Kutch man gifts 200 cats their own garden

PALANPUR: Few years ago, a cat crossed his path when Upendra Goswami was rushing to strike an important business deal in Gandhidham. Like many, Goswami too believed it was bad omen and decided to return home and drink some water to ward off the evil. But time was running out and instead of going home, he went for the deal, which actually earned him a fortune!
Ever since this incident, Goswami not only junked his false beliefs but actually fell in love with cats.So much so that he has now opened a dedicated ‘cat garden’ in the port town!
On Thursday, Goswami organized an elaborate whole-day function with yagna and a gala dinner to mark ‘cat grahpraveshotsav (first entry ceremony)’ that was attended by nearly 500 people. Just like any other religious ceremony, a nine-hour yagna was performed from 9am to 6am.
“I was so fascinated by stray cats that I started bringing them home. Their numbers started rising and it reached nearly 128,” said Goswami, who works as an executive in a private shipping company. As he gained the reputation of a cat lover, people from other places too came and left their cats at his house. Facing space crunch, Goswami then bought a plot adjacent to his bungalow and decided to develop the place as a garden just for cats. His wife Pooja, a school principal, is a cat lover too. When she rings the bell, the cats come in order to drink the milk and take the food in the kitchen from different parts of the house.
A special house for cats in the garden has 10 cottages, 50 sitting stands, swings besides a maternity facility too. "We have also installed a TV set as some of the cats are used to seeing cartoons," said Goswami, who spends nearly Rs 50,000 a month on these felines. The couple feeds 26 litres of milk daily to the cats besides giving them specially made food. The garden has 200 cats and it is open for public viewing too.