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NEWS- Monk-eying around with feline



Subject: NEWS- Monk-eying around with felines

Monk-eying around with felines

Monastery attracts tourists with jumping cats

               June 24, 1999
               Web posted at: 1:27 p.m. EDT (1727
               GMT)


               In this story:

               Commander lives out hoop
               dreams 

               Training DiCaprio, Madonna, Demi
               Moore 

               RELATED SITES  




               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.

               Commander lives out hoop dreams

               But not just tourists 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.

               Training DiCaprio, Madonna, Demi Moore 

               "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."