!

Anyway back to that summer day and to myself rushing to go to school. My home where I was born and lived all my childhood was a ground floor only building which it was build when my mum was pregnant with me and got finished just before I was born, and which was a typical suburban house with a decent size garden and not that very high fences, just high enough to give some privacy from the neighbours and the purrfect walking, sleeping, resting and watching platform for the many at that time feral cats. Along with the accommodating fences, we also had a very inviting (to cats and mice) shed in the garden where many cats would then use for hiding, catching a few snacks, snoozing and occasionally as a nursery...Our dog, Betty, of course wasn't very happy with the whole situation, being surrounded with so many cats she couldn't get to, especially since she was 'moved' on the roof, where she didn't have to kept tied up as on the roof there were no plants to destroy and garden soil to dig....So she would normally go into barking fits for a while, till it was dinner and snoozing time of course. Naturally the cats were aware of Betty and also of the fact that she couldn't get to them so at times they would not only ignore her but also tease her...you know, sometimes it looked like they're saying something in which human terms could have translated to:...'you can bark as much as you like but you can get to us, really you stupid dog'!

Although either of my parents were crazy about cats, they would just tolerate them because of the many mice we used to get because of the bird feed we always had around and the many available hiding places in the old garden shed and bird cages and  chicken coop, which we had to have because of my little obsession with chicks (although when they were too young and vulnerable I would keep them in the house...till they were ready to move to the outside coop that is). So we'd frequently feed them (the cats that is of course) to make sure that they'd stay around to keep the rodent population in control. But as the life expectancy of all the feral cats was usually only a few months to a couple of years if they were really lucky, different cats will occasionally appear and quickly disappear with only a female long hair tubby being a semi-permanent resident on our garden for quite a while...as for the male cats, well, they were really hard to keep around for very long as everybody knows that unneutered males tend to roam far and to have big territorial areas, along for being rather musical at certain times of the year when the mating season was on, usually or when other males would appear and try to claim their territory...Yes they were loud indeed, singing for hours at most inconvenient times when the rest of the neighbourhood was trying to sleep!

But at that time of my 'accident', a few weeks before, this ginger tom cat, who was quite big for a feral and not well cared cat appeared out of the blue and who seemed to be in charge and control of all the other cats that were around at the time and who seemed, at least at the time, to always be there, observing me every time I would venture outside in the garden. I must admit and because of my general at the time fear and general ignorance of cats I was really intimidated by him and didn't like that cat at all. I thought that there was something menacing and evil about him and that he looked like waiting to find the right moment to attack me.

 All feral cats were always wary and scared of people and for a good reason of course for being so as many people those days would mistreat them and generally be very cruel to cats with some even going to the extremes and actually drowning and even poisoning cats just for fun...

Actually, there is nothing worse than witnessing a poisoned cat having a fit and dying in front of you in total agony and not being able to do anything for that poor animal. Even those days when I didn't really like cats, even then the sight of a suffering and dying cat was a horrible experience, one which made me frequently wonder what was wrong with humans, why on earth they appear to enjoy torturing and killing in such cruel manners other animals...and quite frequently those days it wasn't only cats but dogs too, especially puppies which they would sometimes drown again for 'fun'...

Now and when at times I think about those times when I was growing up and when I frequently came up across acts of  unprovoked cruelty and torture towards innocent animals which their only crime seemed to be that they were born at the wrong time and in the wrong place and being also fully aware that  some people even today, they can be really cruel, l  know that one of the many reasons that I'm a firmly supporter of keeping your cats permanently indoors is because I want to protect them from human cruelty and sometimes unprovoked sheer hate. There is no such place as a cat friendly environment out there where humans live and that is the honest and perhaps unpleasant truth!

(to be continued.....)

Part 1 - The origins of a catpurrson (....continues)

Chapter 1- The conversion of a non- believer to a cat worshipper or how to change to a catpurrson in one quick step…

PART 2

At this point I think is about time that I confess something...that as a young child I didn't really like cats...I was kinda afraid of them and that I used to prefer baby chicks and birds instead...To my defence I come from a country where till recently (or even now for at least some really cruel people who seem to enjoy killing cats for their own mean reasons) cats weren't very popular, they had a bad reputation, and they were  many stray, serving only one purpose  to catch rats and mice and not to be kept as companion animals indoors!!!

It is true that where and when I was growing up cats weren't the popular animals they are today and most people seemed to prefer dogs to cats who they could serve their ‘human masters’ by guarding and protecting them or in the case of my dad and too many other hunters those days, when they were going hunting, so they can find and retrieve fallen, killed or lost birds...

Those days dogs and cats would stay outside in a sheltered place (if they were lucky that is) and they would only eat human leftovers. Yes now and when I'm reminiscing those days I do feel really ashamed especially when remembering how badly dogs and cats were really treated, with cats often being poisoned to reduce the numbers down while dogs were kept tied up, day and night, almost all year around...But I guess, and unfortunately, I didn't know any better those days as we were living in a world  where only humans deserved  to have a 'good' life and anything else living organism was expendable, it lived only to serve or sustain humans and they couldn't feel or know anything as they were  mere 'dumb and stupid animals!!' So bad and sad really...

But at least we can all be thankful that now things have indeed changed and cats and dogs are treated in most cases like equal family members...although and even now there are still some exceptions to these rules and some people are still mistreating their animal companions....Unfortunately some humans can never change or they would openly admit that all animals have their place in this world and that they have the right like humans to live their own lives as nature intend it...live and let live!

But the past can't be changed, no matter how much we might want to and sometimes there is no much point in thinking too much how different things might have been. Instead it is better if one can focus on the present and on the things that he/she can change now and subsequently influence the future so instead I'll just carry on telling you that part of the past that is relevant to this part of the story so I could explain my own origins of my cathood!

As I said before and yes, and once again, shame, shame of me, when I was younger I didn't really like cats or even dogs for that matter (despite the fact that we always had a dog around as I was afraid of them because of a couple incidents I had, when I was attacked by some stay dogs without really getting injured, just very scared!). Instead t I seemed to rather prefer small chicks which I found easy to care for (till at least they'd have grown to adult hens who we would then either keep them for a while for the eggs  they'd produce or who we'd only keep if they were cockerels till they were big and fat enough for the dinner roast). Yes I know, shame of me once again but I couldn't help it. I'd love and care for these small chicks (and I was a very good foster hen mother) till they'd have grown and become adult chickens and I would look like a young female Konrad Lorenz, having them following me around the house or garden but when they'd had grown up all of the sudden I'd just stop caring for them (and looked to care for other young ones all over again) and didn't really care whether my mother would keep them or decide to cook them instead...I didn't even mind eating them, to be honest, as I would have completely detached myself from them...To my defence they didn't look anything like the fluffy and soft balls I’ve used to care for...and those days vegetarians didn't  really exist!

I think it must have been the size and the total transformation that kinda made me so uncaring when they were grown up chickens (a few rabbits too. occasionally) as when I've started looking after dwarf, which we were calling, chinese, chickens I kept them for life and I got really distraught when my first dwarf cockerel, Rico died from old age... and who I've even buried in the back garden. And despite all my then faults I was one of the first and perhaps a pioneer in some way as I would always keep my animals indoors, in the house and often treated them like they were part of the family particular at times when all animals that they were kept as pets were kept mainly outdoors in a special, sheltered area and were even only fed occasionally. In some way I guess they were paying back for that shelter and free food by either protecting their humans or assisting their humans in their activities and hobbits, like hunting, or and in case of cats keeping the rodents population under control. And even after I'd finally had my epiphany moment and became a cat worshipper. I was, at least where I've lived, one of the first that insisted on keeping their cats indoors because it was safer, despite common beliefs and often severe criticism that they should be allowed to roam freely because it was in their nature, pure nonsense really!

So and despite the fact that I would sometimes eat my pets in the end, I've always liked and cared for animals in general including  wounded wild birds which my dad would bring after his hunting trip (which funny enough we would then keep and not eat if they’d managed to survive and recover from their injury and stress of being captured of course) , rabbits, other small birds like canaries, budgies, puppies, etc. but never kittens or cats...I simply didn't like cats that is....till of course that day when I had my accident and a close encounter with a ginger, stray tom cat when I was about 12 years old! 

  

(to be continued.....)

Meows and Purrs till next time....as Ozzy would say!