Puppies Out the Front, Family of Cats Out the Back

One morning I got up and did the usual, got ready to head to Ramana Ashram.

I grabbed my things and stepped outside. Much to my surprise, I glanced over the balcony and saw three puppies and a dog standing there, just staring up at me.

I recognised them.

I feed them sometimes.

They’re from further up the street.

I don’t really mind; the puppies are cute but it’s not exactly ideal.

It’s dangerous.

Usually, they’re not there in the morning.

But as soon as I walk out of my street, they hear me, spot me, and start chasing after me.

It must look strange: a guy on a scooter being followed up and down the street multiple times a day by an eager little pack.

Sometimes I don’t have food.

I’m out of options.

“Sorry guys,” I say. “You have to go home.”

One afternoon, I came back and they followed me all the way to the gate and then tried forcing their way inside. One of them was successful.

“Oi! You, get down and go home.”

She slowly came down and slinked away. I went up to another dog, “You have to go home.”

While all this was happening, I’d also become friends with a family of cats and kittens.

One morning, just before sitting down for some quiet meditation in my room, I heard a meow. I got up and looked out the window.

Papa cat, mum cat, and three kittens, all sleeping on my balcony.

Wow, I thought. Full cat family. Well, I guess I have to serve.

I bought a big bag of cat food and heaps of curd to keep in the fridge. If I hear any meowing, I’m ready to go.

One evening I went out there when it was raining to give them food.

Papa cat got scared and ran, then jumped but he misjudged the gap. He made it to the other side and held on, but then dropped.

“FUCK!”

"Oh, my fucking God, I’ve killed a cat. I couldn’t believe it. How has this happened?"

I ran downstairs to try and find Papa Cat but he was gone.

Fuck, he could be injured somewhere.

I ended up finding him and he was moving just fine. But he wasn’t happy with me.

Another day, I went out there and the family was there. It was the first time Papa Cat and I had seen each other since the incident. He just hissed at me and slinked away.

A few evenings later, the same thing happened. A kitten ran from me, misjudged the gap, and fell.

“FUCK! Oh my fucking God, it’s happened twice now. I’ve really done it this time.”

I ran outside, jumped the fence, and started searching. I found the kitten hiding in a corner. It was moving okay.

I googled "cats falling from heights" and was surprised to find they actually land alright from tall heights. But still… they could be injured and I wouldn’t know.

I’ve seen both kitten and cat since. We’re slowly becoming friends again. They still eat and get water from me.

This evening I’ve been busy writing blogs, but I made sure to go out and give the three kittens and Mum some curd, water, and cat food. I sat back down and got absorbed in my writing.

I randomly looked out the window to check on them and to my horror, this huge monkey the size of a kid was outside.

The kittens were scared. The mum was scared too but she was standing her ground.

I jumped out of the chair and ran to the balcony.

“OI MONKEY!” I yelled.

I opened the door and flew out. He’d grabbed a bucket of curd and ran off.

I chased him off the balcony.

He sat on the roof of the other house, looking at me while eating the curd.

I didn’t mind too much that he was eating it but he was intimidating the cat family.

Nobody was going to fuck with this cat family while I lived here for another two weeks.

I came back inside and sat down. I looked out and saw Mama Cat hugging one of the kittens. It was cute.

I went back to my blogs and decided this would be my last one for the night.