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AP: Jumping Cats in Myanmar Monaste



Subject: AP: Jumping Cats in Myanmar Monastery 

Jumping Cats in Myanmar Monastery 

By Patrick Mcdowell
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, June 24, 1999; 1:40 A.M. EDT

INLAY LAKE, Myanmar (AP) -- Few places exude a greater air of otherworldly
abandonment than the 155-year-old Phe Chaung monastery on the shores of
this isolated lake. 

That was before the world discovered the jumping cats. 

The half-dozen Buddhist monks here used to train the monastery's resident
cats to jump through hoops as a way of dealing with boredom. Now, they have
little time for tranquil meditation as thousands of cat
lovers from around the world come to see the trick. 

``French, Germans, Italians, Japanese,'' recites Kai Ti, the abbot. ``For
them, it's something you don't see every day. Some of them have done videos
that made the jumping cats famous.'' 

A teak beam in the sanctuary is covered with tour company stickers,
evidence of attempts by the cash-strapped military regime ruling Myanmar,
also known as Burma, to end decades of isolation and woo
tourist dollars. 

But not just foreigners come. On a recent day, a squad of armed soldiers
came to check security for the regional battalion commander, who was to
visit later in the afternoon. 

Cpl. Htay Hlaing was amazed by the leaping felines and, after several tries
and a little help from a monk, got one to jump through a hoop. 

``I love cats and have many cats at home, but I've never seen anything like
this,'' Htay Hlaing said. 

Pulling up to the monastery dock on Inlay Lake, a water world in
northeastern Myanmar where fisherman and farmers virtually live in their
teak canoes, newcomers know they've got the right place. 

A fine-boned, calico cat sits regally on the steps as a sort of welcoming
committee. A couple of kittens sharpen their claws on the railing. Inside,
two dozen felines scamper between Buddha images or wait impatiently for Kai
Ti and his young acolytes to fill scattered feeding bowls. 

One French guide always makes sure to bring flea powder and Friskies food
to supplement the cats' normal diet -- usually, whatever is left from the
begging bowls and an occasional lake fish. 

``I've liked cats since I was young,'' Kai Ti says. ``I can't really say
why I like cats so much, but I hate dogs.'' 


Kai Ti, 64, has been at the monastery for 40 years. Many years ago, three
or four cats appeared and he began caring for them, feeding them with
leftovers from his morning begging rounds. 

One day, he was bored and began experimenting to see if he could get them
to jump through a hoop. 

The abbot motions a young acolyte to demonstrate. 

Getting a kitten to stand still, he lifts it up and down gently under the
chin and stomach three times, then makes his arms into a circle a few
inches off the floor. 

The kitten jumps over and is rewarded with a bit of fish. 

Then the monk takes an adult cat and holds an eight-inch hoop about three
feet off the floor. The cat easily hops through. All the cats, who are
descended from the original group, can jump, Kai Ti said. 

Caught up in the celebrity, the monks have started giving the cats names:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Demi Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Diana. 

The temple contains true treasures -- lacquerware Buddhas covered in gold
leaf, for example, that are rare antiques. Visitors usually leave
donations, but the generosity rarely seems spiritually motivated. 

``Nobody comes to look at the Buddhas,'' Kai Ti grumbles. ``Nobody ever
asks about Buddhism. They just want to see the cats.''