Miffy the cat’s safe haven is Rik’s shoulder. Not Rik’s arm or lap, but shoulder. Not just anyone’s shoulder but Rik’s shoulder. The boy could be walking through dark alleys with dogs barking all around but if Miffy is perched up on his shoulder, she knows nothing can go wrong in the world.
Perhaps she formed this bond with Rik Ganguli Biswas as it was he who brought her into the family. “I learnt of a litter outside my friend’s house about a year ago and felt like bringing home a kitten,” says the engineering student. “It wasn’t too tough convincing my family as we have always been animal lovers, feeding and rescuing injured cats and dogs.”
This was more than a year ago and since then the black-and-white cat has warmed up famously to the family. “And she was no trouble at all. Would you believe it took her just one day to get toilet trained?” asks Rik’s 14-year-old brother Rishi.
When the Covid situation was better some months ago, the family even went for a staycation to Westin, with Miffy of course! “She loved it there and would lie right in the middle of the bed,” smiles Rik. “She would also stare out of the window at the New Town skyline.”
About six months ago, their second pet joined the family — Muffin. “My brother and Miffy were sitting in the balcony one day when they heard a kitten mewing on the street below. When they looked down and spotted the kitten, Miffy went ballistic. When Rishi brought home the helpless kitten Miffy was hissing with rage,” Rik recalls.
The idea was to nurture the orphan kitty for a few days and find him a home. “Miffy had stopped eating out of spite so we didn’t think we could keep the kitten with us. But we changed our mind when the cats started playing together over time. Muffin keeps Miffy active now.”
Miffy is a homebody and plays by the book while Muffin is a trouble-maker. “Twice while trying to chase away crows from the first-floor balcony he wriggled out of the grille and jumped on the tree outside,” says Rik. “And then of course, he didn’t know how to climb down. My father and I took turns in climbing the tree up to rescue him.”
If you have a pet you have brought up at home as a family member and which has its eyes only for you, write to us with your contact number at The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in