In the feline world, when a cat knows its time is up, they will isolate themselves and hide to die in peace. That’s how Sadiya Vanjara found her sixth pet kitten, on the verge of death, under a bus waiting for the inevitable to happen. “She was barely a few weeks old with an infected eye, broken tail, and she couldn’t even move,” remembers the 43-year-old physiotherapist. Even the vets left the kitten’s fate up to chance. But Vanjara steadfastly fed the little every two hours for five days, never letting her out sight. “I would take her everywhere in my backpack and on the sixth day, she had doubled in weight,” she smiles proudly. Now named Mellow, the kitten has grown in weight and mischief levels. “She’s the absolute opposite of her name,” laughs Vanjara adding that they unfortunately couldn’t save her infected eye despite trying hard.
Vanjara admits that she’s never wanted to hoard animals, and each of her six cats have been hopeless cases around her workplace or home. Toffee, her first cat, now eight years old, wandered on to a busy road as during a traffic signal as a wee sickly kitten, before Vanjara saved his life. Kit Kat, six years old, was found malnourished and suffering from hyperesthesia (a seizure disorder that causes self-mutilation). Candy and Snickers, of different litters from an area cat, were both left behind by their mother. The latter had a terrible maggot wound that almost claimed her life. Then there’s Momo who arrived out of nowhere, struggling to move and emaciated. “It took me a lot of years to understand their individual nature: which one wants to stick to me and which one is independent enough to want space,” says the Dockyard Road resident. The physiotherapist is dedicated to her pets, crate training them to ensure freedom in space constrained Mumbai homes.
When Vajara isn’t busy at work or catering to the many demands of her six slave drivers, she’s feeding strays and trying to neuter and release them. At home though, there’s no rest for the weary. “Kit Kat who has hyperaesthesia needs to be near me so I’ve gotten used to sleeping in a Z or S position. If I disturb her, she gets irritated,” the physiotherapist pretend-complains adding that Mellow and Momo are the most bonded along with Toffee and Candy. Though the cats are more than a handful, Vanjara couldn’t be happier. And if she had her way, read space, she’d take in more animals if she could.
