The Curious Case of Chimmi the Cat

Jan 9, 2011

She had been in the house for around six years. This beautiful cat that my mother had brought from her relative’s home while just a kitten had a mixture of black, white and brown colours and was quite beautiful to look at. My mother fondly called her Chimmi.

Chimmi was all alone for sometime till she got her own kittens. From the first batch of the kittens my mother kept back one smart young kitten which was greyish and whitish with a tinge of brown colour and named her Ashu so that Chimmi could have a company while other kittens were given away to the needy.

Chimmi had been a smart cat and was very good in hunting rats and mice which used to be a menace within and outside the house. After catching a mouse, Chimmi would bring it and place in front of her daughter, Ashu and train her in the art of hunting and catching rats and mice. As Ashu grew up, both Chimmi and Ashu would go for hunting in the attic of the house and in the bushy areas around the house. As a result of their hunting expeditions the problem of mice and rats gradually reduced.

The rats had been causing considerable damage to our tender coconuts. As there were no mice or rats in the attic and surrounding bushy areas, Chimmi would climb the coconut trees of medium height in search of these pests. She was quite an expert in climbing coconut trees and catching mice hiding on the top of these coconut palms. The mother’s example of climbing the coconut trees was followed by her daughter Ashu as well. As a result of the hunting operations by Chimmi and Ashu, this year the damage to the tender coconuts has been considerably reduced.

As Ashu also grew up, both Chimmi and Ashu would deliver kittens more or less at the same time and would nurture each other’s kittens and take care of them in turn. Both mother and daughter had great bonding and would help each other in grooming and feeding their little ones. As it was not possible to maintain all kittens, my mother used to give them away to anyone who would take good care of them.

This year, both Chimmi and Ashu gave birth to two kittens each. While three of them were given away, one that had more or less similar colours as that of Chimmi was retained by my mother. Thus there were three cats at home, mother-Chimmi, her elder daughter-Ashu and younger daughter-Billu. Billu has been fortunate to have mother like Chimmi and an elder sister like Ashu as both of them would suckle, groom, protect and play with her.

Chimmi had been extremely protective of her daughters and was very considerate while eating food. She would let her daughters eat first. Many a time I had seen the youngest, Billu, eating first while both Ashu and Chimmi would wait their turn. It was only after both her daughters finished eating that Chimmi would have her food.

It was indeed great fun to have these cats and watch their antics and playfulness. While Chimmi watched over them, both sisters - Ashu and Billu - would display their mock fights and play hide and seek games. The matriarchal instinct of Chimmi had been really great. She was a caring mother and an excellent hunter. Sometimes, while both sisters remained inside the house, Chimmi would be on her hunting expedition and would return after sometime getting something, either a little frog or a tiny mouse for her youngest daughter to teach her the skills of hunting.

On the evening of December 31, 2010, Chimmi had gone out for her usual hunting expedition. However, that night she went missing. As usual we thought that she might have gone for a long expedition of hunting and would eventually return home. However, the night passed and even on the morning of January 1, the New Year day, Chimmi did not return. We started getting worried about the whereabouts of Chimmi. Different thoughts flashed across my mind and apprehension gripped my heart. I began to reason out the causes of Chimmi’s disappearance - whether she was taken away by some kind of wild animal or was she bitten by a poisonous snake, the one which I had seen some days back in our courtyard.

The day passed. My wife and I had to attend a pre-marriage function (roce) in our ward. When we returned at around 10.15 pm, my mother in a worried voice said that Chimmi had returned, and was lying under her bed completely shaken and trembling. Thinking that Chimmi was feeling cold she took her to the outhouse and kept her near the ‘choola’ for warmth. Feeling delighted that finally Chimmi who we had thought would never return had come back, I rushed to the outhouse.

Chimmi was crouched there with her head down. I gently placed my hand on her back. She was scared and trembling. Her eye was swollen and she showed no response. I placed pieces of cake in front of her and enticed her to eat, but she had no interest in food. Patting her gently over and over and hoping that she would recover by next morning, I went to sleep.

Early next morning, my wife went to the outhouse to light the ‘choola’ to prepare the morning ‘conji’. She called me out, when I rushed to the outhouse, I was flabbergasted to see Chimmi sprawled on the ground - dead. My throat choked with emotion of losing someone who was an integral part of the family. Immediately, I took the pickaxe and spade dug a small grave and buried Chimmi. As I buried her I was just wondering how the cat that was missing for a whole night and a day could come back home just to die and have a decent burial.

I do not know exactly what happened to Chimmi - whether she was attacked by a wild animal or a poisonous snake or if she was injured by some other means. But the fact is that Chimmi will never come back and her memories will linger in my mind for a long time.

The absence of a mother has been felt by Ashu and Billu. They were expecting their mother to return at any time. However, their wait was in vain. Having lost the mother, Ashu has taken her place and she has become more protective of her younger sister Billu and now they are always found in each other’s company.

 

Dr Eugene D'Souza - Archives:

  • 26 Aug : Birth Centenary of 'The Saint of the Poor'
  • Few Morning Hours in Rainsoaked Megacity of Mumbai
  • Desert Safari in Dubai: A Lifetime Experience to be Cherished
  • Kemmannu-The Enchanting Land of Islands, Coconut palms and Backwaters
  • Focus on Women on ‘World No Tobacco Day’- May 31
  • Travel through the City of Mountains, History and Present Day Wonders
  • Metro and Abra : Modern and Traditional Mode of Transport
  • Legends, History, and Spirit of Valentine's Day Celebration
  • Prof Wilfred D'Souza - Third Generation Teacher Who Achieved Greater Heights
  • Tulu Lexicon - The Labour of Love and Sacrifice of Upadhyaya Couple
  • Kanakadasa - The Humble Devotee of Lord Krishna  
  • Chikmagalur : In the Cradle of Nature
  • Monsoon Musings - In Search of Past Memories
  • A Journey Through Rain-soaked Northen Konkan
  • A Journey through History and Nature
  • Mangalore to Belthangady - A Journey Through Hinterland
  • Konkan Revisited - Changing Colours in Autumn
  • Jul 26: 500th Anniversary of Krishnadevaraya's Accession
  • Sri Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji - a Seer with Global Vision
  • Sri Madhvacharya - Founder of the Ashta Mathas
  • Malini Bhandari - Girl Who Conquered Physical Disability
  • Prof. Jaideep Prabhu-Indian Genius at the University of Cambridge
  • Vasai – Destination for Pilgrimage and Exploration
  • Ganeshpuri-Vajreshwari - The Land Sanctified by Swami Nityananda
  • By Dr Eugene D'Souza, Moodubelle
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    Comment on this article

    • K.PRAMOD, THANE

      Mon, May 07 2012

      GOOD STORY WITH HUMAN TOUCH.WISHING THE WRITER ALL THE BEST.

    • Felix F., India/Ksa

      Sun, Jan 16 2011

      Dr. Eugene,

      I thank you for answering, my, some what dumb question, and though you suggested that this contrversy to end, yet my mind will not be at ease, untill you will answer the very important question posed by Mr. Langoolacharya, which is highly psychological, and your honest answer will throw a light on the actual love, between humans and humans Vs humans & animal Pets when they are ill. Thank you.

      Just YES or NO as the answer would suffice. And the question was

      Was there descrimination, the way you handled Chimmi, when she was ill, in compariosn to your Children or yourself under similar circumstance.

      We have seen people travelling miles to get their loved one's hospitals from very remote areas in the middle of the night, without thinking, that they might get better in the morning. so your earlier contention what you thought and the non availability of vet hospitals near by is not a justifyable excuse. Thank you

    • Della Rego, Mangalore, Doha, Qatar

      Sun, Jan 16 2011

      Very touching article with excellent narration. Thanks Dr. Eugene sharing with Daiji readers. Yes cats and dogs are special friends and companion to humans. Back in India myself and my siblings had 4 cats and 3 dogs, it was fun to play with them and was a very good time pass. I am sorry to say that today in the early mornings we have lost our loving cat-Chani due to vehicle accident. As it was carrying and it was due by end of this month. It was with us from 9 months as I brought her when it was kitten from the garbage bin. It was a sweet, loving, wise and adorable cat. Chani was eating, playing and sleeping with us and now we all are missing it very much. It was a good company to my kids when we parents were out for work, as it was playing and keeping my daughter busy. May its soul rest in peace and pray that let the same chani to come once again in our life and in our family.

    • radha, udupi

      Sun, Jan 16 2011

      beautiful pictures of chimmy n ashu tears after reading about chimmy.......never neglect when they go missing........

    • Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle

      Sun, Jan 16 2011

      First of all I sincerely thank Daijiworld.com for publishing the article on 'Chimmi' and all those who had empathised through their comments with the loss of 'Chimmi' and narrating experience of their own beloved pets.

      I fully understand the suggestion of Mr. Manu and Mr. Felix F. that i should have contacted a veterinary doctor. To be frank, first of all such thought never crossed my mind as i thought that 'Chimmi' might recover by morning secondly,it was around 10.30 in the night and there are no resident veterinary doctors in Moodubelle or neighbouring villages as far as my knowledge goes. Besides i did not have contact number of any veterinary doctor in Udupi. I sincerely felt that Chimmi would survive, but unfortunately she didn't. The concern shown by Mr. Manu and Mr. Felix shows their love for the animals and how Chimmi could have been saved. I thank Mr. Ronald, Mangalore for clarifying certain queries on my behalf and Mr. Langoolacharya, Belman/USA for suggesting that i should enlighten on certain issues such as why i did not take recourse of the veterinary doctor in order to save Chimmi. I hope that this controversy will end and Chimmi will have peace wherever she is. Thank you all for your wonderful response.


    • Felix F., India/Ksa

      Sun, Jan 16 2011

      Langoolacharya, Belman/USA
      Your perfect response to my comments in the way of seeking clarification directly with Dr. Eugene, is great.Thank you.

    • Harold Dsouza, Belman, Qatar

      Sat, Jan 15 2011

      i heard from my parents that most of the pet animal will not make irriation / trouble to owner ( fly ) at time of their death comes...even we saw same with our cats & dogs, may be here also death was on the way & cat gone & back only to die...!! ( Dr. How old was chimmi ?? )

    • Langoolacharya, Belman/USA

      Sat, Jan 15 2011

      Dr Eugene D'Souza, Moodubelle ,

      Could you please enlighten my buddy Felix F., India/Ksa, if you have Vet Hospitals in Moodubelle which are open 24 x 7 ( Day and Night)....And also reasons for you not taking Chimmi to Vet Doc same night?

      Let me rephrase my question,,, Why did you discriminate your beloved Chimmi in compariosn to your Children or yourself?

      My gut feeling is, if you could convince him or people like him, you can convince any body of any thing....

      Good luck Sir,,,......

      Regards,

      Langoolacharya.



    • Harold Dsouza, Belman, Qatar

      Sat, Jan 15 2011

      Nice article Dr. it’s touching me more as we had one black cat which was very good in hunting to behavior…I can say all things in a manner, we used to play with it, she used to follow mom all the places as guard for mom.! One day my brother was playing with it by tying rope to her neck , she got pain & ran away, so next day we found her hanging from roof of hut where she might have gone for hunting..! rope got stucked & she died, there after we had many cat’s but not like her, after 30 to 32 yrs we still miss her.

    • Felix F., India/Ksa

      Sat, Jan 15 2011

      Langoolacharya, Belman/USA

      Please read my comments again. I did not say anything about life and death, only the efforts to save the Cat, which is not just a ordinary stray cat, but a homely loving Chimmi.

      At least he could have mentioned in his article, that in spite of the late of hours, he tried to contact a vet or give some medicines off the shelf, but were of no use.

    • Langoolacharya, Belman/USA

      Fri, Jan 14 2011

      Felix F., India/Ksa,

      Life and death is not in doctors hand its in Gods hand....

      If your theory is true,,, no doctors in this world will ever die....


    • Felix F., India/Ksa

      Fri, Jan 14 2011

      Ronald Manglore
      That is what Mannu wanted to say. Dr.Eugeen treated the cat like a animal, with artificial love, not like a human being.

      If the same was the case with any of his family, he would not have waited to give medication till next morning. Would he..??????

    • Ronald, Mangalore

      Fri, Jan 14 2011

      Manu, Chilimbi, your concern over not taking Chimini to vet doctor is appreciated. However if you read the article then you can see that Dr.Eugeen came home at 10:30 pm so I believe there was no chance for him to take it to vet doctor until next day. Chimini was dead very next morning.

    • Clara Lewis, Kemmannu/Dubai

      Fri, Jan 14 2011

      Very touching article by Dr.Eugene, I never liked cats very much until we brought our pet cat Simba 5 years ago from feline friends, our daughter forced us to bring him home, since then he is the baby in our house so loving and adorable.

    • Subhash Gangaram Shinde, Nanded, Maharashtra

      Thu, Jan 13 2011

      Good Evening to all the readers of Daijiworld.com and specially Dr. Eugene D'souza for writing such an emotional story about his cat, 'CHIMMI'. This story brings out the compassionate side of human beings. Sometimes human beings become so ceuel that they behave worst than wild animals and kill human beings in brutal way. On the other side we have this soft side also wherein, we miss our pets like cats and dogs.

      I, think such a tender story with human touch can come only from Dr. Eugene.

      Sir, please keep writing your articles and stories on Daijiworld.com so that we can relish it.

    • Subhash Gangaram Shinde, Nanded, Maharashtra

      Thu, Jan 13 2011

      Good Evening to all the readers of Daijiworld.com and specially Dr. Eugene D'souza for writing such an emotional story about his cat, 'CHIMMI'. This story brings out the compassionate side of human beings. Sometimes human beings become so ceuel that they behave worst than wild animals and kill human beings in brutal way. On the other side we have this soft side also wherein, we miss our pets like cats and dogs.

      I, think such a tender story with human touch can come only from Dr. Eugene.

      Sir, please keep writing your articles and stories on Daijiworld.com so that we can relish it.

    • Felix F.,, India/Ksa

      Thu, Jan 13 2011

      I agree with manu, chilimbi. Crocodile tears from Dr.Eugene. The cat was not properly taken care of, when it was ill.

    • manu, chilimbi

      Wed, Jan 12 2011

      Hi Dr.Eugene,
      This was a touching story. But the sadder fact is that although you were a doctor you didn't make the effort to take her to a vet doctor. If you had, she might be alive today.

    • Irene Sequeira, Derebail/Kuwait

      Tue, Jan 11 2011

      Dear Dr. Eugene, Thank you for the nice article which was very touching. I was very emotional while reading it. I love pets too.

    • Liz, Kuwait

      Mon, Jan 10 2011

      Dear Dr.Eugene,
      I cried reading your article. You have expressed it from your heart. We have 2 cats at home, the eldest one is with us for 5 years. Looking at the photos, I can tell you that Chimmi was a sweet and gentle cat. Cats are very loving.

    • pavi, mangalore

      Mon, Jan 10 2011

      Oh god i almost cried readin this article... i jus love cats n dogs.. they r ma best frend...

    • Anwesha, Dublin/Mangalore

      Mon, Jan 10 2011

      Thanks for the pics and a good narration. It reminded me of my own cat 'billi' who was with me for 13 years and died one day as you said I still donno the cause for her death. Like your cat, even billi went missing for a day and came back and died at home. Its almost 20 years since she passed away but her picture is still very fresh in my mind.....Thank you bringing back her memories.

    • James Fernandes, Barkur/USA

      Mon, Jan 10 2011

      I thought you are going to prove that cats have nine lives!

      I read somewhere: An animal rights activist asked her daughter, "What kind act you performed today to manifest your love for animals?"

      Tommy (her brother) was soccer practicing by kicking our cat Molly into the goal line.

      So I kicked Tommy into his stomach, who is still groaning at the goal post.

      Mommy, I love my cat more than anything else! Don't I Mommy?"

    • Ina D'Souza, Kingdom of Bahrain

      Mon, Jan 10 2011

      Dr. Eugene really a nice article and the photos. My children are good to animals. They are attracted to pet animals when they see one. I am happy for them. I remember I was kind to animals. I used to feed them with whatever I eat. When they eat what I give I used to feel very happy. Ina

    • S Salian, Mangalore

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      I love cats. They are very friendly animals. They also maintain their hygiene and cleanliness.I had a cat during my college days and it always use to be by my side whenever I am home.
      A nice article.

    • Ronald, Mangalore

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Very nice article. When reading the paragragh starting 'Early next morning' tears came out of my eyes. Cats too have nice bonding especially the girl cats.

    • Richard Kuthyar/Dubai, Dubai

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Super.........Dr. Eugine

    • Jennifer, Mnagalore/Dubai

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Dr. Eugene.

      Wonderful article. i love cats and its nice to see all pics that you have posted.

    • Premeena Menezes, Shirva/ Sharjah

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      this article really touched my heart and tears rolled down when i read it becoz i love cats too much. i rememberd my pet rinku and am missing her. very well expressed. thanks for writing this article...

    • Mike, KSA

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Interesting to read Chimmi's biography, indeed beautifully narrated.

    • D M D Souza, Bantwal

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      I am really happy to know there are more cat lovers around, just like my own love & passion for their company. When I was a small kid one cat with similar colour came to our house, we called her Billy. She never laid any kittens-despite me & my sister's efforts in bathing her, drying her & putting all the powder on her & getting her married the way we knew. We hanged a stool upside down from ceiling & made her sleep in it with comfortable bed like a child in a cradle. The cat never allowed anybody to scold me, by going round & round their legs & would climb up on my lap & lick my tears(probably it had adopted me). It never wanted any competition in the form of any other cats,koel or squirrel we had saved from being attacked by other animals(abandoned). It would not come home until they are gone. After its passing away we had another cat which laid many kittens (0nce we had 8 cats). They would gaurd against any serpents entering our house by standing in U formation & preventing them from entering our house. Once they had attacked a small snake with daughter holding its tail, while mother its head & pulling apart till it was decapitated in the middle.
      Thank u Dr Eugene for bringing the good old memories back- if I continue writing any more It would probably eclipse the very story on whick I'm commenting.

    • Bobby Malhotra, Mulki

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Once Cat has been worshipped as God in Ancient Egypt. Times has change..but cat remain the same..Jai Ho..

    • Ms. Andrade, Bangalore

      Sun, Jan 09 2011

      Dr. Eugene D'Souza,

      Thank you for such a wonderful article & also the beautiful pictures of Chimmi, Ashu, Billu & all the Kittens. One of "The Best" articles I have come across. Cats are indeed great pets.

    • Langoolacharya, Belman/USA

      Sat, Jan 08 2011

      Dr Eugene D'Souza, Moodubelle,

      This is the best article I read in Daiijiworld....We had a similar cat named Elizabeth raised by my mother,,, she had 3 kitten, I regret not taking her pics as you did.

      Regarding cats teaching hunting to their children,,, there is lot for humans to learn from cats.

      Cats are wonderful animals.....

      Regards,

      Langoolacharya


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