Divya’s Tales with Mowgli, Misha and Simba

Divya Tate is constantly challenged by Mowgli, Misha and Simba, her cats to become their good entertainer!
 
They make her play with them, get her to feed them differently, distribute their fur all over the house and remind Divya Tate constantly about who the real boss in the house is. Always a cat parent, currently, Mowgli, Misha and Simba are Divya’s pampered cats. And, the first words you will hear after the door opens are “shut the door” because Mowgli likes to run out. Interestingly, Divya found Mowgli and Simba doing what she loves most – cycling.
Homecoming!
The founder, director AUDAX India Randonneurs, and of course an avid cyclist, Divya, was on one of her regular cycle rides seven years ago on the NDA Road. Little did she know life was about to change. Stopping for a vegetable juice, she noticed a kitten with the man selling it. “Even then, Mowgli was just so needy for attention that I couldn’t leave him there. I put him in my knapsack and here he is,” she says picking up the big white boy. Her older cat was not exactly overjoyed but things settled. After that cat passed away, she realised Mowgli was a little alone so, two years later, she adopted Misha, a timid girl.
Divya was managing a cycling event when she was introduced to Simba, a scruffy, furry tiny kitten who chose to hang out with her. To Divya’s horror, it was while trucks were whizzing by and about 50 cyclists peddling along. The boy napped, walked around, and played, almost oblivious to the palpitations he was causing the humans!“At the end of the event, I picked him up, intending to find him a home. But, he stayed back,” she smiles of her puppy sized three-year-old cat.
Tightrope
Creating a balance with two tom cats proved to be difficult with lots of hissing and anger from Mowgli. Things settled down after Simba got neutered, says Divya. They have learnt to tolerate each other and have accepted they will be in the same house. Misha too doesn’t think much of Simba. She and Mowgli have bonded well. Simba is still the outsider with Misha hissing at him if he passes by her!
Guests at home
Mowgli will go around meeting everybody and making friends as will Simba but Misha isn’t very human-friendly. “So we don’t insist on her making friends. The other two make up for her indifference,” says Divya.
And her advice to cat parents? “Learn to live with fur and scratches on the walls, furniture and yourself,” she laughs. That’s not too much to pay for attention from the furry kind, right?
Cat magic
The biggest mistake cat parents make is thinking cats don’t need to be played with. They too need attention! They look at you as a source of food and entertainment.
They are 24 x 7 entertainment with their antics and expressions. 
Simba
Big, fat, furry, labrador like but a little dim Misha Likes to harvest everything from flowers to vegetables from the garden. 
Mowgli: The hunter, no pigeon, lizard or bug is safe from him.
Uma Karve Chakranarayan