The Notorious Black Cat

He is not one of the cats I feed on daily basis. He is not a cat from this vicinity but he made it his home now. But he knows this is the right place to come to when he needs to mate. He is the cause of Miss Brown’s and Miss Orange’s pregnancies.

He declares himself the big brother of this area although he is a new cat in town. He got rid off of all the adult male cats. No male kittens got away from his brutal paws too. He was the one who attacked the poor kitten which had to be put to sleep due to broken spine and leg.

I got very upset with him and stopped feeding him now.

Poor Kitten Had To Be Put To Sleep

On 7 August 2009 at about 9pm, I was walking towards the direction of the Nasi Lemak stall when I spotted a black cat staring intensely at one motionless thing at the back lane of an office block. Before I could determine what it was, he launched a fierce and merciless attack at the thing. To my horror, it was a kitten. I could hear the piercing scream of the black cat and the sharp painful scream of the kitten. Without hesitation, I took my slipper off and threw it at the black cat as I ran toward their direction. My slipper didn’t hit any part of his body but it did frighten him and he scampered away.

The poor kitten was gasping for breath and his heartbeat was fast. I soothed him by patting his head and body and to let him know that I meant no harm. I noticed several clumps of his furs on the ground. He was bruised and lying on his side. He tried to crawl away but I stopped him. I was very sure he was attacked by the black cat not for once but repeatedly before I went to his rescue.

I gave him some water. He must be totally exhausted. When he tried to crawl away again, that was when I noticed that his hind legs were not moving properly. He couldn’t sit. He couldn’t walk. All he could do was crawl. I fear for the worst for him.

I told my friend and we decided to bring him home. Tomorrow morning, we would get another friend to send us to the vet. I slept in the guestroom with the kitten. He woke up at 5am screaming in pain. I soothed him and gave him some water. Then, he fell asleep again. At 7am he woke up screaming again. I soothed him again. I took his picture as he stared into my eyes.

At 8am, our friend came to fetch us. We went to a vet in Shah Alam and the poor kitten was examined by the doctor. He was given injection and some medication. Since the vet doesn’t provide x-ray service, we were advised to bring the kitten to the Animal Hospital in order to determine if he had any fractured bones, punctured diaphragm and spinal injury.

Upon reaching the Animal Hospital, the kitten undergone a thorough check-up and was put on drip. After an hour of anxious waiting, we were so devastated when the doctor showed us the result of the x-ray. There were broken spine and broken leg. The doctor advised us to put him to sleep in order to end the poor kitten’s pain. We couldn’t hold back our tears anymore. My friend said his farewell to him. I said mine and I asked Lord Buddha to bless his soul as I patted him gently. His eyes were closed as he breathed lightly and calmly.

Miss Brown & Her Unfortunate Kittens

I remember the first time I saw Miss Brown she was sitting next to the motorcycles parked outside the apartment block which I am staying. She was a fine young cat, very vocal and rather friendly. I didn’t really have to try to win her trust as she came to me voluntarily when I offered her biscuits. I took an immediate liking to her. Each day, I would sit on the bench, reading a book while waiting for her to eat her biscuits.

As she was a new cat in this neighbourhood, she faced constant harassment from the other cats. There was no chance for her to beg for food at the Thai Muslim eating stall. When a new ‘mamak’ restaurant was opened at the new commercial area opposite the apartment, she decided to move there.

Just like any other female cats, Miss Brown got pregnant. However, I didn’t see any of her kittens. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that her kittens were adopted by some kind cats lovers, I couldn’t help but to trust my instinct that none of the kittens survived.

Unfailingly, I would walk over to the new commercial building to feed her each day. I was quite delighted to see that both Miss Brown and Miss Orange accepted each other presence very well.

Then, Miss Brown got pregnant again and gave birth to five adorable kittens. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to see them so soon if they had not been thrown out by the construction workers who were renovating one of the office buildings at that time.

The next day, I went to feed Miss Brown and the kittens as usual, only to find one kitten less. The following day, another kitten went missing from the litter. I honestly hope they were adopted and well taken care of by someone.

On 10 March 2009, I took this picture of Miss Brown with one of her kittens eating some biscuits and another picture of Miss Orange having her biscuits while the other two of Miss Brown’s kittens enjoying their canned food.

I was totally shocked and terribly saddened the next day to see the orange coloured kitten’s head on the street. Its body was nowhere to be found. A security guard told me that a car ran over the poor kitten. A few days later, the grey and white kitten went missing. A couple of weeks later, the last remaining dark-brown kitten was out of Miss Brown’s life as well.

I have no idea what happened to the kittens. Poor Miss Brown must have felt totally devastated.

It has been more than a month since she lost her kittens. And now, she is pregnant for about a month. Yes, she is pregnant again! In no time, she will have a new litter of kittens hidden in somewhere secluded, and hopefully save from intruders.

Miss Orange & Her Four Lost Kittens

The first time I saw Miss Orange I was having my meal at the Thai Muslim eating stall sometime last year. She was wandering, meowing and begging for food. Luckily, I had cat biscuits with me that fateful day. I walked toward her with the biscuits but she went hiding under a car. So, I left the biscuit there, and after a minute or two, out she crawled to eat it. She was a young cat.

A couple of months later, I found her pregnant. If possible, for pregnant felines, I would try to include canned food or boiled fish in their diet. Then she went disappeared one fine day. I thought she had ‘migrated’, until I saw her again in February 2009 at the new commercial area opposite the apartment looking for food at a ‘mamak’ restaurant. She had given birth, but I had no idea where she hid her babies.

During one of my daily feeding rounds, I caught her leaving the staircase of an unoccupied office building. I went to inspect the place as my instinct told me that the babies were hidden there. And, true enough, I saw a litter of four wonderful kittens, about four to six weeks old, snuggling close to each other. Their furs were almost identical to Miss Orange. Their eyes were still blue indicating they were not weaned yet. At such tender age, they were already taught to be aware of their surroundings, as they hissed at me and ran into hiding as soon as they saw me.

A week or two after 21 February 2009, the date I took this picture, was the last time I saw the kittens. I could be wrong but I was confident that the kittens were packed and thrown away as I remembered seeing a cleaner with black rubbish bags, brooms and dust-pan cleaning that stretch of the unoccupied building. I was so disheartened to find the kittens gone the following day, and I felt terribly sorry for Miss Orange. She cried rather loudly the moment she saw me, as if to tell me of her lost babies.

She is close to two months pregnant now. Yes, she is pregnant again! As she is very close to her friend, Miss Brown, she spends a lot of time together with her. It is a matter of time she will give birth to a litter of kittens. I hope she will be able to keep them save from harm. Anyway, she looks happy to see me, and eats her food. However, these days, she would not let me go without having her body caressed and her head patted.