Pages

13.4.15

KIKA - the A-Z challenge

For the whole month of April roughly 2000 people are blogging daily with the letters of the alphabet as a guide, and I am one of them.

My chosen theme is Tenerife, where I have lived for 15 years, and today's letter K prompted me to write about a Canarian cat who chose to live with us soon after we arrived.



KIKA
We had only been in our apartment for a few months. It was the week before Christmas 2000 and we were expecting a dozen people for Sunday breakfast – our traditional way of starting the season. On the Saturday afternoon, while we were setting out the tables, we spotted a cat and four kittens hiding in a plant-pot on our neighbour’s terrace.

The neighbours were away so we fed the cat, and the next morning we found her on our terrace. It’s quite a jump up from the community garden so she must have carried each kitten in turn. We asked our guests to leave them in peace, and the breakfast party was a great success, helped in no small part by the five feline faces watching our every move..

Over the ensuing few weeks they practically took over the place, and friends would pop round to share a beer and watch the kittens.

Eventually we re-homed the kittens but the mother stayed. We called her Kika and she would follow us to the bar. When other customers arrived with dogs she waited on the pool wall for us to come home.



She became quite a local celebrity when she took exception to one small yappy dog and launched an attack from the bar steps. The dog ran away yelping and she returned to the bar victorious.

When she died last year we were heart-broken. I still come home sometimes expecting her to be here.



CAT HEAVEN

There’s a special garden
where cats go when they die,
with vine-wrapped trees for scratching,
soft grass for them to lie,
and holographic mice to chase
for healthy exercise,
and all the fish and cream they need
to live their thousand lives.

14 comments:

  1. Great story, lovely cat. They become family members.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do. We didn't intend to have a cat here but Kika had other ideas.

      Delete
  2. I love the sound of Cat Heaven. Cats have a way of deciding who to live with, rather than waiting for humans to choose them. She chose well with you Liz :-)

    Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Annalisa - she watched us for a whole day and obviously decided we were worth the risk - she had four babies to consider, after all! We never did find out where she came from.

      Delete
  3. Beautiful cat! They certainly worm their way into your affections. We have had two and can't face the heartbreak again.
    Anabel's Travel Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had twin girls in England and didn't plan to have any more, but ...

      Delete
  4. Loved this story about Kiki. Think how much we human would miss without our feline companions. They bring so much to our lives. Great to meet you during this AtoZ.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely story, Lizy, and enjoyed your poem, too. We were adopted by a farm cat called Tom when we moved here. Much appreciated except for the dead rat he brought us as a gift.
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The worst I had was a frog - a live one that took a LOT of catching!

      Delete
  6. the photo of the family curled up in a basket caught me. Hope you can find another, or it can find you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Susan - perhaps when we return to England one will turn up.

      Delete
  7. Very sweet story...and beautiful cat. Love her coloring. I know she left a hole in your heart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We still miss her. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete

Do leave a message before you go!