Cats. What’s not to love about them? Self wrapped up souls with a huge penchant for sychophancy, great candidates in many fields of the world today. Meet Voodoo. Yes, he’s Jet Black.

A gentle boy, he came into my life at a time when i didn’t even have a home to call my own. Caught at the crossroads, read Black Cat=Bad Luck and me living in make shift conditions, we adapted to each other. Acceptance came much later, however when it did, it was magic. The occasional cuddles, the snake offerings (oh yeah, that’s his thing. Read Mongoose in his past life transgression), the incessant crying for food to be fed by hand (even when his bowl was full to the brim) and the ever odd fight with the ‘bully tomcat’ of the Vaddo (local term for district in Goa). He loves his battle scars, much to my disdain.

There’s is literally no amount of clean water one can put in a bowl, that allows him to follow his predatory senses to the proverbial ‘watering hole’ aka toilet.

Come Covid19, he got lucky with many felines around. His antics for all to witness spanned tales of debauchery ringing through the night in the distant forests away. Mating calls aka phantom mating in his case (he’s snipped) ring through the distance every other night. He’s one of a kind, figuratively speaking. Sic.

Without fail, a creature of routine, he comes back every morning (read drunken bender from the Catboy Mansion all night long), has a glib catty smile as he makes his way to the bed. Breakfast of kibble served for his championship quest the night prior, a reverence if you will. A few licks later and it’s off to snooze land.

While many around are suffering with mental and health issues in this real time pandemic, it’s souls like Voodoo who give us hope and keep yours truly- sane being pent up for months on end isolated from the world courtesy Covid19.

Having a pet shows you sides of yourself, you might never find. They tap into your inner conscious wonderland, making you believe in the innocence of things. A must in times like this, given how jaded circumstance is.

Some say, I saved him and gave him a home. I’m sure, Voodoo knows it’s the otherway round.