Pets and other creatures

"Chooti Poos" (little pussy cat) was the latest addition to the household cat family. Very sadly, he didn't last long, having been killed by a hit-and-run driver a week ago.

I picked him down the lane one night about five months ago. He must have been a month old then, and was sitting quietly under a tree, looking so forlorn that I didn't have the heart to leave him there. As my wife has forbidden me to bring in any more strays (not unreasonably, since we are feeding at least eight already) I sneaked him in and locked him up in my 'junk yard' room, which has all my books, newspapers and junk.

CP was an amazingly quiet little kitten but the secret was out when he miaowed plaintively one night. I got severely lectured, but I kept the kitten and cured him of the flu he was suffering from. About a month passed and, what do you know, CP managed to steal everyone's hearts.Soon, it turned out that neither my wife nor my daughters had ever seen a nicer, cuter kitten, and he began getting right royal treatment.

But I had a sense of premonition. CP spent a lot of time outside, and he had no regard for traffic. So, my worst fears came true one afternoon.

This photo was taken the day before CP died by Hiruni, my elder daughter with a Canon 3.8 megapixel camera.