Aksharaa and her mother Saranya Krishnan have always been cat people. Having grown up in a home that saw frequent visits of the feline kind, Aksharaa reveals that her growing fondness for them prompted her to give a rescued kitten a home. She visited an animal shelter last May and was drawn to each of the cats that was desperately awaiting a family.
“Every single one of them was so beautiful”, she says. She noticed a snow white, four-month-old kitten who was sitting by herself and picked her up. The kitten held on tight, and so did Aksharaa. “I couldn’t bear to let go,” she recalls, and knew that her decision was made. “She looked at me just once, and there was something magnetic about her.”
Aksharaa observed that her newest family member had one brown eye and that the other was blue. They contemplated naming her ‘Eye-sy’ but eventually settled on Icy.
Icy’s clown-like antics have kept the family entertained ever since she first came home ten months ago. “Every time we bring home a shopping bag, she comes running towards us and jumps up on me thinking it’s her cat food”, laughs Aksharaa who never ceases to be amused when her pet – who is now a rather large cat – flies through the air to catch a crumpled paper ball and proudly comes up to her owners with bits of paper all over her mouth.
She busts the myth about cats being aloof and reveals that they are sensitive beings who form strong bonds with their human companions.
“She really misses us when we go out of town”, she says, adding that the feeling is mutual, and that she always feels a pang of hesitation when it’s time to leave for school because it’s time apart from her furry friend.
“We should develop our love for cats”, says Aksharaa. “They are just as faithful as dogs.”
