She walked into Nuzhat Anwar’s life and turned it around.
Not upside down…except when the prim and proper girl goes hunting cockroaches and lizards, insects and butterflies. Leo is no ordinary cat, rescued as a really tiny kitten she is the queen of her home.
Described by Nuzhat as a strange cat with an uber independent mind of her own, Leo is extremely vocal to communicate her every need. Although the calico tries to be bold and adventurous, mostly she’s a scared cat.
Her insecurity perhaps rises from the fact that she did not have her mother to show her the ways of the cat world. Trusting another does not come easily to her.
Let’s hear about Leo in Nuzhat’s words…
Her Homecoming
Rescued from the street by my brother Navroze and his friends, they took care of her till Leo found her way into my home! As much laughter and joy she has brought into my life, the responsibilities that are part of taking care of a pet have grown.
My travel is limited but I can’t complain. My first cat, being with Leo (now 3) is a fascinating journey of understanding, learning and discovering the feline world.
Initially Navroze and his friends called her Leo – thinking she was a boy. Once they figured he was a girl they tried to call her leona but she wouldn’t respond. Perhaps she liked Leo better!
The Routine
She eats, often begs for extra food with extra licks, rubs and extra cuteness-she sleeps a lot some day, some days she just naps around… she plays with me; she loves to fetch things like small fabric hair ties or her mouse toys…she also loves to play with a table tennis ping pong ball.
She cannot resist snuggling and hiding inside cardboard boxes or large hanging bags.
She likes to stare at the birds and make frustrating attempts to catch them making strange chirpy bird like sounds. And yes! she cannot resist the sight of house lizards and cockroaches…she will spend hours trying to catch and hunt them down, climb walls, break things in an attempt to conquer her prey.
Endearing Habit
The way she quietly tiptoes onto my bed, snuggles herself comfortably under my comforter and goes to sleep next to me . Or the way she gets onto my lap quietly and comfortably purrs herself to sleep while I’m watching TV.
She has a fascination for Tandoori Chicken, she kind of goes crazy if she gets a whiff of it.
Social or not?
She’s definitely not a very social cat. There are only a few people she seems to be comfortable with. Most of the time she either hides away in some corner of the house or out on our covered terrace when there are guests in the house.
Butterfly Adventures
It’s also very funny how she gets excited when she sees a colorful butterfly and tries to jump to catch it and eat it. It has happened couple of times she’s opened her mouth and gulped a butterfly and the next minute it flew out of her mouth.
That exasperated look on her face as if saying “Gosh! I thought I had the winged one in my mouth…what just happened” is hilarious!
The Attention Seeker
Especially after I have had a late night, she tries to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning with all her loud screams, hair pulling, vigorous lickings…and when I’m on the phone she keeps pulling my dress or paws/scratches my feet for attention.
The best part is when I’m busy working on my laptop, (I’m involved in various collaborative and independent writing projects), and she craves love and attention, she comes behind the screen of my laptop and extends one of her paws from the sides,
I have to hold it for a while and she sits there till I’m done or goes off to sleep in that tiny little space behind my laptop.
And there we see them holding hands and looking exchanging wonderful vibes, thoughts and emotions. A bond like none other.
Everybody should have a cat
As it is rightly said, “What greater gift than the love of a cat”. Something about being around a cat has a calming, peaceful effect. I would like everyone to go through that sense of calm and joy of having a cat as a companion.
It has been a well established fact now that a Cat’s Purr vibrations within a range of 20-140 Hertz is known to be medically therapeutic for many illnesses A cat purr is said to have the ability to lower stress, decrease symptoms of Dyspnoea, lessening the chances of having a heart attack, and even strengthening bones.
Cat therapy is gradually getting popular in many communities of the world. A therapy cat is defined as a cat trained to help ailing humans in a medically beneficial way to take advantage of the human-animal interaction for purposes of relaxation and healing.
I came across these beautiful words sometime back and in my heart and mind the reason for having a cat in the house got summed up- “I love cats because I enjoy my home and little by little, they become its visible soul”.
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