00:00What do you know about feline gratitude?
00:03My friend and fellow author Tata Aleynik knows all about it.
00:08After the war in Ukraine began, like many other writers who worked for glossy magazines,
00:14Tata had to leave Russia.
00:16She now lives in Almaty, Kazakhstan,
00:19in a big old house that fell victim to a cat curse this summer.
00:24One of the local cats discovered that Tata was kind-hearted and spread the word to her pregnant friends.
00:31Naturally, those friends came to Tata's house to give birth.
00:35And just like that, Tata ended up with 26 furry souls in her basement,
00:41all needing food, care, and shelter.
00:45Almaty has no shortage of stray cats.
00:48And to find good homes for her new residents,
00:50Tata wrote elegant, artsy ads in the style of Moscow's finest glossy mags.
00:57All the kittens found homes, and the mother cats were spayed.
01:01Tata could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
01:05But then the cats began to show their gratitude.
01:09As Tata tells it,
01:11meet Inblot, the matriarch of all Almaty's cats.
01:15Inblot decided to show her appreciation by bringing us rats.
01:18I have no idea where she finds them,
01:21but it seems like they come from the chicken coop across the street.
01:24After catching a rat about half her size,
01:27Inblot carefully places it on the doormat,
01:30and then begins her concert.
01:32Loudly.
01:33Your mama's home, and she brought something.
01:36Everyone, come out to admire and praise the great Inblot.
01:41So we come out,
01:43give our thanks,
01:44and blow kisses.
01:46Inblot, half-closing her eyes,
01:48graciously accepts our hymns of praise with a regal nod.
01:54Once, after a less successful rat hunt,
01:57she dragged a slightly stale piece of bread from the nearest dumpster
02:00and left it on our porch.
02:03A humble offering,
02:04but it's the thought that counts.
02:05When I do my morning exercises in the garden,
02:08Inblot is always there,
02:10her yellow eyes sparkling approvingly.
02:13When we leave the house,
02:14she is not pleased.
02:16She sits in front of the gate,
02:19shaking her head.
02:20You shouldn't go.
02:22The world is cruel and unpredictable.
02:25It's too soon for you to leave.
02:27Let's climb onto the bathhouse roof
02:29and knock down some leaves instead.
02:32Watch them spin and fall.
02:34It's much more interesting,
02:36my two-legged children.
02:38Come, let me teach you.
02:40Just do as I do.
02:41Inblot sleeps in the warm basement
02:43where we set up bedding with pillows and sheepskins.
02:47She graciously allows the female cats and kittens to stay there,
02:52but not the tomcats.
02:54She drives them off the property with firm authority.
02:58An exemplary matriarch.
03:01Let rats don't bother me much,
03:03but I'm not the only one living here.
03:05Some of the other residents are understandably horrified.
03:09We do our best to manage,
03:11quickly hiding the bloody aftermath of Inglot's conquests.
03:15There I stand,
03:16wearing rubber gloves,
03:17holding a big dead rat by the tail,
03:20preparing for a journey to the compost heap.
03:24Suddenly,
03:24I get an urgent call from work.
03:27Tata,
03:28what about the Cartier article?
03:30Is it ready?
03:31Uh-huh.
03:33The diamond necklace with the emerald.
03:35Did you look at the photos I sent?
03:37No.
03:38Look at them right now.
03:39We need your approval.
03:41I sigh,
03:43switch the rat to my other hand
03:44and start scrolling from my messages.
03:48It's horribly inconvenient in gloves.
03:51The rat sways sadly over the wet yellow leaves.
03:54Okay,
03:55yeah,
03:56not bad.
03:57Sorry,
03:58am I distracting you?
03:59Yeah,
04:00I've got another project here,
04:03an urgent one.
04:04Got it?
04:04No more distractions.
04:06Good luck with your project.
04:07I hang up.
04:09I trudge through the autumn garden
04:11with the rat in my hand,
04:13thinking about life and death.
04:15Inkblot,
04:16perched on the veranda rail,
04:17is practically bursting with pride,
04:20her yellow-eyed face glowing in the sunlight.
04:22Yeah,
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