I met Maggi four years back at our neighbour’s doorstep. The neighbour woman was no animal lover, especially ‘allergic’ to female cats! But I am the quite opposite and would adore any animal - stray, wild or pedigree!
So quite soon Maggi, back then ‘a useless female cat’ , ended up at my place! I was a mere animal lover , but one of my aunts said “ a secret many did not know is that female cats are lucky and would bring fortune and prosperity to their owners! “ But I never took her words seriously! I just wanted to help a helpless soul!
Maggi grew up, so did I. But whenever Maggi crossed my neighbour’s path I heard her yelling at Maggi.
So days passed by and one day as I was sitting on our front garden bench with Maggi , a lottery seller passed by. I just bought a lottery and told her , “ Let’s see whether you have brought fortune!” Nothing!!
And years passed by. By now Maggi is a grown up female cat and we sterilized her for her own good. She is as free as ever! A happy soul!
As my university exams approached I was compelled to study hard and in fact I was compelled to wake up at 4 am because Maggi would never let me sleep late! So studying in the morning became a habit and finally the lazy student who never got good marks at exams , managed to pass out with a First Class Honours!
When my neighbour congratulated me I said “the credit should go to Maggi” and she thought I was joking.
When Maggi was three years old , I got my first job at a reputed Company and one day as Maggi did not look well I took her to the Vet clinic which was just a stone’s throw from my office. After taking treatment, I drove home with Maggi having bought some stuff for my mom from the grocery nearby. I got down the car just before I reached our residential lane as I saw a small boy who was at the vet clinic standing with his dog there. He gestured that he was waiting until his mother returned from the pharmacy!
As I was about to get into the car, the same lottery seller emerged from a nearby lane and Maggi ‘ meowed’ as if she wanted me to buy one. I bought two - one for me and one for her!
Any lucky guess? It took me two or three days to check the winning numbers of these lottery tickets. Believe me or not, I finally ended up as a lottery winner, a big sum indeed! I managed to invest a big amount prudently and donated the rest to Pet welfare centers.
During the past few months, as the whole world went into lockdown, I was careful enough to keep her inside my house always. She was not a great fan of ‘outdoor walking’ anyway, still she loved to peep into neighbourhood gardens. But she had to stop that during the Covid 19 pandemic period. She had enough food, medicine stored at home thanks to her owner ( none other than me!) and she spent the entire lockdown period gracefully.
Sadly, Maggi’s neighbour ( my neighbour too) who could not stand the poot cat, was diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to hospital. I was generous enough to handover a considerable sum of Maggi’s “lottery money” to her family wishing her speedy recovery!
What I want to emphasize here is, it is not “the Lottery money” that matters! The sheer happiness that I helped a helpless animal, the sheer pride that she did truly bring Fortune. ( mental happiness !) and that Maggi helped me donate some money to her worst enemy, ( my neighbour) during her sickness!
So never hesitate to lend a helping hand to a female cat , dog or to any helpless animal!
Greatest fortune is what lies in our hearts!
- Sashi S
( Pet’s and her owner’s names have been changed)
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