JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

 

According to news reports, in the financial crash many pet owners in the US have abandoned their pets or brought them to animal shelters because they can no longer afford to keep them. It must be wrenching to let your pets go, but a lot of people have lost their houses, and I don’t think Americans have the extended friends-and-family networks that we have. In extreme cases, people have killed their pets, families, and themselves because they can’t face the thought that after a lifetime of work they’ve lost everything. (One thing about living in the third world: we’re used to making do with little, it’s sudden wealth that makes people go berserk.) 

Here at home, we have two new adopted cats. Semi-adopted. They can’t move in with us because there’s no more room and my three cats are extremely territorial. I just feed them from my cats’ supply, and Mike, whose cat Mingming died recently at age 8, buys them cat food. I call them Jarndyce and Jarndyce, from Bleak House; Mike chose their given names: Janko and Jarko (or if they turn out to be girls, Janka and Jarka). They’ve been hanging around my building for months. Every time I open the door, Jarndyce and Jarndyce look in, wondering when they’ll be invited indoors, and my fat cats stare at the ampon, wondering what species the skinny creatures are. There’s no hissing and snarling, though, they’re all very civilized. They may even be related, since Koosi is from the neighborhood and Mat knocked up all the females when he was living outside. 

This is what a pusakal looks like when she’s well-fed and cared for.