By Niggy
I first met Tabby the Tom cat when he was still a kitten. He was Goldie’s son and had a sibling too—Timmy. Tabby and Timmy made a good pair, playing kitty games in the backyard of the house. Their mother doted on them. Then, one day, she passed away, leaving Tabby and Timmy all by themselves. Time ticked by and then Timmy too passed away. Tabby was now alone. It was then that Tabby began coming inside the house. It was as if he felt the need for human company.
Since childhood, Tabby was an independent kitten. He was happy playing under the chairs and here and there.
Tabby grew up to become a beautiful, orange-striped cat with golden eyes. He would come to the house to eat his food. After that, if he felt like, he would go roaming around outside and then would return home at his whim and fancy.
Tabby did not very much like other cat guests dropping in. It was as if he thought it was an invasion of his privacy. Sometimes, he would just walk out if another cat entered. Tabby liked his own space. He wanted the whole bed or sofa to himself. Tabby was a straightforward kitty. He sort of knew how to send his message across. He would just climb on the chair or bed, and that was a hint to whoever was occupying the space to leave.
An admirable quality of Tabby’s was that he never wore a mask. He just couldn’t hide his emotions. Tabby was terribly scared of the stray cat Sammy. Spotting Sammy, he would tense up and climb on top of the cupboard and stay still. If Tabby was afraid of something or someone, he displayed it transparently.
Tabby was timid, but he would do anything to protect his friend Tracy, even if it meant having a fight with Pretty, the saintly cat. Tracy’s kittens had great regard for Tabby, so when he would wake up after his nap and go out, the kittens would stand up out of respect and follow him, which, however, perhaps sort of irritated Tabby!
Tabby received quite a lot of respect from whoever met him. He was popular among the kids in the neighbourhood, who would call him ‘Garfield’. Once, when my father was sleeping on the sofa in the drawing room, Tabby climbed up on his bed and settled down to sleep! My father was kind enough and told him, “Sleep, sleep”! Such honour Tabby received! Tabby also got his two-minute fame one day by daring to climb on my father’s chest when he was fast asleep. No other kitty ever dared to do that!
Tabby loved attention. He wanted to be talked to. When he would be injured and limped a bit, he wanted to be carried around, which my sister did, as if he were a little baby, even in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning.
Tabby is not to be seen for around a month now. With Tom cats, one does not know where they go and why. Only God knows Tabby’s travel plans! While I miss Tabby a lot, I know that he is such a pure soul that wherever he is, God is taking care of him well.
Gentle, transparent, humble Tabby teaches us how to live life respectfully by being oneself. Tabby was honest to the core, a value that we humans can well emulate.
I have learnt much wisdom from Tabby’s trails and his life. Tabby is around the top of my list of ‘winners’ for living a life to the fullest on his own dignified terms!
Tabby stays in my prayers!
Here are some extracts from a message my sister sent me about Tabby:
“The only cat in all my lifetime, with whom I interacted 24 hours for three years. He needed privacy while eating. Over a period of time he learnt what he was supposed to do when two words "cool joint" and "family room" were told to him. He would run, perch on the cabinet and sit for his cat food to be served.”
“The wait for him to come is over. Always been wondering what would have happened to him to just vanish like that. He was a comfort for three years, a silent friend, who lived life on his terms.”
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