& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Dhaka Day by Day

Those Eccentric Cat Lovers

by Amhreen Ahmed
They say we are not animal lovers. The trend of keeping pets is not all that popular here. When it comes to cats however it's a totally different story. There are plenty in the city who shower those furry creatures with tender loving care. Unlike dog lovers cat crazy folks are a little obsessed witn their pets. They eat with them, sleep with them, caress and cuddle them, in short, treat them like their own kids. "And why not?" . argues a proud owners of five cats cats are beautiful, adorable animals. they are a little mischievous but not at all troublesome. They deserve to be pampered."
When you think about it, its quite difficult to understand the bond between a cat and it's owner Taking pictures of those much-adorea four legged creatures is a favourite pastime of the cat lovers in town. A young lady brings snaps of her darlings' to the office pretty frequently. Another keeps a series of albums entitled 'My cat family'. The fascinating series contains photos of Mama Zoey and her offsprings Ace and Pushkin in various interesting poses and angles. And you thought only humans were models! The captions are cute. "Ace in action1 shows a thin black and white coloured cat doing a somersault. In the snapshot Pushkin taking a nap’, the lazy snowy white cat can be seen perched comfortably on top of a kitchen cabinet sleeping the day away. Another cat lover sings lullabies to her cats, buys something for them whenever she goes shopping, requests friends to talk in hushed tones when they are asleep, at times even cancel appointment with friends because her pets are feeling a bit 'under the weather' yet, she refuses to believe she is suffering from Excessive Love for Cats Syndrome (ELCS).
When a cherished pet cat gets lost the owners are totally devastated. In some cases the missing cats return to their homes and the family is happy once again. In this regard allow me to tell you a lost-and-found-agaln cat story. Recently, my friend Farah's (an ELCS victim) cat Murphy returned after a long sojourn. For months my friend was dejected. She acted the Jilted lover deserted by her
partner and constantly whined and moaned on why Murphy left. The situation was quite hilarious infact. But one fine day Murphy returned. Not alone, she brought two kittens with her. Here is how the auspicious event took place. She was on her way to my place (we live in the same area) when she saw a forlorn cat behind a rose bush whimpering in a heartening manner. When she entered my room she was in a daze, mumbled something quite incoherently about seeing Murphy. I joked : "why didn't you ask the cat whether she is Murphy?" To my surprise, she gave me a hug and said it was a brilliant idea and rushed downstairs. Ten minutes later I called her up and an elated Farah informed me that the cat is Murphy indeed. Although the once fat sorry, healthy Murphy is emaciated now. she is back and nothing else matters to Farah. I couldn't resist begin a killjoy. "Don't you see. she is a selfish little creature, why else would she desert you for no reason and show up in her time of need? Farah defended Murphy by saying: "she Just needed time to be alone. I totally under-stand."
Well. I don't understand this mysterious, unreasonable passion for felines. A certain middle aged man has opened up an Informal restaurant for stray cats. He whistles, make cat sounds and calls out 'oi tora ai shab' (come all of you) and invites a group of cats everynight for a free meal.
Contrary to popular belief, guys can be Just as crazy about cats as their female counter-Rarts. A twenty year old boy in ew York cried buckets when pis pet cat Sinclair' died. He wrote an elegy In Sinclair's memory which hangs in his bedroom right next to the cat s big portrait. Another ELCS sufferer returns home from work with stray cats quite often. She has nine cats and it's hardly a surprise that she wants to start a cat farm (whatever it means) in future.
Really, the eccentricities of the cat lovers know no limit. It's almost as if those lovable, seemingly innocent looking creatures, have put them under a spell and make them comply to tneir every wish.