From Rosie's Diaries

Dear Diary,

My name is Rosie and I was born in this community.

I was spayed sometime last year. I think it means I won't have any babies anymore, which is fine for me, because I see tiny kittens dying on the road or not having enough food to eat and their poor mothers (like my own mother) have to take them to new places all the time.

So, I'm really happy living here. They call me a "community cat".  I don't know what that means, but let me tell you about a day in my life living here.

First thing when I get up in the morning, my brother and I go for breakfast at the Cat Breakfast Pavilion.

Here, a nice man and his wife comes every day with packets of food for us. We have been eating here for a long time.

After we finish eating, he cleans up the place.

 Next, I head off to join this man for his morning exercise.

 I've actually officially adopted him, but I guess he doesn't know it.

 He lets me roll all around while he does his exercise.

Then, I wait for his wife to come out. She feeds these two cats called Bosco and Raven.

Bosco and Raven are also community cats like me, but they found a place inside the house so they take shelter there.

My brother and I will go over and have another meal. Well, it all depends on what the lady is serving for the day. We usually prefer her home-cooked food. It's something different from these crunchy kibbles that we get at the pavilion.

I always hear her telling Bosco and Raven that they must eat home-cooked food to be healthy. So I suppose it's something good....

Now, you see that V-notch on my ear? They had that done when I was sent for spaying. Apparently (or so I heard), it's to tell people that I have been spayed so that people won't catch me and take me for spaying again. I'll certainly meow loudly if anyone tries that, but you know these humans, right? They think they are so smart, but they don't understand our language. I mean, WE understand theirs, but they don't understand ours. And they know this...that is why my ear has to be notched.

I also hear this lady saying she is trying to ask the animal-catchers not to capture us ear-notched animals (these people catch and us bring us to a horrible place, I hear, and we will never come back); she wants us to be left alone as we won't produce anymore new kittens. I don't know if those catchers will listen to her, though.

Apparently, she says if people do not complain about us, the catchers will not come to take us away. But you know, I know there are many people here who don't like us. They say we sleep atop their cars and we make poo in their garden. But I don't, I only do it at the playground and I cover it up too.

The lady who feeds us keeps telling us to use this box to make our poo, but we don't really know what it is and how it works. The playground works fine for us. I see some other cats doing it in her garden and her husband picks it up every morning. I guess that's not very nice, so I don't do such things. Let's not make the humans angry, right? Maybe I should try that box, after all.

Although we don't see the animal catchers coming to our area, I still play it safe.

If I hear any suspicious noise, I run and hide inside the drain....

When it rains, I'll take shelter in the drain too. It's quite safe. Don't worry.

This is my brother. They call him Ginger. Like me, he has also been neutered.

 In the afternoon, I go over to the playground and play around my tree.

I'm very good at climbing it. Want to see me climb my tree?

 By evening, I go over to the culvert and wait for dinner.

  Sometimes, the lady feeds Bosco and Raven inside her compound.

But no fear, I just wait patiently outside the gate....

Sometimes, she will open the gate and invite me to eat with the rest.

My brother, Ginger, jumps in from the pillar, but I don't.

I normally wait outside and she will bring some food out for me.

 Then, I ask politely, "May I have some, please?"

My mum has taught my brother and me good manners. She says she should always ask nicely if we want something.

 Yum, yum...

 Then, my brother and I will lounge here and watch the world go by.

What is life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare...

And tomorrow will be another day...but I shall not worry about that.

We cats have learnt to live in the moment.

We are happy as long as we have food to eat and we are safe.

The End

By: Rosie Cat

Tips on caring for community animals: https://sites.google.com/site/kindnesstoanimalsinc/here-for-a-reason