Nursery Cats

Nursery Cats
Ninha & Lucky

Nursery Cats
Ninha & Lucky

I could hardly believe my eyes. As the man wheeled out the wooden trolley, a
cheeky striped cat hopped on and was clearly delighted to be carted around the
nursery on her wooden chariot.
Pedro, Mom and Pop run the village garden nursery, Ninha and Lucky complete the
happy family.
Ninha was adopted from a local shelter and her full name is Joaninha which means
ladybird in Portuguese. Joaninha was soon shortened to Ninha and sometimes
when she's a bit mischievious they call her El Nino!
One day Pedro's mom noticed Ninha spending time with a very scruffy looking kitten.
When she tried to get close, the kitten would run and hide, being a real animal lover,
Pedro's Mom persevered and with heaps of love, fresh mincemeat and patience.
Slowly but surely she managed to coax the poor little mite (by now her name was
Lucky) until the kitten was eating and sleeping in the garden nursery at night.
One day however, they noticed that Lucky had a severe burn on her back but she
wouldn't let anyone near her to examine it. She had clearly endured ongoing cruelty
at the hand of other human beings and wasn't about to let her guard down under
any circumstances. Not to be outdone, Pedro's mom laced Lucky's food with
antibiotics, continued with bucket loads of soft talk and tender loving care, Lucky
soon became well again.
It's been almost two years since then, Lucky has learned to trust humans and has
become a cherished member of the household. She and Ninha rule the roost at this
delightful family business, overseeing all the goings on and are thoroughly spoiled to
boot.

“Though she be but little,
she is fierce!”
William Shakespeare

“What greater gift,
than the love of a cat.”
Charles Dickens

photography by moi du toi