Feline Frivolity

Sayan Sarkar

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From a very young age, I had always preferred dogs over cats.

In my young mind, dogs were loyal, predictable, and always willing to play along. Cats, on the other hand, I found to be fiercely independent, moody, and marching to the beat of their own drum.

As a result of such prejudices, it was always stray dogs that got the most of my attention every time I was out on the streets. I fed them, petted them, and played with them whenever I got the opportunity.

As for the furry felines—I didn’t pay them much attention for nearly three decades of my life.

But as fate would have it, things took a sudden turn, and the scales of my affection readjusted within a very short span of time.

It happened one winter morning two years ago when I had come to visit my grandmother in a quiet locality of Howrah—the sister city of the bustling metropolis of Kolkata.

My grandmother and my aunt had been living on the first floor of this four-storied apartment for quite some time, and I had visited the place on numerous occasions before.

But this particular morning turned out to be quite different.

As I was busy unlocking the collapsible gate on the ground floor, I suddenly felt something brush against my leg. Looking down spontaneously, I found that the culprit was a white stray cat with orange patches spread across its body.

“Meow!” It greeted me graciously in cat tongue, proceeding to rub its body against my legs.

I was taken aback.

This was the first time a cat had approached me like this, and keeping in mind their capricious nature, I wondered whether it would be better to bend down and pet it or get back and leave.

In the end, the low-pitched purrs, the twisting orange tail, and the bright green eyes won me over. Bending down, I stroked its fur coat cautiously.

The cat closed it eyes and enjoyed the caresses, acting like it had been waiting for this very moment for a long, long time.

Its tail was upright, its ears bent forward, and its pupils constricted—signs that it was in a playful mood.

It continued its intermittent meowing and purring and kept brushing its head against my feet.

This is nice. I found myself saying. Who would have thought my first feline encounter would go so well!

After spending what seemed like an eternity with my newfound friend, I made my way upstairs.

It was quite difficult to keep the cat from coming up with me, but I finally succeeded in giving it the slip.

The cat, however, sat in front of the entrance for nearly the entire duration of my stay. Despite an uncontrollable urge to give it something to eat, I soon found that there was nothing in the house that the cat would find particularly tasty. The cat finally left half an hour before my departure, and I firmly resolved to bring some cat food during my next visit with the hopes of crossing paths with my feline friend again.

One month later, I was back with two tins full of cat biscuit.

The Gods didn’t disappoint, and soon enough, I caught sight of my friend again. This time, it was not alone. It was chilling with its friends on the boundary wall separating our apartment from the neighbouring house. As soon as it caught sight of me, it ran towards me with apparent joy and beckoned its friends to follow suit.

One by one, they all came—a black cat and two white cats with grey patches. They sat apprehensively behind their friend, inspecting me cautiously and trying to figure out if I was trustworthy.

My friend, in the meantime, circled around me with a continuous string of meows.

Where have you been? It seemed to be saying. I told my friends all about you. Have you brought anything for us to eat?

In reply to its deluge of queries, I took out a tin and placed a handful of cat biscuits on the ground.

Throwing caution to the wind, all four of them jumped at once and gobbled the biscuits in no time at all.

After devouring a generous serving, the cats all sat around me, expecting more. When they realized the feast was over, they relaxed and started cleaning themselves. Paws to ears, paws to whiskers—moves rehearsed and perfected through millennia. It was a sign that they felt at home in my presence and had inducted me into their club. Membership was a privilege, and the benefits included several versions of meows, purrs, and constant companionship by one or all of the feline members.

From that day on, the cats became an integral part of my life, and I looked forward to visiting them for a few days each month and spending time in their proximity.

Even my grandmother, who had always had a strong aversion to all kinds of animals, succumbed to the pleading stares and playful behaviour of the cats, and soon enough, she was the one feeding them in my absence.

As the months passed by, our bond kept growing stronger. I soon introduced the cats to my wife, and they warmed up to her in no time at all. My wife fell in love with them and couldn’t take her eyes off the frivolous felines.

I spent entire mornings observing them from the balcony as they went about their daily routine—sitting on the boundary wall and basking in the sun, quarrelling with one another from time to time, cleaning themselves, and taking occasional naps.

There were a few strays that came and went from time to time, but the core feline contingent remained ever-present.

Mark Twain, known for his deep affection of felines, once humorously wrote, “Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”

These creatures, with their superior agility, lightning-quick reflexes, and laser-sharp focus, have allowed us to domesticate them for their own convenience. Despite having all the traits of an apex predator, they roam around our cities, kill our rodents, bring us joy, and simply ask for a little affection and kindness in return.

A cat’s average lifespan is less than about one-third that of a human’s, but they are capable of providing us with a lifetime of memories if we treat them properly.

In the past few years, I’ve learnt from experience that these little fur balls of chaos can be as loyal and loving as their canine counterparts. They might seem all indifferent and high and mighty from a distance, but deep down, they all want some attention.

That I could gain their trust, I consider a reward in itself, and I try to cherish every moment I spend with my little friends.

I hope to continue growing old with these frolicking felines for many more years to come—giving them a little love, lots of treats, and making their lives a bit more colourful.

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Sayan Sarkar was born and raised in Kolkata. An engineer by profession but a storyteller at heart, he is a passionate reader and lifelong learner who spends his leisure time immersed in books and new ideas. He primarily writes fiction, seeking to entertain and inspire readers through his narratives. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Twist & Twain Magazine, Muse India, MeanPepperVine, 101 Words, Borderless Journal, and The Hooghly Review.

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Photos by Sayan Sarkar
Featured photo by Anusmit Sil (Pexels)