On Losing Anorexia

Another cat is lost in the "Muning" genealogy, the cat that delivered kittens to the Flores family and died days after. Her kittens named "Badjing", "Murder", and "Anorexia" were cared for, or put it correctly, placed on a pedestal by my girlfriend Paulette that they grew up fat and in silky fur. "Badjing" (named after her kitten-days bungee jumping mode) was most loved, "Murder" (after his kitten-days obsession to eat yellow-green Birdie) was second and "Anorexia" (after her anorexic look, sickly body, swollen eyes) was the least, although she was the most "malambing" and "mabait".

On February 17, last year, "Badjing" was lost, or we surmised snatched up while playing outside the gate and sold for P20 (that was the buying rate in Caloocan according to a "basurero" we talked to) to be fed to a Rottweiler or a wild snake. What an ending for a cute, clean cat that eats nothing but Friskies and "galunggong". So "Badjing" is indeed gone and can never come back. Since then, "Murder" sleeps with my girlfriend-- you just don't know how it feels to have a cat for a rival, hehe! By the way, "Murder", the local Garfield (he's so sluggish and fat) or the little Lion King (so fiery and possessive at times) fathered many more sons and daughters from his incestuous relationship with "Badjing" and "Anorexia". Among them left is "Namfrel" (the vegetarian cat) and "Pretty" (cat so quiet, so petty)-- the others we gave away to friends and neighbors.

Last February 14, "Anorexia" was found lost, or snatched up in an unholy hour by what we suspect as a February serial cat stealer. Until today, we still look for "Anorexia", wondering how she has been treated, for a cat like her has never been outside and exposed to strangers. Her loss refreshes the pain of having lost "Badjing", even makes more painful as my girlfriend contemplates on the day that "Murder" is out of her life, and for reasons that they were sold and helplessly fed to carnivores. It's unfortunate that these cats live in a neighborhood, or perhaps city, where most people care only about what they could sell and eat for a day.

They say, there are many ways to skin a cat. But I say, if I see whoever snatched our cats, I will skin him in so many ways!