When my daughter-in-law told me that she was fond of cats and had always owned one, I did not know what to say. We had never had a pet and even if I had wanted one, I would have preferred the loyal and sociable nature of a dog.
Today’s generation believes in sticking to individual preferences and lifestyle, even going so far as to believe that “pets are the new children and plants are the new pets”. Bunny, my daughter-in-law’s pet, is mollycoddled as if it were a baby. Whenever my daughter-in-law is away for long, the cat is put in a “pet boarding”. Bunny seems to have a distinct preference for a particular establishment. I was told the cat had friends to play with in its favourite boarding house whereas the other one left it cranky and irritated.
When travelling, an autorickshaw simply would not do. It had to be a taxi, otherwise Bunny would curl up into a ball, and get agitated and frightened. Many trips to the vet were usually required to find out why it was not purring, head bumping, or kneading. It could be a simple tummy upset but why take a chance?
