Polo

He walked straight through the front door into our hearts. 

His innocent blue eyes and cool demeanour melted our hearts.

His silent ways of doing things won us over.

And he became a part of our lives and our daily routine. 

We shifted to a new house beginning of February. The previous owners had told us that there are many cats around and that many will visit the house. We encountered two siblings, one named Karl and the other Rüdiger who came into the garden or at the entrance. My son bought some cat food and fed them regularly. But one day the owner saw it and warned him not to feed them as they already are fed twice a day and should not be overfed. 

One evening this handsome fellow climbed the entrance steps to our house and that was the first time we saw him. And instantaneously fell in love with him. We didn't know his name, where he stayed, who was the owner etc. We named him Coffee as he looked like a milk coffee. It's a very hairy breed called the Redpoint Siamese, but very majestic and beautiful. He probably came to us for the first time as there were traces of other two cats who were frequenting our house, also prior to our moving-in. 

He started coming regularly to us, started calling out if we didn't open the door. He started napping at our place. We started talking to him in Marathi and he became just like another member in our family. We took pictures of him like crazy and often put it on our WhatsApp profile. People thought we bought a cat, but it was even more convenient for us, because he came for some hours, entertained us, leaving us swooning over him. We didn't have to take care of him 24/7, but he was very much present in our lives.

My son and I then took the responsibility of finding out the owner of him. No one had forced us to do that, but we were concerned about it. Every evening we went around to find his whereabouts and asked around many people if they knew who his owner was. After a week or two, we found out that he was a pet of a woman who stayed in the opposite apartment of our house. We met the lady and she was surprised to know that he visited us regularly. We also got to know that his name is Polo. She was concerned if he was causing a nuisance, but we assured her that he is a very quiet and sweet cat and that we love to have him over. We also offered to babysit him if she wanted to go on a vacation and that opportunity came very soon, when she left for a vacation for two weeks, giving us the keys after explaining everything that needs to be done for him in her absence. 

In those two weeks, I saw a very different side of my son who regularly and relentlessly checked on him, twice a day. He gave Polo his car food (dry and wet), water, and treats when he visited us. Polo for sure was missing the owner and he started spending more time with us in her absence. He would sleep the whole day sometimes at our place in his favourite seat, come visiting in the night etc. My son did the job very well and it made him feel responsible towards Polo. 

After the owner returned, we met her and gave her the keys back. We narrated everything that happened in the two weeks and she was very thankful for our help. We were more than happy to have obliged to take up this responsibility.

After my parents came to visit us, they both started loving him too. Often inquiring in the morning, if Polo was there today already or will he come during the day etc. Polo accepted them easily and had no qualms almost sitting on the lap of my father when my father called him over. 

My husband, who is not into animals much, also started talking to Polo and buying car food for him. That was very surprising and Polo often likes his attention. 

We miss him when we don't see him at least in a day. He being a cat, is hardly bothered, that's his nature. But when we had gone to the US for two weeks and weren't around, he had come running, seeing us, when we were back. Also when we go out for a walk in the neighborhood, he often pops up from nowhere and starts walking with us. That sometimes makes me think if he recognises us, and our voices and if he misses us too. 

All said and done, we absolutely adore him and are happy that he chose us, obliges us by visiting us, makes us happy with his appearance every now and then.