The Cat and the fishpond

Billy, our cat has lost all interest in the fishpond.

When we moved house, he was so enchanted with the fishes, that he used to sit for hours watching them. Mind you, Billy is not the one to chase things and since we had him, when he was six weeks old and fitted almost in the palm of the hand, he has never killed anything. Not a mouse, not a bird, not a soul, zilch.

We think that he would die of starvation if he doesn't get his staple cat-food. Occasionally we see him chasing butterflies in the garden, but that's about it.

We inherited the fishpond from the previous owners and due to Madam feeding them regular fish-food, the fishes are thriving. We had about twenty odd fishes to start with but now it could be double the number. On a sunny day the fishes would come to the surface and cavort merrily.The biggest of them all, the white Patriarch (we believe he is male as he is too lazy to be female, at least that's what Madam thinks!)lazes around amongst his Harem and his numerous children, and eating the bulk of the food granules floating on the surface.

Billy, on the other hand would sit for hours watching these fishes. Occasionally he would put his white paw to to gently touch the water, as if to test the temperature, and the fishes would scatter away. Certainly the reflection of the cat did not scare them.

And there we are, Billy the cat, too lazy or too non-violent to catch fishes....we'll never know.