Andy,the cat and Jimmy,the dog

A few days ago I went to Vattakanal. It is a mini – hill station located in south India. Read more about it here. While in Vattakanal  I came across many interesting people (which forms another blog) and much more interesting four legged bundles of love (which forms the content of this blog). There are many dogs that roam around the streets of Vattakanal (I envy them for staying in such a beautiful place).

But today I would like to tell you about Andy, the cat.  He is the angry young cat of Vattakanal. His usual hangout place is the very famous Altaf café. Now here is the thing about Andy, he doesn’t like humans (travellers or residents), he doesn’t like dogs, he doesn’t like anything (except maybe milk and chicken). Every visitor to Altaf and Vattakanal  is given a very cold treatment by Andy. Every chair and table at Altaf is reserved by him. If you happen to sit in his place, God save you. He will give you the “How dare you sit in my spot” look and meow at you endlessly till you actually get up from his place. He will then reclaim his throne and give you another victory meow.

In this pic: Andy asking(commanding) me to get up!!

Andy does not like dogs either. There are many dogs around Altafs but it is Andy, the cat who rules them all. Anyone who enters his territory is greeted by hostile gnawing. All the dogs are terrified of him and keep a safe distance. But there is one exception. The moment we entered Altaf  we saw a very jolly, loving Jimmy . He is a puppy and looked like a pet dog. We asked the owner of Altaf about him. He told us that some people came here for vacation a few days ago and brought Jimmy along with them. But when they left they didn’t take Jimmy along. I felt a bit sad for the little fellow. But Jimmy quickly made Vattakanal his home and is easily the most loved dog at Altaf.

Now you can imagine how our Andy would react to this. All the human emotions of jealousy, insecurity and even hatred could be seen in him. Jimmy on the other hand has two very self – destructive traits. He is very fond of Andy and he is very persistent.  A usual scene at Altaf, these days, is Jimmy following Andy and Andy gnawing him away and then Jimmy following him again. They reminded me a lot of Tom and Jerry.

On the day I was to leave Vattakanal, I sat at Altaf’s for a very long time, inhaling every bit of the mountains. For hours, I saw Andy and Jimmy doing their usual ritual. Throughout the day I saw Andy pushing Jimmy away and Jimmy albeit a few bruises not giving up. As I left Altaf for a final time, I saw a rare sight. Both Andy and Jimmy were peacefully sitting next to each other, watching the sunset. Was this just a brief break from their Tom and Jerry game or had Andy at last, found his first friend, in a little persistent puppy?