Well the cats have had to deal with the hugeness of Shanouk and have on occasion devised various original methods of escape when he has disliked their presence on top of the cars, underneath them and on the lawn !

The monsoons have been severe almost each year and in order to protect any kind of leakages the houses are covered with plastic covers all across the length and breath of the structures. The cats have generally enjoyed this temporary abode, secure in the knowledge that another deluge as did happen some years back when the cats had to find a quick escape and relief from it, will perhaps not do a repeat. When it did happen, the cats that had given birth to a few kittens, had quite calmly strolled into our dressing area, found an open cupboard and tucked away the kittens there underneath some of my discarded clothing. It was one helluva operation to discover where these kittens had been lodged. We finally did by following very discreetly the cat during a surprise operation during the night and gave them another cozy lodging in a basket specially prepared for them.

But a few days back, soon after the last rains had had their way and it was time to remove the shades and covers over the building, we started to hear some very strange and weak kitten sounds from one of the roofs of our office area. My secretary, a desperate animal lover soon discovered that the ceiling above where she normally sits was where the sound was coming from. After hours of research, it was finally determined that the kitten sounds were coming from the air conditioning vents. A lighting facility that had been fixed to the false ceiling was removed by enterprising secretary and ingeniously a mobile phone with camera on it was inserted within this opening, tied to an even more fragile and feeble stick. Through some cottage contraption the mobile camera was put on and .. lo ! and behold when it was brought down from the opening showed a recording of two very small and frightenned kittens huddled up against some wiring of the roof.

A massive salvage operation was then undertaken. A somewhat large portion of the ceiling was cut open and with great dexterity the kittens along with Mother cat if you please, was extricated. All is well now and the cats are safe and sound and with food and provision and out of any obvious danger.

The question really arose soon after as to how the felines had managed to get into the vent in the first place. And having got in there, why were they stranded and not coming out ?

Explanation : When the rain covers were removed, the air conditioning units were undergoing a servicing and the large doors that open up on the roof to contain all the machines and units and wires and tubes for the cooling, had been opened up for the service personnel to go in and work. The cats … ah yes the clever cats, finding this to be the next best place to store their off spring, entered nonchalantly into those open doors and finding a nice secluded corner in the vent placed their progeny in the hope that they shall remain protected there… But .. what they did not realize was that soon after when the mechanics had completed their servicing they shut the doors of the air conditioning vents, trapping the cats/kittens inside with no way for them to get out !!!

Moral of the story : If you have cats in the house, best to not have any air conditioning !!

Good night dearest ones … the cats have taken over the blog … and I need to escape !!

Amitabh Bachchan