A bit older, a bit wiser, a bit fatter, somewhat like me, but still the queen she always was, pretending she owns the place, as most cats do when they settle in.

...

I'm a cat person. Can't help it. I basically like all animals, with a healthy sense of distance for wild ones, but cats are my favorite. After cats come birds, which is really a difficult combination. I never cared much for dogs, sorry to say.

I like the stubborn, do-it-my-way-or-the-highway-and-now-let-me-sleep kinda attitude a cat gives you. You can also leave them alone for a day or so, without them tearing up the place. They're independent, social loners. And they're so clearly opportunistic. Being all cuddly and sweet when they want or need something. When they have it you can go. It's so obvious, that it's funny.

Coco picked us. She allowed us to take care of her. Hail to queen Coco.

If it wasn't so much work I'd give her her own blog.

I had bought some cat food here in Malaysia to feed the strays whenever I saw one. January first 2018 I think, when I stepped outside, Coco (then still unnamed) showed up from under the car. A bit shy and not fully sure I could be trusted, but she didn't run away. I remembered I had the cat food, so I gave her some. I had done that before with cats, who then never returned. Not Coco. She recognized a good thing. A few hours later she was still there. I fed her again.

She never left.

E., not really a cat person or an abundant animal lover, looked at it with some reservations. He realized he would have to take care of her when I would fly back. But then she meowed. A really high pitch girly meow. He took her on his lap and I could see it happening: they bonded. E. fell in love with her without even realizing it.

She had mesmerized him with her charm, like she had me. It was a done deal.

So I decided to do it right: we went to a vet. She was estimated at 7 months old and it turned out she was already in the first stages of pregnancy. Probably why she stuck around: she needed a safe place. But well... knowing cats can have four or five offspring per litter, we asked the vet to perform a sterilization and abortion. It was still very early on. I didn't feel too happy about aborting her pregnancy, but if we wanted to save her, we shouldn't end up with six cats. The bonding with E. was nice and all, but asking him to bond with possibly five more cats was too much.

Then she had all her shots, after she had recovered from her surgery, got a clean bill of health, and now she's ruling the place: a happy cat, that doesn't realize how lucky she was.

E. with Coco after surgery... [selfie made by E.]

It's one of those things I still find very hard to deal with in Malaysia: the stray cats and dogs you see here roaming the streets, usually in a very crappy condition, badly in need of a vet.

I'm happy we could at least save one.

Then there was Chico... the second one we saved... but that's for another time, because the story of Chico doesn't end well...

...

The question mark in the title, because: is it really over? Let's hope so...

Leica M-D with Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4

Malaysia - 29 April 2022