"Raise a cat?" Ding Sha subconsciously repeated, "Where is there a cat?"
"There's one at the new house," Xiao Jun smiled, "The landlady said there's currently a single mother living in the yard. Her belly is round and she sunbathes in the yard every day. By the time we move in, she'll probably have given birth to kittens."
"If we want to raise her, we should bring her back now instead of scaring her when we start renovating." Ding Sha said almost without hesitation, "Let's raise her!"
Xiao Jun brought the shivering cat mom back after just a few days. She was a tortoiseshell cat with delicate features and a very skinny body but large belly.
She looked at people warily and cautiously.
Ding Sha felt a little distressed as she stroked her, "You must have been so frightened!"
Xiao Jun was still taking things out of the car: cat litter, litter box, food bowl, cat food, treats, cat bed - he had bought back all kinds of stuff in one go.
He pulled down his mask and took a breath, "I took her to the pet hospital. It's not good to vaccinate her while she's pregnant with kittens. I was afraid she would have an adverse reaction. We'll take her back in a few days after she calms down for a bath."
Ding Sha hmm-ed in acknowledgment. After Xiao Jun washed his hands and came back, she placed Little Ping An in his arms and squatted down herself to look at the little tortoiseshell still curled up in the corner.
Considering she had just arrived, Ding Sha made some cat food using sheep's milk powder and brought it over to her in a bowl, "Are you hungry? Eat something."
The little tortoiseshell stared at her warily, not moving a muscle.
Ding Sha put down the food bowl and pulled Xiao Jun away, "Don't keep staring at her, it'll scare her."
"Let's just go about our business normally and give her some time to settle in."
Xiao Jun seemed to sort of understand as he followed her.
Ding Sha tidied away all the cat stuff Xiao Jun had bought. Then she went into the kitchen.
Xiao Jun followed her in, "Are you hungry? Let me do it."
"I'm not hungry," Ding Sha shook her head, "I'm making something for Little Cat to eat."
"Don't you have cat food?" Xiao Jun asked, puzzled.
"Of course cats need a more varied diet. And she's a mother," Ding Sha said matter-of-factly, "So she should eat better."
"Oh..." Xiao Jun nodded.
Ding Sha opened the fridge, "Where did you put the chicken breast I bought before?"
"It's in the bottom shelf," Xiao Jun pointed it out to her, "There's also basa fish."
"Perfect!" Ding Sha took them out to defrost.
"Is there any shrimp? What about beef?" Ding Sha asked uncertainly. She hadn't been the one cooking these past few days so she wasn't sure what was in the house.
"We have both, second shelf from the bottom, take a look," Xiao Jun thought about it.
Little Ping An craned his neck up high to watch Ding Sha crouching to grab things from the fridge. Xiao Jun straightened him back up but he was unhappy about it and scrunched up his face, on the verge of tears.
"There, there, I've offended His Highness!" Xiao Jun simply crouched down too so Little Ping An could see Ding Sha.
Little Ping An stared curiously with wide eyes, trying to reach out and grab her hands.
Ding Sha dodged him and shot an irritated look at Xiao Jun, "You're spoiling him rotten. Now he fake cries whenever he doesn't get what he wants. He's getting more and more unruly."
Xiao Jun looked completely nonchalant, "He's little now. When he grows up I can discipline him."
Ding Sha shoved her cold, frozen hands straight into his clothes, "What are you saying?!"
"I'm wrong, I'm wrong!" Xiao Jun grimaced from the cold, "I was joking, kidding! How could I ever hit our precious son?!"
Ding Sha gave him an skeptical look.
"He's still small now, I can teach him when he's older and can talk..." Xiao Jun mumbled.
"You go ahead and spoil him then!" Ding Sha said, rolling her eyes.
Xiao Jun grinned, then turned to see Little Ping An sucked on his fingers, staring at him unblinkingly. He puckered his lips and kissed Little Ping An's milky soft baby cheeks, "Sweetheart!"
Little Ping An let out little gurgling laughs.
The father-son bonding scene left Ding Sha's face covered in amusement. She couldn't help the smile spreading on her face as she picked up the ingredients she needed and stood up.
"Out, out! You're in the way here."
Xiao Jun carried Little Ping An out, stomping in circles while making weird airplane noises with his mouth.
Ding Sha laughed and shook her head.
What a pair of kids.
The chicken breast and beef were cut into small pieces and run through the food processor to mince them finely. The shrimp and fish were mashed into a paste, then everything was mixed together in a bowl with an egg yolk and stirred well.
Ding Sha scooped out a small handful, put it in a glass bowl to steam until cooked, then mashed it up again to cool.
The rest was packed up in cling wrap and frozen.
Once the meat paste had cooled, she could bring it to Little Cat to eat.
Ding Sha brought the meat puree to Little Cat, who was still hiding timidly in the corner.
The cat food she'd left out before was somewhat eaten - she probably didn't dare eat it or didn't like the taste since she'd only taken a few bites.
Ding Sha set down the meat puree in front of her, then moved the cat food bowl to a more spacious corner with the cat bed.
Little Cat silently watched her do all this. After a while, she opened her mouth and let out a little "meow".
Ding Sha turned back to look at her, pleasantly surprised.
Little Cat let out another soft little meow.
Ding Sha couldn't help but say, "Go ahead and eat, it's delicious!"
Little Cat slowly lowered her head to lap the meat paste. Maybe she liked the taste because after licking her mouth, she glanced at Ding Sha then started eagerly devouring it.
Ding Sha crouched there watching until Little Cat finished eating before going over to collect the bowl. She'd set up a bowl of water for Little Cat to drink in the corner too. Seeing her groom herself lazily with a full belly, Ding Sha couldn't resist wanting to stroke her.
But before she could even stretch out her hand, Little Cat whipped her head around to look at her, eyes filled with wariness.
Ding Sha knew she still didn't feel safe enough here to settle in, so she drew back her hand. After chatting with Little Cat for a bit more, she left to do her own thing.
Little Cat remained seated there watching as Ding Sha walked away.
Her large yellow-green eyes were calm and lazy.
Little Cat's life became one where she could eat meat every other day. With caretakers now, her lifestyle was clearly more comfortable than when she was wandering and starving.
She would sprawl lazily basking in the sun, and occasionally rub against Ding Sha's legs to try and get close to her. But as soon as Ding Sha wanted to squat down to pet or hug her, she would bolt away as if she was a stranger.
Extremely heartless.
Ding Sha sighed and continued her efforts at feeding Little Cat.
After just a few days her angular little face had rounded out and her fur became sleek and glossy - clearly a well-cared for kitty.
Ding Sha had thought it would take a long time before Little Cat warmed up to her, but suddenly one day, the cat became much more restless.
She circled Ding Sha meowing, her cries no longer soft and coy, and she even bit Ding Sha's pants leg.
Ding Sha was puzzled by the change in behavior, "Egg Yolk, what's the matter with you?"
She had taken to calling the tortoiseshell Egg Yolk because the cat was especially fond of egg yolk, and would always deign to let Ding Sha pat her in exchange for some.
Little Cat meowed anxiously at her, even looking pleadingly at Ding Sha with moist eyes.
Then Ding Sha realized Little Cat was likely going into labor to give birth to kittens.
She quickly took out the birthing room she had prepared in advance along with the necessary supplies. Little Cat seemed a little relieved when she went inside but continued yowling fretfully.
Ding Sha was also extremely anxious and refused to leave Little Cat's side.
After struggling through the night, Little Cat finally gave birth to two kittens - one was a little tortoiseshell like herself, while the other seemed to be a little orange tabby.
Ding Sha breathed a sigh of relief since cats were said to have more difficulty delivering fewer kittens. At least they had been born safely.
Though she did wonder about the fur color of that "irresponsible" cat dad... Based on the kitten colors, he was most likely a huge ginger tomcat...
