Blake and Deb in Fiji: Kitty Update

We’ve asked around a bit more about our new cat. The consensus among the neighbors is that she is a “bush cat,” i.e., wild. Neighbor caretaker Semoko thinks he knows the mother, a grey bush cat. One of the other neighbors has two cats, one of which bears a striking resemblance to our little one. We don’t hold high hopes that this deadbeat dad cat will own up to his parental responsibilities.

She continues to stop by everyday, we’d like to think for the pleasure of our company; however, the fact that we feed her may have something to do with it. We try not to overfeed her so that she continues to hone her hunting skills, but it is hard to resist her rapidly developing begging abilities. I think the neighbors are slightly bemused at our concern for the cat, which they seem to think is perfectly capable of fending for itself in the great outdoors. They may well be right but this particular feline has successfully manipulated us into feeding her via the strategic application of large round eyes and pitiful cries of the proper pitch to appeal to our fellow-mammalian nurturing instincts. We are goners.

We do manage to pet her a little as she eats, but this is an activity she clearly views as something to be endured rather than enjoyed. She slinks low to the ground, away from our touch, and eats as rapidly as possible. She used to just bolt as soon as she had cleaned her plate, but now will stick around a fair bit. And now she will stop by multiple times during the day. We’ve even got her interested in playing with string, that seemingly universal toy of the cat world. It’s just killing Deborah that she can’t pick the kitten up and smother her with kisses, though. Every time she expresses this desire I have visions of driving Deborah’s scratched and bleeding body to what passes for a hospital here in Savusavu, followed by weeks of battling infections in a tropical climate. So hopefully she will continue to restrain herself. But so far the kitty has been very passive around us, and grows more and more comfortable around us each day. As long as we keep feeding her.