The Return Of The Thai Temple Cat

I have had many pets in my lifetime, in fact I have lost track of how many cats I have had over the years. Certainly each cat had its own unique character, style and needs. I guess that makes them somewhat special as a pet.

I publish now and then regarding pet care, tips and guidelines for many types of pets in general, and all from my own real life experiences. The experiences I usually have with pets are always different because I am surrounded by the jungle. The is because I live in a very unique location, Northern Thailand, subject to the whims of every imaginable critter out there.

I wanted to share a special experience with my cat. This of course is a Thai cat, and they certainly do have a very different character from cats stateside. Not to be confused with a Siamese cat, this was just a stray domestic cat. It’s mom decided to give birth under my patio, and leave it alone to survive, and boy did this cat survive. In fact, this was the smartest cat I have ever experienced.

It began about 3:00am, and I woke up early as usual. One might think this is a peaceful quiet environment. However, on the contrary, the local roosters start at 1:00am. And there are screech owls all through the night, and other interesting jungle noises. Many I’m not even sure what they are. At 3:00am I heard a quiet meow, meow outside. That got my attention. What could that be, I asked myself. I decided to look. Walking outside at night is one of those things you really need to be careful of. Having a super flashlight is tip number one. So right around the corner is a baby kitten, just had its eyes open, and had climbed up a tree about 60 feet high. When I called it, she came down, and right to me. Now that was a big surprise.

I setup an area in the house: here comes the milk, and then a can of tuna which vanished in minutes. She slept for the entire next day. Sounds like a nice story, but actually only the beginning, as I joke with friends. Many days, and then weeks, passed. She really grew fast, no doubt due to the extra rich food, and chasing geckos in the house. Yes, they are all around, but keep the flying critter population way down. So this is a win win situation living in the tropics.

I also realized over a few weeks, as she tended to take over the house, that not only did all the geckos vanish, but also many pictures, vases, and glasses which she broke. She enjoyed climbing curtains and screens also. So I had to make the decision: indoor or outdoor cat? I ended up making her an outdoor cat. But that was never good enough, since she knew how comfortable it was inside.

After some time, she seemed okay, until one morning I found her resting in the shade. I noticed her right paw was swollen. After talking to the locals, we concluded she had been bitten by a very poisonous snake. In Thailand, they appear everywhere, especially at night. I brought her back in the house, and over a few weeks, nursed her back to health. I decided she really belonged outside. And the cat hair alone was difficult for me with my allergy problems.

Well, another week went by, and she was doing fine, but then again, her right paw was swollen. A giant black bee had stung her. I believe she was playing with it. So back in the house, and after a few weeks later she recovered fine.

I travel often for work, and it seemed this just wasn’t going to work out. It was very time consuming. Nobody seemed to want a cat either. But my neighbors thought the temple might take her. This was a few miles away where the monks take care of pets. After talking with the local monk, I was happy to leave her in their good care.

Two months later at 3:00am, I hear a familiar meow meow outside way up in a tree. Yep, there she was having traveled all the way back from the temple. She had a dog bite on one leg, and of course was much upset. So, back to recovery again, and I cleaned her up. A few weeks went by, and her recovery was a lot to handle while doing all the other things. It’s why you should never take on a new pet unless you can truly take care of it! But, in this neighborhood there are no vets, animal hospitals, or animal shelters.

So I talked with neighbors again, and they couldn’t believe what had happened. How could it have possibly traveled all that way from the temple with dogs and danger of the jungle? You do hear stories about dogs getting separated from families traveling and finding their way back over a thousand miles, but a cat was hard to imagine. Now Thai people are strong believers in spirits, so they were starting to have some interesting ideas about this cat! We drove 15 miles away to a very well known temple, spoke with a very high level monk, and he suggested best if they took her in. The monk thought it could be provided for by donations from many foreign tourists that pass through. That sounded reasonable.

Two months went by, and I thought it was a bad dream, but at 3:00am there was that meow meow again from the tree. At this point, I went from happy to shock in less than one minute. I realised immediately that I needed a serious plan as the cat from hell had returned. What are the locals going to think. Maybe I’ve been cursed? Well, something close to that. Then I thought of my mother in law who was all alone in her house miles away. This might be the ideal cat that would sit on her lap, and talk with her.

When my mother in law met the cat, she couldn’t believe how smart it was. I’m not sure what the cat thought of her exactly. But they both got along straight away. So it was arranged the cat would stay. We would supply all the food, shots, and meet all health requirements. It was perfect for all of us.

Thinking how far the cat traveled to return to a place she remembered as home is still amazing to me. All 9 cat lives were used up probably. But she is healthy now, in good hands with my mother in law, and with a bit of luck, she should live a very long happy life.