Jiang Feifei excitedly stared at the small kittens in the delivery room. Most of them were learning how to walk under the watchful eyes of the female cat, or were huddled together and playing around. Some of the better-developed kittens had begun to learn how to run and were stumbling around. They were often taken back to the cat’s nest by the female cat after they ran a little too far out.
Compared to the slit-eyes they had when they had just opened their eyes, their eyes were now completely open. Their visual system was basically fully developed, and they could now see their strange new world clearly like an adult cat.
Jiang Feifei thought that the aquarium was full of marine creatures and aquarium equipment. She didn’t expect the second floor to have two delivery rooms separated out, where two adult, female Abyssinian cats and a group of kittens lived.
Zhang Zian was preparing the cat food that the little kittens ate. From time to time, he would explain matters that required special attention and Jiang Feifei would listen carefully.
“From today on, we must add in some solid food for the little kittens, and the proportions will gradually increase so that we can prepare them for a smooth weaning in one month,” Zhang Zian explained.
Jiang Feifei nodded. “I understand.”
Ever since she had found out about the existence of the group of little kittens, she had taken initiative to take care of them, which would save Lu Yiyun the trouble of running back and forth several times a day. Since they were still little, they had to eat several meals a day.
“The color of their eyes seems to be different from that of an adult cat.” She observed both the adult female cats and small kittens and found the interesting phenomenon. She thought to herself, Is it true that their eye color is inherited from their father?
Zhang Zian answered, “This is normal. All the little kittens have gray-blue eyes, and when they grow up, their eyes will slowly turn into the amber color of their mother.”
“So it’s like this. It’s really amazing!” Jiang Feifei understood now. “In the past, stray cats in our school would occasionally give birth to a litter of kittens and they would carry them around the campus, so the girls in the school would always feed them. I have never observed them so carefully… but thinking back now, some of the food they fed them did not seem to be suitable for cats. If I had known, I would not have let them feed the cats.”
Jiang Feifei softly sighed. She only came to know about the existence of a light or serious taboo in the diet for cat and dogs after she came to the pet shop to work.
Zhang Zian shook his head and said, “Don’t be too bothered about that. After all, they don’t have such knowledge, and they only did it out of good will. The first thing stray animals will do, as long as the food isn’t poisonous, is eat their fill before they even think about eating well. The next time you see a similar situation, you can tell the girls that if they don’t know what to feed them, then the safest thing is to feed them cat food. Even the cheapest cat food is better than starving them.”
Jiang Feifei nodded, but then she said with regret, “It’s a pity that I’m going to graduate soon. I only have a short time left in school, and I’ve noticed that, after the start of the new semester, the stray cats around the campus are fewer than before.”
“The stray cats are fewer in number?” Zhang Zian asked casually.
“Yep. When it’s spring, the cats cry outside the dormitory building at night… well, you should know.” Jiang Feifei blushed and smiled in an attempt to lessen her embarrassment.
There was an artificially cultivated grove near the girls dormitory in Binhai University. The trees there were not densely populated, so many girls liked to read or exercise in the woods every morning and, because the girls liked to feed stray cats, the grove had also become the paradise for the stray cats that occupied the area.
However, when spring came, there were often inner conflicts within the girls. The reason was, of course, that the stray cats often cried out in the woods every night.
The girls living on the lower floors were always unable to withstand the disturbance. The crying of the cats that lasted throughout the night had reached the point where their sleep was affected. So, due to lack of adequate sleep, their daily studies and life had been affected in varying degrees.
Of course, there were also some people who made cynical remarks, such as: “One can simply rent a room and move out.”
There were some who really had rented a room and moved out because they were uncomfortable, but not everyone had that kind of spare money. Plus, the convenience and security of living at the school was not comparable to living outside the school, especially for those girls who were determined to take their exams. It was more convenient to live at the school, as it was easier for them to occupy a seat in the study room.
Therefore, the girls tended to put up stickers in the groves and at the entrance of the dormitory that read: “Please don’t feed the stray cats. If you really want to feed them, you can feed them elsewhere to prevent them from gathering in the vicinity.” Some of the words on the notes were gentle, while some were aggressive, some were pitiful, and some simply screamed and scolded the people who were feeding the stray cats…
If someone were to be seen feeding the stray cats in the woods, then the matter would be very serious, since there were many supporters on both sides. They would often have a lot of arguments, and if it was not because they were worried about being dismissed or even expelled from school, some people would definitely fight.
Similar incidents always broke out during the spring and then would gradually subside in the other three seasons.
In the second year, the waves behind would ride on the ones before. The older students left the school, and new students entered; it was just another cycle.
Among the girls, Jiang Feifei took a neutral stance towards the argument.
She lived on one of the higher floors, so as long as she closed her window during spring nights, then the cats cries would have little effect on her and her roommate. In addition, she slept very deep and always fell asleep very fast. Her roommate often teased her, saying that she was able to fall asleep as soon as her head touched her pillow. All of the factors gave her the right to remain neutral.
On one hand, she felt that the stray cats were quite pitiful––especially the adult female cats with their kittens; on the other hand, she was also very sympathetic to the girls that lived on the lower floors, as being disturbed every night would definitely affect their studies and their lives. It could even go as far as affecting their future life’s path.
Fortunately, she prefered the mysterious marine creatures over cats and dogs. Cats were cute to her, but not to the extent where she wouldn’t be able to walk away from them, and she didn’t take the initiative to feed stray cats. She was also a cautious person and didn’t like to meddle in other affairs, so she had never had a conflict with the other girls in that respect.
In fact, most of the girls in the dormitory were neutral supporters just like her. As long as things didn’t affect them, then they wouldn’t get involved; the most they would do was say a few words to each other in private.
Oddly enough, after the start of the new semester, the female dormitory building had a rare scene where there were no conflicts or squabbles on the feeding of stray cats. Of course, it wasn’t because the girls didn’t like cats anymore, nor was it that they had suddenly improved; it was because the number of stray cats in the grove was now significantly fewer than before. Since their numbers were now very small, even if the remaining cats continued to cry out, it was too weak to affect the girls.
Under such circumstances, even if there were people who insisted on feeding the stray cats, the affected girls that lived on the first floor would close one eye to them, pretending that they didn’t see anything…