A new cat progeny

Amanda also loves animals, especially cats, which is why we probably get along so well! 

Last week Amanda came with me on my Shinyanga shopping trip. One of our last stops was at a shop which sells upmarket kitchen utensils, crockery, cutlery and small household appliances. It's the same shop where one of the assistants had a white cat which I helped her care for. When I returned from leave, the cat had been removed. The assistant told me she'd taken it home to earn its keep.  Apparently she had many rats and the cat was an excellent hunter.


A few weeks later, I visited the shop again to buy a new egg whisk and spatula, when the assistant showed me her new kitten. It was identical to the previous cat, and yes, it was also hungry. I dashed out to the supermarket around the corner and bought a small tin of fish. When the proprietor saw how the little cat gobbled the food, he said he would make sure the cat was fed properly.

When the kitten sees me, it wants food, not gifts from my cats!

Nevertheless, back home I went through our cats' grocery cupboard (they have a whole cabinet for their supplies!) and found eleven tins of cat food called Puddi-Kat. Before I'd managed to find the brand that my cats insist on, prefer, will eat, I'd bought this food in the hope that these lads would accept it. No way. I opened the first tin, filled each cat's bowl at which they turned their respective noses up.  Ginger actually turned his back on the food bowl - only cat owners can relate to this - so I gave the contents to the dogs in the garden. At least now I had a supply which I would take to the "duka ya paka"/cat shop as we've dubbed it, in single deliveries. 

The shop proprietor showed great interest and asked if he could feed the cat

Of  course, the first time I dished some food for the kitten, it dived in nose first and gobbled up everything on the plate. I explained to the owner and her boss that if sealed, this food would last in their refrigerator for several days. I also said the cat has to be fed regularly and must have a bowl of water nearby. (*Sigh* don't they remember that we went through the exact same procedure, not so long ago,  with the previous cat?) They promised faithfully that they'd continue to feed the cat. The proprietor even asked me where I'd bought the food and said he'd get some next time. However, not one to leave anything to chance, I took an extra tin of Puddi-Kat and a large tin of Whiskas which my cats also rejected,  and asked them to feed the cat until I return from leave in the middle of June. I sincerely hope they'll do this.

 This was the first square meal the kitten has ever had. Poor little mite! 

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