One positive aspect of the flood was the effect on the two orange cats. Usually, the big cat, Joan, would prefer to sleep on his own and keep a distance from his sister. Joan would rarely lick Kwan whereas Kwan would only be too happy to lick Joan and sleep next to him. Since the unexpected flood, orange cats have become quite traumatised by flowing sheets of water around the house and they refused to even sit on the stairs to observe the surroundings.
One of their favourite routines in the night was to sit on the stairs looking at the front gate for passing dogs and stray cats. I did try to persuade my cats to sit at the usual spots to watch the flooded garden. But they both turned their tails and ran upstairs to get inside the house. I couldn’t understand why they should be so frightened by the flood. I guessed it was like people who were afraid of height so they would be afraid of looking out of tall buildings.
The rainstorms did continue for a few nights just to add more water in the lake around the house and more stress for me. I was watching the water level movements inch by inch. When it went down three inches in one night, my heart was overjoyed. Then the rain added two more inches! What surprised me was the loud thunderstorms which sent both cats running for cover under the desks and chairs. I had never seen them so frightened like this before. So, I walked towards them to tell them it’s just loud noises. But Joan started crying in distress as if he was a baby in pain. Kwan didn’t cry but kept close to her brother. I had to hug both cats to calm them down. The thunderstorm was above the house and extraordinarily loud, which was abnormal to me. Something artificial was happening in the air. I had listened to various experiments of the TTA (Tesla Tech Arrays) in the past, this thing made very loud thunderous noises. Perhaps one day I would come across the recordings of these experiments in the Far East.
Joan became emotionally dependent on Kwan and welcomed her to sleep next to him. I was surprised to see Kwan being bold and brave in this scary situation for cats. I was worried that both cats were staying inside the house for several days. They needed to get fresh air, look at trees and birds. So, I persuaded Kwan to survey the roof of the storage room. To my surprise, Kwan sat quietly by the edge of the roof at night for two hours, just watching tress in darkness. Joan refused to be on the roof at night.
I was quite disappointed that the bigger and stronger cat turned out to be less galant and courageous. Perhaps it was his very gentle and trusting nature that made his heart very soft and vulnerable. Kwan was always wilder and more instinctive than Joan, she wouldn’t allow me to hold her more than two minutes. Freedom of movements and expressions seemed to be her innate nature. Joan was more domesticated and homely and much more pliable. He loved to be carried around for hours but he’s getting too heavy.
So, I tried to get Joan on the roof in the morning. He was curious but still very frightened by the flood. His body would frozen up when I tried to put him on the roof. He just sat there without budging for five minutes. He seemed more comfortable having me standing near by. I thought he was very curious judging by how he strained his neck to see the moving water and all the submerged trees. It was very funny watching Joan’s reactions to surrounding flood. This reminded me of the first time I was in a high building as a small kid. I was shocked by the height and the prospect of looking down seeing people looking much smaller. I was so ashamed of my own fear that I had to secretly go back to the same spot to stand there until I got used to the feeling. From then on I could easily get used to coping with being on high places in a few minutes.
Another surprising thing about Kwan, she knew when she’s done something wrong and she felt sorry for it. During the first day of flooding reaching the staircase, both cats could no longer go into the garden for their toilet. Kwan already had the problem of leaking water while sleeping since she had a bad fall. Luckily she seemed to be able to control her muscles while being awake. So, I had to place paper mats on her sleeping spots until her nerves condition could be completely healed. I was surprised by Kwan’ strange crying of distress. It wasn’t crying in pain, but more like distressing reactions to some accident. I comforted her gently and asked her what’s the matter. She calmed down after my reassurance.
Joan refused to sit at the edge of the roof like Kwan did. But he’s obviously intrigued by the flood.
As I walked around the house looking for some possible causes for Kwan’s crying. I found out that she had released herself on her bed. Fortunately, I had two protective sheets on the bed. So, it was easy to clean up. I realised that Kwan could no longer hold on abc had to release herself straightaway. She tried to cover the blobs by kicking the rest of the paper sheets to cover things up. She knew she had done something wrong which might make me angry. That’s why she came to me crying in distress and asking for help.
I didn’t scold her as I knew it washed fault. I was kind of expecting the cats to make a mess very soon. So, it was urgent to find some sand and a bucket ot large basin for these cats. Luckily, the builders left a bag of sand and my gardener found me a basin. I wondered if the cats would use this new container. Joan finally used it on the second day. Kwan watched Joan and followed his example. At first they couldn’t believe they had to use this basin. I ordered a proper container and organic sand which were delivered on two days at my gardener’s house. She had to bring to me by climbing the fence at the back of the house. The flood level there was only knees’ height.
This terrible flood has taught me many things about my cats, myself and some friendly villagers. I was very lucky to be in a nice community of simple people whose traditional values were still very strong. My orange cats have always been very affectionate and trusting. I felt very grateful to all the small blessings I have been given amidst the difficult time.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.