Kiki celebrated her first birthday last week. For those of you who don’t know who Kiki is, well she’s the blind kitten that I’d adopted last year when she was only two months old. She’d been rescued by my cousins from their grandma’s house in Al Musannah and brought to Muscat for possible treatment and adoption.
The vet that they went to see suggested to put her down, who would adopt a blind kitten anyway? Of course, my cousins knew the answer to that!
When I took Kiki for a consultation with my vet, I was a bit concerned as I’d never adopted a blind kitten before. My vet assured me that they’re not really hard to handle. They usually spend their day sitting in a corner as there is nothing much they could do. And boy how wrong he was! From the day I put Kiki in the garden, she managed to climb the tree and fall off twice —ending up in the wadi behind our house. She also fell off the balcony and luckily wasn’t harmed (that’s three cat lives spent and six more remaining!).
Kiki ambushed and chased pigeons and became an expert in catching flies like a kung foo master in Japanese anime. Moreover, she made friends with other kittens. They chased ball and sparred with each other (she’s a tough opponent who rarely lost). Due to her blindness, Kiki proved that most of cat’s behaviour is influenced by instinct more than learning from others. For example, kittens would always have a favourite toy that they’d play with the whole day and hide later, out of other kittens reach. Kiki did the same and hid her favourite mouse behind the bed’s leg.
Once while cleaning under the bed, I took it out — thinking that it was a lost toy and that she’d be happy to have it again. I gave it to her and guess what? She went and put it back in the same old spot. Kiki is also stubborn and meows in protest if she doesn’t like something (striking viciously to prove her point!). I’m proud to say that she’s the only kitten that I managed to train to pick things from my hand (I tried doing that with Mansoor, who gave me the usual bored look before turning his fat back on me. And when I insisted, I ended up being bitten!). To the command: “Kiki catch!” she’d stand on her hind legs and pick up whatever you offer.
Remarkably, Kiki learned to calculate the time when she’d be put back in her cage. When the cat’s evening meal is over and their plates are collected and dumped in the basin for washing — Kiki understands this cue as: “it’s time!” and starts running around, trying to hide. She even recognises the goodbye kiss that I’d give her on the way out — my kiss of Judas – and slaps back in revenge! The funny thing is when we had the heatwave this summer for a few days, Kiki decided that it was too hot for her to be outdoors. She hid under the bed and stayed quiet while I searched the house for her. Two hours later she came out and that became her way of letting me know of the days she preferred to spend indoors.
Kiki’s confident manners always made my dad wonder if she was really blind: “She’s fooling us! No blind cat could climb the stairs like that!”. But Kiki is an exception. Happy first birthday my dearest Kiki! And thanks for making us part of the extraordinary journey that’s called your life!
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of:
The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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