Great Encounters of the Other Kind (3)

Going straight to battle

Time came when I had gathered strength to solve the condo’s problem of keeping cats by facing it head-on.  I went straight to management to tell the truth.  They are just passing through; we are bringing them to Cebu and we will see to it that they do not disturb anyone, I declared emotionally.

For good measure, I added shrilly, having a housebroken and disciplined cat is unlike those other residents who are the real pests because they did not install tubes for their airconditioners’ water residue, they sweep their units’ dirt out to the corridor, hang laundry in the windows, and create a racket with their televisions and sound systems, all against the house rules.  The answer was the most understanding of smiles from the building manager.

One thing I am proud of with being a Filipino is that we are more inclined to err on the side of compassion, as shown once more by the building manager’s reaction.  The spirit of the law seems to take upper hand to the letter of the law here, if I may compare our country with those I have been to.  Such inclination may have its disadvantages, but there are situations that do need judgment calls.  Say, can one really compare throwing a cat out cruelly to that of lowering during unholy hours the volume of a blaring videoke being used by a howling off-key singer with a bathroom voice that inspires one to take Valium?

No, there is no whiff of indecent smell in an enclosed space like a small condo unit where cats are.  I have followed the rules and tips on caring for indoor cats culled from months of research and reading and soliciting advice from vets.  We keep them healthy through inoculations and proper diet, thus keeping humans safe as well.  We also provide in the rest room a cat litter box with clumping litter which is cleaned everyday.  Believe me our cats go to the rest room to relieve themselves.

Our four feline friends are now with the kid sister in Cebu where we hope to build a better place for them soon.  We have Ewox and Rolex in the condo at the moment.  Ewox was a hairless kitten who looked like an overused black sock.  While he has given me more scratches (battle scars, the vet called them) than all the other cats combined, he is also the most affectionate.

Rolex is the only fully grown cat we picked up.  One of our frequent weekend visitors in Cavite, she is the most intelligent of them all, unique in that cats, unlike dogs, are as a rule not trainable as performers.

Rolex just happens to be naturally gifted with a good dash of ham.  She regaled us one day with a series of body cartwheels not unlike those Olympic gymnasts, looked at us and meowed, did more cartwheels, until she decided that we have noticed her and liked her enough.  We opened our door.  Unknowingly, we have also opened our hearts.  When she came one day looking horribly thin, vomiting constantly and refusing the food, we kidnapped her to Manila, without apologies to whoever owned her, and brought her to the vet.  She is now recuperating.

Sure, the vet was right in that there are countless strays out there.  But just as we could not take on the world, we do the little that we can to save what we can of these hapless creatures who are often taken for granted because they are not expensive ‘designer’ cats with pedigrees.  Pusakal (for ‘pusa sa kalye,’ a quaint Tagalog term for alley cats) they may be, they can equal, if not exceed, the pedigreed when it comes to giving joy to humans, given the chance.

I must admit expenses for their vet, food and other incidentals, like the supply of clumping litter, travel, and cat toys (yes, these are available; with these one’s furniture are spared from cat’s claws) are way above our heads.  More so with the male neutering and female spaying that they have to undergo.  These have to be done no matter what. (Experts say that a cat lives a healthier and longer life if it does not undergo the stresses of reproduction, which could run to a multi-generational progeny of 27 thousand in its regular lifetime, resulting in thousands of homeless, suffering and short-lived cats!)  We cope by doing away with counting the cost.

(2004)