Dora & Stitch

October & December 2014

We happened to be in Bangkok when we saw an advert from a couple looking for someone to spend a few nights with a shy cat.  When we popped over to have a chat and meet Dora, she promptly fled into the bedroom to hide.

When we returned to start the assignment a few days later, she ran away again, but didn’t hide for long – apparently curiosity was stronger than fear and she was soon relaxed in our presence – and being cheeky!

She had also taught herself to open doors. She was not allowed in a particular room, and she knew it. But she wasn’t going to let that stop her from trying!  She would sit by the door and look up at the handle for a few seconds. Then, in one carefully calculated jump, she would launch herself at it and hold tight, letting her weight pull the handle to open the door in one easy move.

Our biggest challenge with Dora was not to get her to trust us, as she worked out pretty quickly that we meant no harm. Being an indoor cat, and a pretty smart one, the biggest challenge was to keep her sufficiently stimulated and entertained, with games we had to vary frequently so that she wouldn’t get bored too quickly.

Thankfully, she wasn’t particularly fussy, and chasing a rolled up piece of paper was enough to get her into hunting mode!

Soon after we finished looking after Dora, we were asked to return for a few more days in December. But this time, she was not alone. Stitch, a little black kitten, had been adopted to keep her company, and he was as cute and affectionate as he was rambunctious and curious!

He was nervous at first. He ran to the safety of the bedroom as fast as his little legs could take him when we walked in, and Dora followed. I thought I’d try my luck and just sat down on the floor and waited for them both to approach me.

Dora soon recognised me and came over to say hello. Suddenly, Stitch’s head popped out from behind the curtains, the rest of his body followed, and he was soon sniffing me all over. I just sat there and let him get acquainted with my smell.

When he was satisfied that he hadn’t missed any spots, he simply lied down by my feet and rested his head on my ankles. And that was that! He repeated the process with Mark and from then own, he was our little shadow for the rest of our stay.

Like many Thai cats, he had a stubby tail – a sign of a genetic mutation. And like all kittens, he seemed to have an unending supply of energy and a pressing need to know what we were doing at every waking moment.

He was extremely easy to entertain, and everything that resembled a game would get him totally excited. He loved chasing after small items thrown across the room and would even bring them back to us to continue playing. It was the first time we had seen a cat “play fetch” and it was tremendous fun to watch.

He also liked opening the wardrobe in the main bedroom and drag clothes (and anything else we could sink his claws or teeth into) out and spread them over the floor. And of course hiding things under the bed or sofa was another favourite pastime of his. He certainly kept us on our toes!