✦ With August 8 marking International Cat Day, we caught up with a cute little furry feline who is living a splendid life in the tropical paradise of Phuket in Thailand!
Meow! Hello, my name is Trumpet! I only know this as it is what my hooman friends regularly say when they see me or are calling me. I never used to have a name before they came – I was just a little white cat.
I was born in a lush landscape surrounded by trees, which my Mama later told us was called a jungle. I had several brothers and sisters that looked just like me and who I used to play with regularly. We had such fun chasing through the trees and getting to know the other animals that lived there such as squirrels, monkeys, birds, geckos, bees, butterflies, bats and a huge variety of insects. There were certain animals that we were warned not to go near but to run far and fast from if we ever saw them, two of which I remember being called snakes and monitor lizards!
My favourite animal friends, however, should have really scared me but absolutely didn’t. They were so kind and graceful and would always smile when they saw me, despite me being so much smaller and weaker than them. My Mama told me these animals were called elephants, the king of the jungle, and they lived near us as they worked in the day taking lots of loud, noisy tourists on treks into the heart of the jungle. Why, I don’t know, but my Mama said our elephant friends were well looked after and were never left wanting for food or shelter, especially when the heavy monsoon rains would come.
Nearby our jungle playland was a big house where I would sometimes see people although me and my family were far more scared of them than any of the animals we regularly came across in our world. Sometimes the people would leave scraps of food outside and we would sneak up late at night with only the moonlight and our bravery to guide us in order to take them. Sometimes there would be fish bones which were my absolute favourite!
Then suddenly one day the people disappeared. My Mama said she heard the local workers at the elephant camp saying it was because of some sort of virus that the people had started by eating bats in a faraway place called China and which had spread throughout the rest of the world. It sounded scary but not half as much as the thought of people eating my friends – gulp! My Mama always said people were supposed to be smart but they didn’t seem so to me!
Braver and smarter
One day my Mama never came home. I still don’t know what happened to her but my brothers and sisters and I missed her terribly and felt lost without her. It meant we had to be braver and smarter in looking after ourselves, making trips further than we did before into areas where there were many more people. Some were kind and would feed us but some were mean and would shoo us away. I found people to be very strange beings!
Then, one by one, my brothers and sisters started to get ill and disappear until, one day, I was left completely alone. I was scared at first but my friends in the jungle looked after me and made sure I had company and protection, especially the elephants. It was around this time when I met the people that gave me my name and made me realise that not all people are strange or mean.
It was a big man with a hairy face and a small woman who moved into the house close to our jungle home that me, my brothers and sisters and Mama used to visit so often. I could tell they were different as they also had two cats with them, although these two cats did not go outside at any point. Still, I could see the couple were very kind to the two cats as I would sneak up close to the house to take a peek every evening and see them receiving food, being brushed and fussed and having warm, comfortable blankets and baskets to sleep in. Sometimes late at night I would lie outside the window and talk to one of the cats, a big black boy I later learned was called Gus. He was very friendly and we fast became good friends!
One day while I was near the house, the couple saw me and called me over, making a kind of strange kissing sounding noise with their lips to attract my attention! As I now considered myself to be a big boy, I decided not to be scared and went over to them. They were very gentle as they stroked my coat and offered me some food, which was delicious! I decided I could trust them and would visit more often.
As I did, I got closer and closer to the couple, who I decided to call “hoomans” as they were affectionate and kind. They started to call me “trumpet” because, apparently, I made lots of noise when I spoke to them! I still don't really know what a trumpet is but I like it as a name! They started to feed me fish twice a week in a cute little bowl and healthy portions of biscuits twice a day, which were yummy! They also bought me a little kennel with a cushion inside which was lovely to sleep on and allowed me to shelter from the rain. I was also given several toys to play with and the hoomans started to tickle my belly and brush me which was soothing and relaxing and helped me fall asleep. It also kept my coat clean and fresh and made me appear even more handsome, they said!
I don’t know how long my hooman friends will be here but I hope it is forever. I did hear them saying that if they decided to move from the house then they would probably take me with them, which made me feel happy and wanted. I would miss my animal friends and the jungle but am sure I would make new friends elsewhere. For now, however, I am happy being able to roam free and get into all manner of adventures, knowing that I have some good friends who take care of me and always make sure I have yummy food to eat! I enjoy sitting with them at night on the balcony of the house where I can look out over the jungle to see my elephant friends and across to the sea where all the fish live! I know I am very lucky and just hope all the cats out there in the big wide world have a very happy international cat day, just like me!
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