CAT PEOPLE

 Cats have not taken it kindly and an offended cat is a dangerous one. Shakespeare wrote "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", I am sure he was not a cat person, else he would have known that you can't afford to get on the wrong side of the feline species. Republicans are treading on a highly treacherous path by trying to provoke the kitties, alluding to 'cat ladies' in derogatory terms and if that was not enough going on to allege that the mousers were so dumb that they could form part of the menu of the immigrants. Obviously they are ignoramuses, as these furry friends are as royal as the Asiatic Lion in their demeanour and attitude. After all haven't they heard of the tale, where the cat as the guru teaches all the tricks to the lion, but doesn't impart the skill of tree climbing. Lions are the undisputed kings of the jungle, so their gurus naturally are not hoi polloi. 

Anyone who has any experience of having been a pet parent would know that you can teach a dog tricks but cats are in a different league. They order you around, you kowtow to their preferences and in the bargain are trained to be a cat person. We have been fortunate that when we were growing up, we got the opportunity to be groomed by one of these species. We had a wild cat and a pomeranian both as pets at one point of time. While the kitten adopted us when my mother attended to her, when she was badly injured; the pup landed up a little while later. The kitten was not the one to be tied down to happy domesticity, she was wild and adventurous, would be out on a prowl for a hunt every evening. When cats are around mice can't make merry, so the household was pest free, she was the  pest control authority and executive. She would make an appearance in the wee hours of the morning, without bothering us, would settle down for its well earned siesta. Every morning she would demand and get her share of milk, apart from that when she wanted to oblige us she would purr around, snuggle close, but on her own terms. We couldn't demand attention as she would just royally ignore us, when she was not in the mood. Cats incidentally are very hygienic, they don't need to be cared for like dogs, you don't need to take them for a walk, they are not leashed and live very much on their own terms. While being elder to the pup she would indulge him at times, let him share her bowl of milk, even teach him a few tricks at times, but whenever she felt that the idiot had crossed the line she would let him know who is the boss, with just one stroke of her paw, the bugger would be made to beat a hasty retreat yelping. Those days we did not have any video cameras otherwise we could have captured some really interesting and memorable clips of their activities. Unfortunately we lost her when she did not return after  one of her nightly prowls. We could not find her and presumed the worst.

The cat connection is back these days, with three of them, mother and her two kittens having adopted us. Having lost out companion of 12 years, Buddy, our labrador, two years ago, we had decided on not keeping a pet. But today there are three canines, three of these pussies,  you can watch their antics on insta https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_3C6NzvPLA/?igsh=YzljYTk1ODg3Zg==

Host of squirrels and birds who have  made our home a mini zoo of sorts. In fact we also have a snake to give us company once in a while, making his presence felt by peeping through the window occasionally. Thankfully the windows were screened through the wire-mesh, else this friendship may have gone southward. My buddy Mayank is not just an animal lover, he actually seems to be living just for them. He has taken it upon himself to feed all of them regularly, in fact I have had to restrain him from permitting the dogs entry into the house, but cats obviously don't bother with such trivialities. 

Getting back to the Republicans and the sacrilege which they have committed, my humble advice to them is that cats and cat people should not be messed around with and if they haven't seen the movie, "Garfield" or followed the comic strip by Jim Davis, they better do, else they better resign themselves to the fate of hapless Jon. Cats have nine lives, they,the Republicans have just one!!