MEW the TABBY KITTEN. SHE arrives on a Hungry Ghost Month.

NAH, I DON'T LIKE CATS.

Absolutely not.

They are cold, so arrogant and blah- aloof .....

and they preen like peacocks.

CATS strut with stealth and have this devil-may-care attitude.

They are emotionally attached to places, not their masters.

And when the mating season comes,

They bawl like hyenas and send shivers down our spines .....

CATS can be really creepy,

Or so I thought.

I prefer DOGS, yah.

Now, SEPTEMBER embodies the Chinese month of the HUNGRY GHOSTS.

The Chinese believe that, during this baffling month, the dead stalk the streets at night and might pay the unsuspecting you a visit, so will you please stay at home.

And it was on a SEPTEMBER morning in Bangkok that I heard this desperate "meow" emanating from the derelict storeroom of our office.

This private storeroom has always been locked, closed for months, but the mewing became louder.

On opening the door of the storeroom, I espied this small ball of fur (grey with dark stripes).

A pair of doleful eyes peered at me pathetically, indicating that she was hungry.

How did she get into the closed storeroom?

It's still a ghostly mystery, but in the weeks that followed, she followed me everywhere in the office.

Is she a real kitten or something incarnated, I wondered.

Nevertheless, I named her MEW, after the lead in the popular Thai movie "LOVE OF SIAM".

I already have 2 doggies in my fold, but MEW have "charmed" them over and they are now inseparable buddies.

ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW LIFE WORKS OUT IN STRANGE WAYS

and what seemed like a burden at first -

NOW BECOMES A SOURCE OF JOY!

YEAH, I am now changing my silly mindset about CATS.

They are dependable, full of love, predictable in their actions,

grateful and loyal.

CATS are purrly-lovely and agile.

MEW has shown me so, this SEPTEMBER, the Chinese Hungry Ghost Month.

You have to be a cat lover to believe this one.

It's for real.