Recently, a cat was entrusted to me for a week. It was a month before the first anniversary of Tenten’s passing. The cat was rescued by Koike-san and her staff. Koike-san is the founder of a cat shelter named “From Cats’ Point of View”. They do everything possible to reduce the number of hopeless and helpless—in other words, unhappy—cats. They assist in providing them a new family and home.
According to Koike-san, she was estimated to be around nine years old. If that was the case, this cat, I silently told myself, looked older than her age. Then, I imagined her life—how hard and challenging it was, and it showed in her face. It was haggard and gaunt. Both eyes brimmed with liquid. It was not sticky like mucus but something slightly red. I was sure that it developed into eye boogers. There was a little gunk in her nose as well.
When she was discovered, there were 23 other cats along with her on the fourth floor of a flat. They all were black cats. It was the residence of an old woman living alone and suffering from dementia. The woman seemed to be unable to take care of either cats or herself.
She was clearly the oldest of the 24 cats at first inspection, Koike-san said. I had already informed Koike-san that I wanted to have a senior cat because I am a senior citizen.
In fact, Koike-san brought her with one of her daughters, who was much prettier. But the daughter was too suspicious and cautious of human beings and never allowed me to even gaze at her. Upon noticing that someone was eyeing her, she would quickly run away and hide in spaces too narrow for a human hand to reach into.
But her mother was different, even though initially she always cloaked herself in my open closet. Staying with me, she tried to see if we could get along with each other. And since she’s already grown up and developed her own distinct personality, “Chemistry is very important,” said Koike-san. I agreed. And it was not long before she permitted me to touch her body. Delighted to have been accepted by her, in turn, I decided to adopt her as my new family. I named her Kuh.
On the very first day, Kuh ate a lot. I had asked Koike-san to bring the same brand of cat food they fed her in their shelter. It would be helpful, I thought, in case she hesitates to dine in my house, although Koike-san had mentioned that she was not choosy about food. Koike-san was right, because I soon discovered that Kuh gorges herself up with any food I serve.
On the other hand, her daughter was the complete opposite. She went on a hunger strike. This young lady never showed up at her dining area, neither did she take any water. She was a “dry” hunger striker—the most hardcore and stubborn fighter. But for what cause?
Even though it was beyond my comprehension, I immediately made a decision to return her to Koike-san before her physical condition deteriorates further and reaches a critical point.
Meanwhile, Kuh never showed concern for her daughter. Actually, she chose to stay in another room separately from her child, and never tried to search for her.
On the contrary, upon her separation she started breathing more easily when she settled down with a humanitarian cat lover.
At first, that surprised me because, many years ago, I had observed Tenten’s motherly care for her adopted little son. Though she was not his biological mother, Tenten cared for him dearly by licking his whole body, and even gave him her own foods as if she compensated for having missed breastfeeding him.
But, on second thought, Kuh’s attitude becomes understandable from a cat’s point of view.
First of all, cats don’t form herds. They are solitary beings. Besides that, Kuh’s daughter is already an adult. Human beings may be the only specie whose grownup children still sometimes stay with their parents.
For the first two weeks, Kuh displayed a good appetite—continuously. Whenever she found food in her plate, she finished them all at once. And when I saw her plate empty, I filled it up. Then, she ate up a storm, again, without leaving a single piece. She seemed to believe that she shouldn’t miss the opportunity for meals whenever she was lucky to get it.
She was no longer haggard, neither gaunt. I said to myself that she looks younger than her actual age, and she is pretty.
Most probably, her previous circumstance had been so competitive for food. She might have been always late reaching the plate, since she was the oldest. Her children were her competitors. She might have had to battle for survival versus her young family members. As a human being, I pitied Kuh but it’s most likely that she didn’t mind it at all.
After three weeks or so, she suddenly stopped eating. Neither did she drink any water. First, I wondered if she finally became full and satisfied. She must have learnt that this time around, she doesn’t have to rush frequently for food, now that her erstwhile competitors are nowhere in sight. But, the next day, I witnessed her approach her plate and sit in front of the meal for a while, then sniff. Afterwards, she turned around without eating and retreated into her favourite spot where she always lies down or sleeps.
At that time, Kuh was not yet mine officially; she still belonged to Koike-san. I wanted to commemorate the first death anniversary of Tenten, which was happening in less than two weeks, before officially adopting Kuh.
Read more : Remembrance: The Last Twelve Hours of Tenten’s Life
So, I informed Koike-san of her sudden fasting before consulting a veterinarian by myself. I was sure that something was wrong with her body, but what was it? She ran around the house at midnight during my sleep and woke me up for a round of hide-and-seek. It meant that she seemed healthy.
Besides that, her case was obviously different from her daughter’s—she showed her interest in food but somehow decided not to eat even though she really wanted to. This attitude indicated that despite her strong appetite, she would rather abstain from meals due to some impediment that I was not yet aware of.
Koike-san rushed to my house and took Kuh to the hospital. I went there with them.
Koike-san explained the circumstances behind her discovery of Kuh and told the veterinarian that the cat would be about nine years old. Hearing that, the veterinarian burst into laughter and decisively declared, “How can she be only nine? She’s even much older than ten! I’d say approximately 15 to 16 years old.”
She touched Kuh gently, and continued, “Look at her fur. Not shiny, but dry. Her body is not very well-hydrated, either, and that’s obvious if you compare her whole body with those of younger cats…
…Her immune system doesn’t work very effectively because of her old age, and maybe due to chronic malnutrition. You see, her eyes and nose are infected. But that will be all right once she gets enough nutrients.” She looked into her mouth and said, “The problem is, she has a canker sore…Oh, no. Not just one, but two.”
By then, I already got terrified with the realization that her age was very close to that of the average cat life expectancy. It is said to be between 16 to 18. I told the veterinarian that I had lost my beloved cat a year ago, and she was 23 years old.
“How long can I expect to live with Kuh?”
“Mine was 26 years old when I saw her off”, was the veterinarian’s reply as she told a long story about her own cat, instead of answering my question.
After medication, Kuh started taking food again regularly. That night, I lay down on the floor under my desk beside Kuh. By doing so, our eyes were on the same level. As we faced each other, I sensed her rejuvenation over the last three weeks. On the way home from the clinic, Koike-san apologized to me on the inaccurate information regarding Kuh’s age. But my decision to adopt her remained.
I stared at her face. She stared back at me. She was no longer haggard, neither gaunt. I said to myself that she looks younger than her actual age, and she is pretty.
