Some cats go wild over catnip – this one loves nothing better than to hear her daddy sing.
Suresh Nanda Kumar rescued Anya as a three-month-old kitten at a Subang toll one night in 2016, where he found her cowering during a nasty storm.
“I messaged all my friends about adopting her but she was such an ugly kitten, no one wanted her,” he recalls, adding that he had never been a cat person, preferring the company of dogs.
It didn’t help that as a frightened kitten, Anya didn’t take to Suresh, either.
“She was so vicious and unfriendly at the beginning but I didn’t have the heart to give her up. She just needed some love, that’s all.”
Five years later, he can’t imagine life without her. Anya, too, has warmed up to her daddy and enjoys being the princess of his heart.
“She is extremely naughty, cheeky and very jealous of other humans coming into my apartment,” Suresh says, explaining that for some strange reason, Anya tends to direct her distress on him by trying to attack him.
She is also a keen hunter, just like her wild ancestors. “No insects, lizards and cockroaches can even hope to survive an attack from the ever-alert Anya.”
When she’s not earning her keep by hunting winged creatures of every kind, Anya loves nothing better than lounging around her home, enjoying a scratch or two behind her ear.
“She loves to be scratched, especially on her belly. Once I stop, she’ll start meowing and keep it up until I resume scratching her,” he says.
While most people think only dogs can learn tricks, Anya is happy to prove them wrong. According to Suresh, she responds to commands like “baby”, “sit”, “come”, “mum mum” at mealtimes, and “bublus” for treats.
She also loves to hear daddy sing. “I created a special song for her. It goes ‘Anya busuk, Anya busuk’,” Suresh says, laughing heartily. And although it’s not complimentary to her in any way, she is somehow calmed by it.
When she isn’t getting scratched and sung to, Anya likes to play with her many soft toys.
“She loves it when I throw her soft toys for her to catch. But what makes her the happiest is playing on my bed under the many layers of scarves I place there.
“A routine every night is playing a game called ‘monster, monster’. Just hearing the word gets her all excited,” Suresh says.
Like most cats, Anya is freaked out by the sound of the hair dryer, vacuum cleaner and blender. She’s also frightened of the sound aerosol sprays make.
“Recently, she’s started to hate her monthly bath and the moment she sees me carrying her towel, she’s off in a flash.”
She’s also known to put up quite a fight when Suresh tries to clip her claws or clean her ears. “So I have to keep saying, ‘one more, one more, one more’ over and over again.”
When night falls, the sleepy Anya has many special places where she likes to rest her pretty head. Her favourite is sleeping in Suresh’s bed.
“Sometimes, she’ll make herself comfortable near my laptop, under my plant racks, under the sofa, or on my book rack.”
When asked what he would tell her if she could understand English, Suresh says, “I want to thank her for all the unconditional love she’s given me, especially over a lonely couple of years. You just can’t get that kind of devotion from a human.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.