Yaya: Friendly Neighborhood Cat!

The sight of a stray cat in 8th avenue's residential areas is not a rare event. Although the amount of Chinese families who own pets are going up slowly, there are still very few households with them. Over the years, I've seen my Italian and Hispanic neighbors move out of my neighborhood and take their pets with them. Walking down the block, I used to be wary of the growling, barking dogs that would greet and reach through the gates gates of my neighbors' houses. There was one house on the block with 2 or more dogs and even some cats. The dogs are all gone now but the abandoned cats remain.

In the movie Bolt, there is a sentimental quote from an abandoned cat that stayed with me.

"They pretend they're going to always be there for you, and then one day they pack up and move away and take their love with them, and leave their de-clawed cat to fend for herself! They leave her, wondering what she did wrong."

- Mittens

There is a stray cat that's very known by the community here around the local post office. Her name is Yaya and she has been around for as long as I remember. Not much is known about her or her history except that the block where she frequents is where her former owner used to live. Whether they moved or died, they did not make arrangements for Yaya. You can tell that this cat was brought up by humans by how affectionate she is. She approaches a friendly inviting person with her tail pointed up in the air and then circles their leg rubbing her side against them.

We were worried after not seeing her in her usual spot for a while but then found out recently that she was being taken care of by the local post office and has fattened up tremendously!! Winter conditions can be very harsh on stray cats. Glad that you found a place to stay warm, Yaya!