Smitten by kittens

When Bipasha Basu spotted two helpless, newborn kittens at a junction in Bandra, she didn’t drive by like most people would.

The actress along with beau John Abraham acted promptly and picked the two kittens before rushing them to a nearby vet.

Unlike John, who has been associated with PETA for years now, it was Bipasha’s first animal rescue.

Recounting the incident, she says, “We were on our way to the gym early in the morning when we stumbled upon the furry kittens in the middle of the road.

Some autorickshaw was about to mow them down when we stopped our car and picked them up. They were a few days old and quite terrified, getting them into the car was quite a task.”

After ensuring they were okay, Bips decided to raise the small creatures.

And so the meowing babies were taken to her Khar apartment. Bipasha was warned by friends about raising kittens in her house, as she already has a pooch —Posto (a Chihuahua).

She says, “I was worried that he would take a dislike to them, or harm them, so I kept the kittens at the entrance of my flat. I fed them and in no time they became healthy and started growing. In fact, they got pretty overweight, so I decided to send them down for some exercise,” she laughs.

Naming game

Bipasha’s watchman named them Bunty and Babli. But the fussy kittens never learnt to react to those names. The actress’s nephew stepped in and re-christened them as Kitty and Betty. One fine day, the actress woke up to find Betty gone, “Betty was about two months old when she disappeared.

Following that, Kitty stopped eating and fell ill. She was actually quite dependent on her sibling. One day, even Kitty ran away. I understand they were stray cats and I could’ve never tamed them. But whatever time I spent with them was a blessing,” she says.

The actress believes that see her tending the kittens, her neighbors have become more sympathetic towards animals. Recently, a few of her building residents informed PETA when they spotted a donkey in labour.

“By the time the donkey delivered, the foal was already dead. It was in tremendous pain when my neighbours informed the PETA people,” she says.

She further adds, “We are a civilised people and should know how to treat animals.”