I Can Talk to Cats C9

Chapter 9: The Second Cat (Part One)

Translated by Lime

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Recap: Lin Lan met Cheng Fengyang and has officially decided to stay at home until the next year. At the end of the last chapter, Mother Lin has just found Father Lin’s secret stash of money.

For this chapter, I just wanted to put out a disclaimer that I am not a professional that has worked with cats. I’m apologizing in advance if some terminology is wrong; please let me know so I can try to fix it.

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Father Lin’s secret stash was hidden in a well-thought-out location. On the back of all latex pillows are rows of holes. If he hid the money there, it would not bother him while he slept. Additionally, if Mother Lin was cleaning their bedroom, she wouldn’t be able to find it.

However, he forgot about one thing: even if the latex pillow retained its shape, the pillowcase would still have to be changed.

Noticing that most of the holes in the pillow were filled, it was obvious to Lin Lan that Father Lin had not recently started to store this money. Not only was his long term stash going to be confiscated, but he would also have to face a heavy storm in the form of his wife.

Not good, not good! Dad loved her so much, she couldn’t let him suffer this calamity.

“Mom, this is…” Lin Lan carefully probed her mother, fearing that she would suddenly lose her temper and run downstairs to demand answers from her father, “This money…” 

The silent Wang Xiuzhi abruptly raised her head and looked at her beloved daughter’s expression, and then smiled: “Did you think that I seek out your dad and argue with him?”

“Not at all, no…” Lin Lan awkwardly denied.

Wang Xiuzhi calmly set the pillow on her knee, and skillfully picked out the paper from several holes. In the blink of an eye, four or five Grandpa Mao’s were unfolded and stuffed into her pocket. Mother Lin used the pillowcase from earlier and slipped it back onto the pillow again.

These movements astonished Lin Lan, and she was at a loss for words. She vaguely heard her mother say: “Lan Lan, the bedsheets and pillowcases are not dirty, so we won’t wash them. Let’s just change the covers.”

As she said this, Wang Xiuzhi arranged the pillow back onto the bed.

Witnessing her mother act the exact opposite of what she had anticipated, Lin Lan was truly confused: “Mom, are you not taking all of the money? Why did you…?”

“Silly child.” Wang Xiuzhi observed Lin Lan’s shocked face: “If men don’t have a few savings, they will panic. I’ll let him secretly save some. After getting married, all you have to do is not intrude on the other’s bottom line. Turning a blind eye to various issues is not that big of a deal.”

When her mother explained, Lin Lan thought back to her parents’ frequent quarrels. They were not genuine heated arguments so Lin Lan wholeheartedly agreed with her. If husband and wife actually fought over every single thing, they would soon get tired of each other. Instead, if they each disregarded their irrelevant inner complaints, their days would be very harmonious.

This was the wisdom of an elder, and the more she thought about it, the more Lin Lan admired her mother. She also let out a sigh of relief for her father that had escaped the unknown danger.

She was just about to compliment her mother when Wang Xiuzhi lowered her voice: “If you ever encounter this sort of problem, you need to feign ignorance. This way, you can take a couple of bills every few days and the cash flow is never-ending.”

Mother Lin gestured with her index finger to keep quiet. She used the bed sheet that she had originally said to wash and neatly pulled it back on. This way, when the person who hid the money came back, he would not be alerted by the sudden change, and keep believing that his savings had not been discovered yet. With the character of Father Lin, he would not know if several bills were missing. 

After this procedure was smoothly accomplished, the witness, Lin Lan, was shocked by her mother’s unexpectedly devious side.

Lin Lan passed the rest of the morning in a confused state.

She stood on the balcony and gazed out at the high-end apartments in front of her in a daze. Unconsciously, one of her hands was stroking the cat grass. She was brought back to planet Earth by her mother’s smack.

“Didn’t you say you were going to make food for Snowflake?” Wang Xiuzhi was wearing an apron and held a spatula: “This responsibility of mine will be given entirely to you today.”

Many people want to do something for the first time. Lin Lan was like this as well. Four years ago was the first time she had ever raised a cat, and the expenses were not cheap.

In the past, they relied on the most popular brand of cat food that most inexperienced cat owners used in order to raise Snowflake. However, it became more and more popular to own a cat and subsequently, prices went up. At home, Mother Lin and Grandmother Lin always repeated that: “It is more expensive to feed a cat than to feed humans. How about buying the ingredients and making it yourself?” With the constant nagging, Lin Lan finally caved in and made the cat food herself.

Snowflake was an ordinary domestic cat. The cat had a pretty appearance and wasn’t picky. After the food was changed to one that was homemade, the cat ate it with relish, and made the first time cat owners feel accomplished.

_{(T/N: I can’t find an exact breed for ‘土猫’, but it translates to ‘rural cat’ or ‘countryside cat’. I think that they could be ‘domestic cats’ or a domestic shorthair cat. Sometimes they reference it as a Chinese ‘rural cat’, and I will just translate it to Chinese domestic shorthair.)}

Making excellent cat food was one of her many skills. When Lin Lan was a college student, Snowflake was still able to eat the cat food during summer and winter breaks. However, when she graduated and moved to Shanghai, she could only make the food occasionally for the cat.

In the kitchen, Mother Lin had already prepared the chicken breast, fish meat, chicken liver, cooked egg, broccoli, and all the other ingredients. The only thing Lin Lan had to do was pick up the knife and get to work.

She cut the chicken breast and the fish meat; then steamed it on the stove. The chicken liver was baked in the oven and ground up into a powder, which was supposed to be a strong attractant. Next, the other nutritional powders were mixed in with the meat. Wang Xiuzhi was watching her daughter prepare the complicated cat food, and her eyebrows wrinkled: “No wonder Snowflake likes to eat your food. Even the food that humans eat isn’t as complicated as this.”

Although Wang Xiuzhi used the exact same ingredients, her daughter was more meticulous in her cooking.

“In the end, the stomachs of cats cannot be compared with those of humans.” Lin Lan shook her head. “If I pay more attention to Snowflake’s food, then his body will be more healthy. That’s better than frequently going to the animal clinic and spending money.”

“…That’s true.” Wang Xiuzhi thought about one of the renters on the fourth floor who owned a pet cat. The owner was a young woman, and the cat was quite expensive as well: a British Shorthair or something. The veterinarian downstairs had said that it was probably worth around 5000 yuan. The cat had a round face and was plump. But, Mother Lin always saw the girl running towards the clinic with the cat to treat an illness, and the money that she spent was not little. “The money that treating cats can cost is absurd. Luckily, Snowflake is a domestic cat that almost never gets sick, and is pretty easy to raise.”

_{(T/N: 5,000 yuan ≈ $700 USD)}

The money that they collected from renting out apartments in their building was enough to let them live comfortably. Besides, they rarely needed to spend any money on emergencies.

Hearing Mother Lin’s whispering, Lin Lan couldn’t help but smile a little. Both her parents and grandmother had to suffer through hard times. When property prices skyrocketed, the price of rent followed, and life in the Lin household became decent. Still, they maintained their frugal lifestyle.

Even though Lin Lan could be considered part of the carefree second generation, she was raised quite similarly to any other child. At the very most, if she wanted to buy something, her parents would give her an appropriate amount of money. This way, she grew up knowing its value. Despite the fact that her parents gave her a monthly allowance, she continued to budget her expenses.

The only time she was reckless was last month during the situation with her now ex-boyfriend.

For this one incident, she spent 70,000 to 80,000 yuan. Other than the cost of renting the car and hiring the student, the majority of the money was spent on buying that luxury coat. 

_{(T/N: 70,000 yuan  ≈ $9,840 USD, 80,000 yuan  ≈ $11,240 USD.)}

After acting like a pretentious young lady, her wallet was completely empty.

When more time has passed, she would just sell the Xiangjia coat on a second-hand website. It was said that limited edition luxury goods would sometimes sell for more than the original price, meaning that she would probably be able to make all her money back.

While she thought about this, Lin Lan had already prepared five days worth of cat food and set aside today’s portion. The rest was stored in a box and placed in the refrigerator.

She set the cat food down in the corner and started to help Wang Xiuzhi cook lunch for the Lin family. With the mother and daughter diligently working, the food was soon finished.

At lunchtime, Lin Youyu and Grandmother Lin arrived on time.

“Wow, today we have steamed sea bass!” Father Lin looked at the dishes on the table and abruptly smiled, “Lan Lan, your mom is so nice, she made my favorite dish!”

“Hehe.” Mother Lin smiled, “When you eat it, it will be finished quickly.”

Lin Lan was holding her chopsticks and secretly snuck a glance at her father. The bed covers were outside on the balcony, drying. Lin Youyu did not appear to be worried at all and was blissfully unaware that the fish was bought from the money stuffed in his pillow.

Grandmother Lin sat down, and shared what she saw: “Just a moment ago, I was passing by Doctor Liu’s animal clinic when I saw Xiao Qian urgently headed for the animal clinic. She opened the door and loudly yelled: ‘Doctor Liu, my Niu Niu is running a high fever and even vomited blood. Please, help take a look at her!’ Who knows how much this visit will cost.” 

“The Qian family’s cat is sick again?” Lin Lan commented, “I remember that the last time I came back from Shanghai, that British Shorthair was infected with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), and with great difficulty, she was saved.”

_{(T/N: From what I could find, ‘传腹’ = feline infectious peritonitis.)}

“That’s right, because of that virus, the young lady had to spend 7000 to 8000 yuan.” Wang Xiuzhi followed up with: “That valuable cat is too hard to raise. Indeed, it is expensive, but it also requires too much money to maintain.”

“The health of an average British Shorthair isn’t too bad.” Lin Lan said, “Many cat owners love this breed and most breeders have passed regulations.”

_{(T/N: The last sentence mentioned ‘市场检验’ or ‘market inspection/regulations’ but doesn’t mention breeders specifically, just the cats. I haven’t heard of any regulations or requirements that cats have to ‘pass’ so I just put breeders instead, as irresponsible breeding can sometimes cause defects in cats. Please keep in mind that I don’t have professional expertise with cats and I know even less about cat laws in China, so for the rest of the chapter, what I have commented might not be 100% correct, especially with trying to find the exact English name for diseases/illnesses.)}

“Then she was tricked by a cat ‘dealer’, and bought one that was prone to disease.” Lin Youyu also chimed in, “Young girls like you are the easiest to deceive.”

Somehow, she felt that her father’s words had a hidden meaning, but seeing his casual manner, Lin Lan didn’t think further. She changed the subject: “Maybe she was careless in another way. Talking about valuable cats, the most popular breed is the Ragdoll cat. They look beautiful and are delicate. Even though their stomachs are weak, a purebred cat will always reach 5 figures.”

“Haha, we are better off with Snowflake catching mice.” Grandmother Lin tone was full of disdain. In her old heart, she thought that cats who didn’t catch mice were dishonorable cats.

Lin Lan didn’t speak. The information that she saw online indicated that other than their cute appearance, Ragdoll cats were pretty much useless everywhere else. This meant that they would not be respected by the old lady.

They were really nice to look at though.

Looks were important in these times, so pleasant appearances were favored.

After finishing lunch, Lin Lan was not forced to do work by her mother, such as cleaning up the table or washing the dishes. The lovable Snowflake would only return home at midnight, so she had nothing to do in the afternoon. Thinking back to their conversation, she remembered that Qian Xuan’s British Shorthair was sick, so she went to go visit them in the animal clinic.

The animal clinic had opened three years prior, and the owner, Doctor Liu, was a young man around thirty years old. He would wear a white coat and thin wire glasses while he was working. He had a scholarly air about him, and if he didn’t run an animal clinic, people would believe that he was a respected doctor for humans.

Lin Lan pushed open the glass door and noticed that inside, Qian Xuan was not standing, so her cat was probably put into an animal carrier already, and Doctor Liu was talking to her.

“I am sure that she has gastroenteritis. I administered an anti-inflammatory injection, so wait at least 6 to 8 hours before giving her food or water. Right now, her stomach and intestines are very weak and need time to rest before eating. When you go back home, make sure that she is warm. If you have an electric blanket, let her use it. For a while, make sure she stays inside and recovers.” Doctor Liu gave the sick cat’s owner some advice, and warned her to be attentive, “8 hours later, if she stops throwing up, give her some lukewarm water and some nurturing liquid food. Afterward, you can give her some cat laxative solution. If she has any other problems, immediately come and find me.”

_{(T/N: The cat laxative solution mentioned is also called a hairball solution. It’s supposed to dissolve cat hairs that build up in the stomach.)}

“Okay! Okay!” Qian Xuan hugged the cat bag, and furiously nodded her head. Her expression was very grateful, “Thank you, Doctor Liu, when I saw her throwing up blood, it gave me a huge scare. She just recovered from feline infectious peritonitis a few months ago… I thoroughly took care of her.” The girl, who was only around twenty years old, face sunk after she spoke.

“There are some problems that can’t be avoided with meticulous care.” Doctor Liu comforted her. He noticed that Lin Lan had entered and his tone suddenly changed, “Qian Xuan, it could be that you raised your cat too carefully and she didn’t develop any immunities. You should learn from Lin Lan’s family’s way of raising their cat, her family’s Snowflake was raised very well and rarely gets sick every year.”

After she heard this, Qian Xuan frowned: “But Snowflake is a regular domestic cat and its body constitution is different from Niu Niu’s.”

Lin Lan heard this and was unhappy. She was about to reply when Doctor Liu sensed the turn of events and quickly said, “Don’t say it like this, whether it’s a Chinese domestic cat or a British Shorthair, they are both excellent animals and great companions for humans. Snowflake’s temperament really is one of the best from the cats I’ve come across. Its appearance is also beautiful. Even outside of China, it would be considered an outstanding pet cat. The company of a cat is something that can’t be valued in money. If the value of a cat was truly measured by how much it is worth, that Seal Ragdoll cat would be better than all the cats here.”

His tone was gentle, but his meaning was clear. Qian Xuan remembered what she had said and blushed, immediately apologizing to Lin Lan: “Sorry Lin Lan, I was too in the moment and said some unpleasant words. It’s not that I look down on Snowflake, it’s just that, that…”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Lin Lan stopped her from explaining, “The foreigners are the ones that always recite things constantly. I also quite like these British Shorthair cats, but I’ve heard that they are not as easy to raise as my Snowflake. Compared with regular domestic cats, their slightly weaker constitution is only natural. What you said wasn’t wrong.”

Qian Xuan awkwardly said that she was sorry again. Lin Lan also politely replied that it was fine. She looked towards Doctor Liu: “Originally, I came here after hearing my grandmother mention that Niu Niu was sick. Now that I have no other business here, I will leave. Doctor Liu, don’t bother about me.”

She said this and left, leaving behind an embarrassed Qian Xuan.

Lin Lan had especially come because she was worried about Qian Xuan’s cat, but she had angered her away.

Doctor Liu was also helpless: “Originally, I had wanted to introduce you to Lin Lan because she makes high-quality cat food. It is possible that if Niu Niu switched diets then she would be sick less often.”

Qian Xuan was only able to realize the veterinarian’s intentions after he explained, but was still reluctant to admit it: “Maybe it is because of Snowflake’s physique though.”

Doctor Liu didn’t reply to her words, and continued to busily work —Even though his clinic was smaller, he was able to keep it open. Across from the ‘village in the city’ was the more prestigious neighborhood, where many raised pets. There would always be people who were willing to come over to spend money.

After she exited the clinic, Lin Lan faked a smile.

Pei! What’s wrong with an ordinary cat! It still eats your food and drinks your water, just because you bought an expensive cat doesn’t mean that you are of higher class!

Because Niu Niu was so delicate, Qian Xuan would have to suffer through troubles later!

Thinking back to inside the clinic, Lin Lan had heard a weak voice from within the bag. Even though she was sick, the voice was especially condescending: “Servant, you actually let that person give me a shot, it hurt so much! When I get home, I’ll knock over your favorite glass cup!” Lin Lan didn’t even feel an ounce of sympathy for the owner. This kind of person and this kind of cat can continue to keep loving each other in this manner.

In the end, her family’s Snowflake was the best!

After this incident, Lin Lan realized that some cats really don’t care about their owners. She was about to head back to her family’s store to complain to her mother about what just happened. However, a pure white cat suddenly came out of the green plants. 

“Miaow—!” (Lan Lan!)

The cat’s cry was directed towards her, and Lin Lan jumped. She looked closer and realized that it was Snowflake that was urgently meowing at her.

“Snowflake, what’s wrong?” Lin Lan could tell from the cat’s insistent tone that something bad must have happened, and she squatted down to ask.

“Miaowowo, Miaowow—” (Lan Lan! Over there, there’s a kitten! It’s about to die! Lan Lan, save it!)

Snowflake ran ahead of Lin Lan and led the way while Lin Lan followed her across the road to the high-end neighborhood. She thought Snowflake wanted her to go inside, but the white cat turned instead and ran along the greenery. 

For this high-end neighborhood, inside the wall surrounding the perimeter, the scenery was beautiful. Outside, there was a small park. Other than the running track and the pavilion used for those who wanted to rest, there was no lack of nature.

In this small park used mainly for people that did morning exercises, Lin Lan found the kitten that Snowflake described as “almost dead” in the shrubbery.

“So little!” There was an even smaller kitten than when she first saw Snowflake and it was probably less than two months old. It was dirty all over and had ringworms. The fur was also matted and it had no choice but to feebly lay there, faintly meowing.

_{(T/N: ‘猫藓’ or ‘cat moss’ = ringworms in cats. It is caused by a type of fungus.)} 

“Mi… Mi…” (Mom…Mom…)  

The kitten could not move and instinctively called for its mother, but…

Lin Lan looked but was not able to see the existence of the mother anywhere. Not only that, but its appearance also was not that of a kitten that recently escaped from inside an apartment.

“Miaow—Miaowow—” (Lan Lan, it doesn’t have a mother! I tried to detect her scent, but its mother passed away a while ago!)

Five minutes later, they arrived back at the animal clinic.

“The situation isn’t good, the age of this kitten is around one and a half months. It is malnourished and its stomach and intestines are weak. Besides the mange, it has symptoms of feline viral rhinotracheitis. Looking at its difficult breathing, it could also have pneumonia.” Doctor Liu softly held the kitten and wrinkled his brows, “For a more detailed and definite diagnosis, I need to examine it further.”

_{(T/N:’ 猫鼻支’ = ‘cat nasal branch’, which is most likely feline viral rhinotracheitis. Basically, it’s a serious respiratory disease. However, I am not familiar with this term, so the veterinarian could be referring to respiratory diseases in general.)}

“Then…Will it be able to live?” Lin Lan began to worry as she hugged Snowflake. 

“I cannot guarantee anything.” Doctor Liu shook his head, “But there is one thing that is certain about this. If you want to treat it, the fees will not be cheap, at least four figures.”

Usually, veterinarians mentioned this early.

This was a stray kitten that she randomly picked up that was kind of ugly and kind of dirty. Not only that but it was not certain that it would survive, was it worth it?

If this was earlier in her life, Lin Lan would have hesitated, but now… 

“Mi… Mi…” (Mom… Mom…)   

Lin Lan tightly clutched Snowflake: “Save! I will spend money to cure it!”

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