What WAS That!?!?!

The Scene of the Crime

 
Coming to Phuket, we knew would be different than being back in BC on many different levels. From the food to the language and customs, there is also the wildlife. My biggest concern would be to see a snake. But in the area of Canada where we lived, the most dangerous would be the typical garter snake. It's biggest threat was a heart attack from jumping out when you least expected it. We had many many spiders, and I never paid them much attention, except to go through the house on a regular basis and raze their webs, only to run into a newly spun one the next morning, usually across the doorway as I was headed out to work.

Thailand has a large concentration of creepies and crawlies. Some of them just on sight alone are enough to cause you to steer a clear berth, others look so benign they almost invite close-up inspection. This is a habit that I am learning is probably not a good idea.

A Cat Named Pancake

I am always constantly amazed at the lack of evident presence of cats here. Mostly because I know there is generally no attempt to spay or neuter and I know that cats, like rabbits like to breed. I suspect that the lack of cats on the loose is a direct result of a number of factors that are not in their favour. They make easy prey for the soi dogs and snakes. Poison as a control method for the dogs, must surely be effective with cats as well. For a short time, we had neighbourhood cats that would wander into the back yard in search of particularly filled dog food dishes, that the bassets had decided that had their fill. I would watch in amazement as the cats would deftly walk along the top of the cement wall, that is topped with broken bottles, hop in, do a survey, eat and hop back up and out. I expected to find one slashed or impaled, but that never happened. I am sure that if I was to actually count the number of cats I have seen, it would not be above 12 in all the time I have been here.

I had noticed one of the visitors coming in for a late night snack, was heavy with kitten and I had not seen her for a few weeks now. So yesterday, as I was working on refurbishing Thunderbird three, as the weather takes a heavy toll on paint, and the salt water and air are pretty good at forming rust in record time. I heard a kitten crying,