Blogadda Post: Taught By Examples ~ Pippo's Story

July 13, 2013

Blogadda Post: Taught By Examples ~ Pippo's Story

I Saw, I Learnt

The other day while walking down the street, we met an old man walking with his grandchild. What we saw after that was an astonishing sight.
We saw that the old man picks up the waste paper thrown by a couple walking ahead of them and throws it in the dustbin. The grandson claps at the deed of his grandfather and continues walking. What did we learn from this? We learnt that the grandfather was setting an example for his grandson by telling him not to throw waste around and keep your surroundings clean.
As an individual or as a parent, you are the best person to teach children the value of doing right.
BlogAdda and Tata Capital presents to you:

I Saw, I Learnt.
Blog about the right things that you have learnt from people, places and situations around you.

"Little deeds of kindness,

Little words of love,

Help to make earth happy

Like the Heaven above."

- Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney

I had no idea that there was little cat meowing away to glory right outside my door on the 1st of July 2012. It was my friend, who told me that, "you know there's this little kitten meowing right outside your door."

We both went to look, and this adorable kitten (picture on left) was there, looking very lost and confused.

I felt so bad for the kitten, that I took him in. I tried to make the kitten eat...but the poor thing was so scared, he just sought refuge under my bed and meowed away...annoying everyone in the process.

My mother isn't very fond of cats, and she didn't say thing when I decided to try and locate this kitten's mother. I finally put him back where I thought he'd come from, the next neighborhood. Little did I know that he would come back at eleven o'clock in the night. What really surprised me was, the way my mother reacted when she heard those heartbroken meows coming to her in the middle of the night.

"Mia, your little kitten is meowing," she said, and before I could say anything else she said, "You should go get him. He sounds frightened."

I couldn't believe my ears, so I flew down the stairs, picked up the white fur ball in the dark and rushed back home. Of course Pippo (that is what he was name afterwards), took a few days to get used to living inside an apartment rather than the streets. But he was the most well-behaved cat I'd ever seen.

My parents asked me to see if I could find Pippo a home for at least the next three days. I did look for homes, but in the three days, Pippo and I had grown extremely attached to each other. I couldn't bear the thought of parting from him. My friends helped me pick out a basket, a litter box and a few toys for him. The original plan was to give Pippo to his new owners along with his belongings...thankfully, I never found an owner and Pippo still lives with us.

Pippo's favorite place to cuddle down at was always either my lap or my mother's lap. Even though my mother is more fond of dogs, her little gesture towards the now family cat, has left an impact on me. She is even mildly allergic to cat fur, but that never stops her from petting Pippo, giving him his food, and she wakes up every morning at 4am to give him, his breakfast. It's quite funny to watch Pippo tail my mother around the house like a faithful little puppy. We crack jokes all the time about how Pippo is really a dog trapped in a cat's body.

The other cat hater in the family, is my sister, Roopsha. The first picture I'd put up of Pippo in Facebook, in a very lame attempt to find him a new house, had her comment:

"Ewwwwwwwww!!! And it's on my bed!!!!"
That was followed by a, "Hey! Did you clean its paws?"

But who knew this cat-hating sister of mine would change her mind once she met the adorable Pippo in person. Without him trying in the least, she became very fond of him. So much so, that she makes it a point to bring him cat treats. She even bought him a scratch post, his own bowl, and even a collar. All that without anyone asking her to get those things for him.

Her actions spoke louder to me than a thousand words ever could. I knew she cared deeply about Pippo, and though she'd still claim to really dislike cats, she'd still get a twinkle in her eyes, every time someone would mention Pippo. And she'd almost driven me crazy asking for Pippo's pictures via whatsapp and facebook.

What my mother and my sister, the dog lovers of my family, taught me through their actions was that, compassion and love towards every living creature should be there.

It really doesn't matter whether you prefer dogs or cats or even pigs, because at the end of the day, they're all animals. And if you really love animals, then you should do as much as you possibly can for them. Of course, Pippo ends up being treated like royalty if the pictures below are of any indication!

Pippo gets to play with his scratch post,

Eat four hearty meals a day... (My room is personal dining space, by the way!)

He gets to sleep on my bed, and cuddle down pseudo pillows,

shows off his kitty collar too:

And he trusts people now. In fact, he didn't think twice before jumping into my sister's arms.... She was a little apprehensive about picking him up first, but you can clearly see, the dog lover and the little kitten, are finally good friends. (Picture right.)

I am very grateful to my sister and my mother for letting me keep Pippo when I couldn't find him a home. Pippo and I share a very brother-sistery relationship... We fight with each other, play with each other. He goes out of his way to try and protect me, and I am forever chasing after him, every time he wants to play a very kitten like version of lock and key!

By my sister, Roopsha, and my mother, Indrani's example, I saw and I learned that it's not only the dogs who should be given help just because of the old saying that a man's best friend is his dog.

Despite all the myths about cats, I decided to adopt Pippo. The support I got from the two ladies of my life, without one of them saying it out loud, really touched me...

In future, if I across someone just like me, wanting to adopt an animal (so long as it's legal), I will be supporting the adoption.

Pippo doesn't have just a place to sleep in now. He actually has his own home - thanks to the wonderful ladies in my life.