Cats!

This cat lives with me now at our house. He doesn't really have a name - we call him Ikos ("ee-koos") which means "cat" in Bicol. He keeps me good company and helps me relieve stress, unless he's trying to steal food off the table. He has half of a tail and meows a lot, all the time. My host family says that he says "ming ming ming." Isn't it great that animals say different things in different languages?



This is Bella. She is a very young kitten that some friends of mine discovered one day hanging out in their sewer. They already have two cats so they're trying to talk me into taking her sometime soon. I'm not sure if I can yet, but no doubt she and I are good friends!

I'm still trying to figure out where I can take Ikos, and maybe later Bella, to the vet. I might have to take them boxed-up on the bus with me for a long time to go to a place in Legazpi.

My host family thinks it's really funny that I want to take Ikos to the doctor - not exactly a common practice here in the Philippines. That's one thing that has jumped out at me every time I've been to Asia, that there are so many, so many, so many cats and dogs, and a lot of them in pretty sad shape. I can understand that when money is tight, providing medical care for animals doesn't rank high on one's priority list, but it still makes me sad.

Ikos and Bella are two lucky cats to have befriended the Kanos in their towns!