Doris Kalus - photo by Nigel A JAMES
The winter
was in and the cold had gone through to the core. It was almost
dark, and whilst waiting for friends to go jogging, I noticed a woman
at the edge of the trees. It seemed very unusual, and, what she was
doing aroused an interest in me, and so, I went over to talk.
As I got
nearer, I saw she was filling a row of about thirty small bowls with
food. I wondered why. And then the reason came out of the woods! Not
one – but many!
And then
Doris Kalus explained. Each year, hundreds of cats run away from
their homes in Vienna, and, in the Vienna Woods some find a new and
more natural habitat. And everything is fine until the smoothness of
summer passes into the hardness of winter! For it is then that the hunger sets in!
And, so it
is, that Doris goes everyday without fail to the woods. For the
run-away cats she is an Angel in person. And she explained further.
As the winters continue, the number of cats coming for supper gets
fewer and fewer. No one knows how many cats there actually are in
the Vienna Woods, but, considering the dangers involved, it is a
miracle that any survive. There are foxes, owls, and, of course, the
many cars on the roads that criss-cross the woods.
And why?
Years ago, Doris had a cat, and he, too, like many others felt the
call of the wild and was never seen again! Maybe, he went to the
forest. Who knows! And, could it be that he is still there?
After-all, some cats do survive for years in the open.
And maybe,
one day, he, too, will be amongst those who come out of the trees!
Nj
