Akrami has not come back so far. Last week, as we came back home, the kids saw a similarly colored cat running away from our porch. All of us ran after him calling out loud, but of course it was not him. A few weeks ago, DH finally broke down and asked our neighbor about him and she too said that she felt he was gone because he didn't come around whenever fish was delivered at her home. But two days later she called out to us and said someone had seen him wandering in the valley below our hillock. We took it with a pinch of salt, because nothing could have prevented him from coming to our place, nothing.
Meanwhile there is no dearth of cats at Karthi. Here is Akrami's wife Chunchu...
As you can see she shares her husband's love of yoga and the ability to make herself comfortable wherever she is. Her greatest drawback as we see it is her lack of conversation.And her high-pitched mew simply grates on our nerves, but we tolerate it as she is our daughter-in-law. Here are the kittens she brought with her the first time over.
She brought two little 'uns that you see in the front of the picture. Then there was a half-grown cat who is staring directly at us at the back. Of course we had to name her Pirate for the black patch!
We were happy when we saw Chunchu pregnant and then brought us her kittens. But we soon noticed that she kept away Akrami and tried to insinuate her kids into the house whenever we weren't paying attention. We assured her as we do all cats that she is allowed to use the enclosed garage, but sorry, we couldn't have her in the house.
One day when the cat family was here, DH brought home some ulli vada and called out to Akrami. Akrami came over the wall and was making his leisurely way to the porch. That is when a tan and black Pirate streaked past us. She went right up to Akrami and slapped him on the cheek! We were all so stunned! Akrami, the poor guy, quietly turned back and went away. DH was so incensed that he ran off Pirate, the kittens and Chunchu. He made it quite clear to them that Karthi was Akrami's home first and no one should drive him away. I can tell you that Pirate was persona non grata for a long time. Only Chunchu returned meekly with Akrami for food.
For all her slim looks and meek little mews, even Chunchu could be aggressive. One evening, Kunjunni gave them food in the cat bowl. We had craftily buried anchovies in rice mixed with curd so that they would have to eat the rice to reach the fish. There is only one bowl and Akrami doesn't like sharing bowl time. So he graciously allowed his wife to eat first and lay down just inside the front door, chatting to us. About two minutes later, Chunchu came and lay down beside him. By this time, Kunjunni and I moved to the porch steps to enjoy the evening sun. So we placed the bowl below the steps. Akrami strolled down and began to eat at his leisure.
A few minutes later, Chunchu slowly nudged her way between us and went down and sat Sphinx-style in front of the bowl. A minute later, she tucked up her front feet beneath her chest and napped a little. Then she got up and swiped her right arm straight across Akrami's face. It was as though she were saying, "You lump, I ate just a little at first so that you wouldn't have to remain hungry for long. And here you have finished more than half already!"
Akrami didn't make any protest and just rolled on to his side beside the bowl as though that was all he had intended to do in the first place. He resolutely ignored two humans whose jaws had hit the step beneath them. Chunchu in the meanwhile ate so daintily, again avoiding looking at us gaping at her! My little feminist heart was torn between going, "My poor Akrami" and "You go, girl!"
One day after this incident, Akrami visited me in the afternoon, an unusual time for him. As I gave him food, he kept going to the entrance of our porch and looking out towards our neighbor's house. I asked him, "Are you scared that she will come?" and I kid you not, he looked up at me and said "Yes!" I laughed so loud and long that he looked thoroughly miffed! That day our kids learned a new acronym - BP (Bharyaye pedi - scared of wife/hen-pecked)!
Now Chunchu and her daughter come visiting from time to time. At the time Akrami disappeared, Chunchu was pregnant again. Last month, she brought home another pair of kittens...
They were almost identical with very few markings to distinguish them. So we named the one with a vaguely 'M' shaped marking on her head Minnu and the other was christened Chinnu. As of last week Chinnu is missing, Minnu visits us with her mother and aunt during the weekends.
Meanwhile Pirate is back on the accepted list. That is one cat who we'd like to know better. Because if we give her something that she likes very much, she too goes "Nomm, nomm" just like her father. And she can talk too. Last weekend she was on child-care duty. Minnu was crawling all over her, slapping her, biting her neck and rolling all over her. But she was very patient and didn't hit back at all.
So no, there is no dearth of cats here at Karthi. But we still miss a yellow and white tom cat...
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