This day, last year I was playing around with one of the most precious gift I could ever think of. I had been wanting to pet a cat and I spoke about this to my friends. I was very excited about the idea of being a cat-mom but at the same time I was freaked out by the responsibility that would naturally fall upon me. When on my birthday night, I saw this little furr-ball I didn't think twice to accept the responsibility.
Few months into it and I quite got adapted to being a cat-mom to Gypsy. She was such a curious cat, exactly opposite to what I thought she would be. She was always energetic, ever ready to play, she kept everybody on their toes in the house. She never slept during the night and slept through the day instead. She felt so much of energy at night that my dad always complained about her not letting him sleep. She was so playful and smart at the same time. She used to jump and run and hide and what not. And after shes done all the uthal-puthal here and there in the house, she'd easily sneak away in some random corner of the house (that is not so easy to guess) and pretend as the most innocent being in the world. Sounds so much similar to having a toddler in the house right? She was like one.
One day my mom was talking to our watchman or somebody at the door and it was slightly open. We knew that gypsy used to always find ways to run outside whenever we opened the door so she was being cautious but I don't know what happened, within a matter of seconds she sneaked her way out and ran to the ground floor (We stayed on the first floor). My mom rushed behind her but she was so quick to hide somewhere that my mom couldn't find her. I was at work that time but my mom called me immediately. Even though I was scared I tried to calm her down. Once I reached home, me, my mom and my dad, we tried and checked every possible corner where she could have gone but we couldn't find her. the next day, my mom spotted her underneath some car parked in the building. She got her home and everybody had a sigh of relief. Since that day, we observed her going to the window and calling out for somebody again and again. It happened repetitively and one day I saw a male cat loitering under our window. I immediately got her to the doctor to get her checked. The doctor suggested we wait for a few days to get a confirmation if she was pregnant or not. Few weeks later, when we got her sonography done, the doctor confirmed that she was pregnant. It was very surprising because it was only one time she went out and probably was with that male cat the whole time. The doctor told us that cats could be highly fertile as well.
It was only a few days that we got used to her routine, especially my mom. I was working and was hardly able to spend time at home to be responsible to take care of Gypsy. I never spoke it out, but I am really thankful to my mom for taking the responsibility unknowingly and she did so well :) Even Gypsy had become a part of mom's routine. We didn't know what to do when we were told to let her pregnancy pass and then get her operated if we wished. We still started her nourishment diet and looking after her more.
We then shifted our house to some other locality and within few days, Gypsy got acquainted with the house well. But we never took her much in the outdoors after shifting. I was on a very tight work schedule and mom was worried that she can't handle her outdoors. And one day, she again sneaked out of the house. Again, within a fraction of seconds. Though our apartment was on the fifth floor, she climbed down the stairs till the ground floor and hid herself somewhere again. We chased her, kept looking for her but we couldn't find her. We expected her to come back but how could we? It was a new place, she didn't know it at all. It was that day, 2 months ago & it's today. She hasn't returned yet.
I don't know where must she be wandering, what she must be doing, what she must be eating? And all of this while she's carrying babies inside her? Imagine what a woman (human) would do if she was this helpless while carrying a child in her womb? Though cats are able to take care of themselves and they somehow find their way, how can I convince myself to not feel the guilt? The guilt of being so irresponsible? The guilt of not being there to comfort her through the pregnancy? The guilt of not realizing what it means to take up somebody's responsibility? But I didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident. I tried my best to look for her.
So now what am I supposed to label myself as? An irresponsible cat-mom or an unfortunate one?
I am still waiting to see her someday trying to find her way back home. I am hoping she's fine. She must have had babies by now. I missed witnessing a miracle. I miss coming home to a energized furr-ball. I miss the meow-ing. I miss her.
Stay safe and happy wherever you are Gyp.
Thank you visiting.
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P.S.: Please make sure to give the picture credits if used anywhere.
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