Minty--in pictures

Cat--a poem by Jibananda Das

Again and again through the day
I meet a cat.
In the tree's shade, in the sun, in the crowding brown leaves.
After the success of a few fish bones
Or inside a skeleton of white earth
I find it, as absorbed in the purring
Of its heart as a bee.
Still it sharpens its claws on the gulmohar tree
And follows the sun all day long.

Now I see it and then it is gone,
Losing itself somewhere.
On the autumn evening I have watched it play,
Stroking the soft body of the saffron sun
With a white paw. Then it caught
The darkness in paws like small balls
And scattered it all over the earth.

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I have been looking for poems on cats by Indian authors. Jibananda Das was a Bengali poet and writer[1899-1954]. I can't find the translator of the above version, and would appreciate it if someone could tell me.
Another version is below.


All day I inevitably encounter a cat here and there
In the shadow of trees or out in the sun, around
the pile of fallen leaves;
I catch sight of him, deeply engrossed like a bee,
with his own self
Embedded in the skeleton of white soil
Having successfully spotted some bones
of fishes somewhere;
But still, nevertheless, he scratches at the trunk
of the Krishnachura tree
All day he moves about stalking the sun.

Now he shows up here
The next moment he is lost somewhere.
I spot him in the autumn dusk playing around
As if, with his white paws, he is patting the supple body
of the saffron sun;
Then he nets up the tiny balls of darkness with his paw
And spreads them throughout the world.

Translated by Faizul Latif Chowdhury

A cat started the Mahabharata war!

A regional version of the Mahabharata in Kumaon, states that a cat caused the Mahabharata war. According to the story, the Kauravas and Pandavs lived in two adjacent places in Kumaon. The Pandavas had a cat named Lomasha, while the Kauravas had a chicken.
The moved to Hastinapura along with their pets--the Pandavas by this time had children, who were still babies. Lomasha was quite protective of them. One morning the Kauravas’ cock crowed loudly and awakened the little ones, who began to cry. Lomasha ran to protect them and killed the cock. The Kauravas attacked the Pandavas and the great war started!
I found this story in secondary literature--still looking for the original. If a cat was responsible for the beginning of the war, surely cats in India deserve more respect!
All through the Mahabharata the Pandavas are seen to be friendly with animals. Yudhishthira did not abandon his dog on the way to heaven; earlier too they had a dog who barked at Ekalavya. And in the pious cat story narrated earlier, that cat too is elsewhere called Lomasha.

Are cats primarily left-handed?

The link below, from the Guardian archives, suggests that cats use their left paws more than their right! I think most of my cats are ambidextrous. Has anyone noticed which paws they use?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/11/left-handed-cats-handedness-archive-1955

Sweetie--through pictures

My cat companions

Indoor cats:
Sweetie: most precious, beautiful grey and white girl, 12 years old.

Minty: 4 years old, a calico cat who meows a lot and is a bit crazy, but loves to cuddle and sit on my lap.

Outside cats:Muffin: two year old female tabby. She likes to roam and is very good at catching mice, birds, etc. These days she is not keen on roaming, probably scared by a dog next door, and to some extent by Pixie [rescued dog] in the front garden, and by a large tom cat.
Mitzi: one year old female. She wants to come in, but unfortunately gets into terrible fights with Minty. Muffin and Mitzi have the same mother, who stays nearby.
Mini and Maxi: twin boys, 9 months old, sons of Muffin,.
Nandu: black woolly boy, nine months old, but bigger and fatter than all the others. Very good natured and loving, but bullies the other cats.
Ashi: black female, nine months old, loves to play, and to eat. Bites if she gets angry!

Hug Your Cat Day

Hug Your Cat Day was on 4 June. It is primarily celebrated in North America and Europe. Alternative days for its celebration are 3 May and 30 May. It is meant to remind people of the benefits of living with cats.
Can we start a special ‘hug your cat day’ in India?
Some rules---Do not hug a cat you are not familiar with. Regarding your own cat, you will know whether or not it likes being hugged. Of my two indoor cats, Sweetie has to be in the right mood, Minty loves being hugged. Of the outdoor ones, I can try it with Mitzi for a short time. Nandu loves it, but gets really boisterous.
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A recipe for a special treat of cookies for your cat. [I found it on the internet, but modified it slightly].
Mix mashed sardines with a small amount of milk powder and flour, shape them into balls, flatten, and bake! [This is only for a treat, and not for everyday. More on appropriate food later. ]

Bengal Cat

There are thousands of cats in India who need to be adopted and to find a good home, and it is not advised that anyone buy or search for a breed. Still, I was curious about why a particular breed was known as a Bengal cat. Surely they did not originate in Bengal? I discovered they originate in the US, and are named after the Asian leopard cat, P.b. bengalensis. In the 1920s and 30s there were some hybrids of the leopard cat and a domestic cat, and more in succeeding years, but the breed developed in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, from leopard cats and domestic cats, from the domestication of leopard cats, and from Egyptian Maus. The breed can be long or short-haired, spotted or marbled, in different colours including brown and silver. Long-haired Bengal cats are only recognised as a breed in New Zealand, and are known there as Cashmeres. As Cashmere is an odd British spelling of Kashmir, this name too comes from India.
Some Bengal cats have health problems, including early onset blindness. Hypertropic cardiomyopathy is present in 16.7 %. Once again, it is best not to get a breed. The ordinary short hair cat, is just as beautiful and far more healthy.

Nandu--a black cat

Nandu arrived on the night of 25 October. The bell at the gate rang around 9 pm. When I went out to see who it was, a scrawny black kitten was handed to me over the gate. Dogs were after it, I was told, as I took the little one and brought him inside. Nandu joined two other black kittens who had arrived that week. Why was I being showered with black kittens? I wasn’t sure. I had offered to keep little Ashi for a week--more on her elsewhere. A tiny sick furry was handed over for foster care by the local shelter, but she survived only till the end of the month.
Nandu looked as if he was starving. All his ribs were showing. He was terrified, hissing and spitting. He was put into a carrier, gobbled some Whiskas and drank some water, before I left him for the night. The two others were nearby. In the morning he soon made friends with Ashi and Furry, but was far too rough for Furry. We were all depressed when Furry died on my lap on the 31st--she had eaten a little food the previous night, but of course she was already quite ill, paralysed.
Ashi and Nandu were then inseparable. Nandu had a poor digestion, but just couldn’t stop eating! He was very sick one day, but recovered after a trip to the vet.
Gradually they grew up together, and now they are nine months old. Ashi was bigger to start with, but today Nandu is twice her size. He has developed a raucous male voice too, and bullies Mini and Maxi. I am still looking for a good vet to sterilise them all. From the time they came to me, I have posted their pictures and searched for a home for them, with no luck. Just a few days ago, I met a father and daughter who almost promised to take him--it seemed like a really good home. But just after that a medical emergency in the family, ended the possibility of his adoption.
Nandu is still looking for a good indoor home, preferably along with Ashi. He is shy of strangers, but loves to sit on my lap and be cuddled.