Our apartment isn’t just home to people; it’s also a haven for six cats: Missy (mom), Ava (Missy’s older kitten, now a mom), Jasper and Mist (Missy’s younger kittens), and Violet (the father of Ava’s kittens).
Mist and Jasper, the mischievous duo, always find themselves in trouble, climbing trees, scaling walls, and exploring every nook and cranny. Recently, the two disappeared for three days. Missy, the mom, conducted a thorough search using a distinct meow. As the mom expected, the kittens responded back. Once she found them, she tried to get them out, but she couldn’t. The kittens were on the first floor of one of the buildings in our apartment. Somehow, they had jumped into a deep duct meant for water pipes and didn’t know how to get out. On the first day, the Mom showed the way and Mist somehow followed the Mom and got out, but Jasper couldn’t, probably was too afraid to follow the Mom.
One evening, after wrapping up my English pre-board exam studies, I heard loud meows echoing. Just then one of my friends told me that there was a kitten stuck on the first floor. My dad and I rushed to investigate, We found both Missy and one of her kittens – Mist, but Jasper was missing. With determination, Dad successfully rescued him.
The following morning, there were meows again from the same place. Mist found herself in a precarious situation on the third floor. Dad, a neighbour, and I embarked on a search, eventually locating her in a tricky spot. An electrician, responding to the meows, offered assistance. Climbing into the duct, he carefully tried to retrieve her. However, Mist, frightened, began backing away and nearly slipped (a potential fall from the third floor to the basement). Fortunately, our neighbour went to the second floor and grabbed her by climbing on the parapet wall. We joyfully reunited Mist with her family, eliciting a collective sigh of relief.
It was a great relief for all of us including Missy the mom. Before I could reach my home, all of them were at my door asking for food! I was happy to feed them with their favourite cat food, needless to say, all of us were glad to see them eating the food innocently. Hopefully, they don’t get to venture again!
Maitreyi Aravindan lives in the garden city of India, Bangalore. She is a very passionate animal lover. Loves reading and writing poems and blogs. She is also a budding Classical dancer and singer. Her hobbies include drawing, painting, cooking, travelling. She likes to be associated with nature and animals in her daily life, in some way.