A mother cherishes her young, animals notwithstanding. Isn’t it a reality that a woman may voluntarily give up her baby for adoption but the same can never be said for an animal? So I see people stealing barely a month old puppies and kittens when the mother is away hunting. These are dependent suckling babies. Why do humans assume that they have the right to kidnap the helpless litter just because they do not belong to the elite species? I have heard a mother’s pain in the cat’s whine or a dog’s howl, long and late into the night. Once a ferocious mongrel cat had attacked a teeny-weeny kitten in our compound during the night and we got the carcass removed lest the mother see and suffer. Later the mother cat visited the very spot she had last seen her baby and very seriously smelt all around and quietly went away. She instinctively knew what had happened. My heart did a somersault at this sight of the mute creature.
Recently a stray cat had brought her two kittens into our compound and hidden them behind wooden panels stacked in a corner. It looked as if she’d taught them their lessons for they never ventured out in her absence. When my daughter and I excitedly went to have a peek we were dumbfounded to see them both sitting facing the wall in the remotest corner behind the wooden panels. It looked as if they were under an imposition of their mother! When they grew up a little they came out of hiding to play with each other under the watchful eyes of their mother and what a lovely sight they made! But soon one of the kittens was stolen and the cat was seen searching at all possible places including inside our home, suspicious about us too. The lone kitten was constantly meowing for its sibling. The mystery was unravelled as we got to hear frantic meows from our neighbour’s house along with the shrill voice of their eight-year-old boy. I sent word that they return the kitten as it was too tender, with an added message that they could take it once the mother cat abandoned them as is the wont. My shock knew no bounds when the second kitten too got stolen by them the very evening. I could clearly hear their cries from the neighbour’s house and we got to know from the grapevine that in filmi style they had been quickly packed off to the grandson’s house.
Can HUMAN be an acronym for horrible, unkind, monstrous, apathetic, nasty? We could see the cat mourning the loss for a few days after which it ceased to come near our house. But in a similar case with a dog, the thief was forced to give back the puppy as the bitch wouldn’t stop howling in front of the abductor’s house. The reunion was to be seen to be believed. When will humans understand that animals may not have a decipherable language but have emotions like us? Non-believers are recommended to watch TV channels on animals or related videos.