Shivani Gosain shares her love for cats: I have become quite calm, they are like angels, changed my life

Actress Shivani Gosain, currently seen as Pushpa in Rang Baazi Dilo Ki is a dedicated pet mom to 4 (Cookie, Guddu, Jinny and Johny)adorable cats. Sharing more on them the actress says, "This started four years ago; I had a first-floor terrace flat with open space on both sides, one by the bedroom and one by the living room. Some cats used to visit there frequently, but one day I noticed a specific cat coming and going very secretively, disappearing on my terrace for long periods. I was curious to know why, so I paid close attention. When she left, I opened a bed box—there was a small single bed kept at the back of the terrace—and I saw three small kittens inside. Then I understood that this was why she had been visiting so frequently lately.”

Shivani and the cat family gave each other enough time to adjust and gradually they gained each other's trust. She adds, "At that time, about three years ago, I hadn't fully adopted them; they weren't "mine" yet, but they lived on my terrace for a few months. Then I went to Kedarnath. I had made arrangements for their food and water before leaving, but when I returned after a week, I saw that the mother cat had disappeared, leaving the kittens behind. The kittens were distressed because a male cat was harassing them. Slowly, I started giving them access to my home. Once they had access, they began playing and jumping on my bed, and they became part of my family and my life. They were the ones who taught me how to look after them honestly, whether they adopted me or I adopted them, they became part of my life.”

Shivani started researching their food needs and realized she needed to make litter arrangements. Since they lived on the first floor, they used to roam up and down a bit, but now they don't even do that; they have become complete "house children."

She says, ”I learned everything setting up litter boxes and how to care for cats by searching on Google. Out of these, Cookie, Jinni, and Johnny are three sisters. Jinni then had a baby, which is Guddu. Guddu is two years old, while the other three are four years old. Jinni had three babies, but only our "lioness" Guddu survived.“

Shivani also took the initiative to sterilize the cats. She shares that the best part of having cats at home is that you don't even have to train them; they are smart and easily adjustable.

Shivani shares how the cat family came into her life on their own and became a part of it. “Now they have adopted me as a mother, so I became a "cat mamma."

But how would she manage shooting and taking care of them at home? She says, "Managing them along with work is not difficult at all. Luckily, they were manageable in the first house too, but I used to keep them inside and lock up; the whole house was open for them. They would use their litter box, and their food and water were kept in one place, so they kept playing and jumping around. Luckily, none of my cats did anything in the house other than ruining the sofas. Slowly, I realized what to keep and what not to keep for them; so now, for scratching, I've kept tires, tubes, and many other things that they keep using. And I don't buy the kind of sofas they can scratch anyway, so I have to make all those household arrangements. Even in this house where I am living now, I just keep the living room closed and the rest of the house—the back passage and both rooms—is open for them. In fact, here I have given them a separate washroom where a very large storage box is kept for litter so that these four don't have any problems all day.“

After a long tiring day on set when Shivani comes back to her furry babies they welcome her with lots of cuddles. “When I come home, they wait for me. My best time with them is at night when sleeping or when I am sitting at home relaxing. They wait as soon as I sit down, whether on the bed or near my window which is my favorite place, all four come and sit near me and wait for me to love and cuddle them; they take a lot of love. The best time with them is on my day off; they sit comfortably with me, relax, and cuddle a lot.“

A lot of people have warned Shivani that managing cats would be difficult as she has to be on set for longer hours. And that restricted the actress for having pet at home for the longest time.

She says, "In my family, in my sister’s home, we have always had dogs, so we have always been a "dog family." I had never even thought about cats because I used to feel quite scared of them; they seemed a bit "evil-ish," like they would scratch you. So, I didn't have that feeling for cats and never looked at them that way until they came into my house. Gradually I realized how lovely and innocent they are. They are very loving, very caring, very sensitive, and very sensible. Many times I get really upset when I see cats on the street in trouble pregnant every few months, babies suffering and struggling to survive. If God gives me a chance and I have a place, I’ll do something for the stray cats too. My mother also always taught us to love animals. Whether it was an injured parrot, a sparrow, a pigeon, or a rabbit I have always seen this in my family from my mother, we used to take care of them.”