Happy Caturday: feeding stray cats at Yannawa Temple in Bangkok.

My weekly routine which I wouldn’t want yo miss was visiting those stray cats at Yannawa temple. I have been feeding a few stray cats which I happened to get to know for over a year. Through time more stray cats started to flock around me asking for cat food and snacks. So, sometimes I had to feed up to twenty stray cats and kittens at the temple.

These cats do have very good eyesight as they could spot me as soon as I enter the temple. Some have very good ears and they could remember the sound of my foot steps. I had to try to walk differently to confused these cats and they stopped approaching me as they weren’t so sure about me being someone else.

A few cats could recognise the sound of my car engine. As soon as I parked my old car, they would be by the door waiting for me to find out. Perhaps they could read the car plate numbers! I really wonder how these cats could recognise my presence so fast. I had changed my cap and bag including changing how I walked, but they always caught me out!

Surprisingly, these temple cats have very gentle and friendly manners. They would let strangers touch them and some could be easily picked up. Some cats have very sweet and expressive eyes. They could say a lot just with their eyes and expressions.

I have learned many things from these cats; they are very patient and accepting of reality. Some had to go hungry a few days each week as they were too timid to approach the skinny monk who feed cats once a day at his lodging. But there are too many cats who keep chasing stranger cats away.

So, I had to feed stray cats at three different corners of the temple. In this way, there won’t be any quarrel among the possessive cats and more timid ones. Sometimes I saw an elderly Chinese lady who came to feed four cats by the river in the evening. I just wish more monks and visitors would come to feed stray cats once a week. So these skinny cats would gain some weights and become healthier.

In the past I persuaded a wealthy friend to donate big bag of cat food to the skinny monk so that he could feed more cats in the temple. I have realised that cat food, dry and wet kinds are quite expensive. So it’s becoming a burden to feed all the cats.

However, I have just persuade another friend to donate some cat food for feeding stray cats. Surprisingly, I got a donation which helped to reduce my monthly expenses. Now I could buy enough wet food for these cats for several months. I was so glad that my prayers had been answered. God did work in mysterious ways!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stay strong and healthy !