[Êàðòèíêà: i_019.jpg]
“Don’t scare him…” Mia said worriedly. She was itching to snatch Whiskers away from Poppy – it wasn’t that Poppy meant to frighten him, she just didn’t know how to hold him properly. But Whiskers wasn’t hers. She couldn’t boss Poppy around. And if Mia grabbed him, he’d only be even more scared. Emily was out of the room, helping her mum put everyone’s coats away, or Mia knew she’d have said something.
Poppy sat down on the floor, placing Whiskers on her lap and stroking him. But he was upset now, and he hissed and dug in his claws as he scrambled to get away from the loud, scary girl.
Poppy squeaked.“Ow, he scratched me!” She jerked her leg, and Whiskers slipped off her lap, landing on the floor with a worried mew.
“Sshh, sshh…Come here, Whiskers.” Mia stretched out a hand to him gently, and he gladly crept over to her, burrowing into her skirt as she put him on her lap.
“He didn’t mean to scratch you,” she told Poppy. “He’s just a bit shyer than the other kittens.”
Poppy nodded.“He’s sweet, but I like the tabby ones more. They’ve got such cute tricks! Oh, look, that one’s got wool all wrapped round her paws!”
[Êàðòèíêà: i_020.jpg]
Mia stroked Whiskers and sighed. He had cute tricks too, like the way his huge whiskers wobbled when he yawned, and the way he always put his front paws in the food bowl, now that the kittens were starting on solid food. It was just that Satin and the tabbies were so much bouncier, everyone always noticed them first.
“You need to be a bit more friendly,” she whispered to Whiskers. “You won’t find an owner if you keep hiding in your pen. People will be coming to see if they want to take you home, a few weeks from now. You’ve got to show everybody how gorgeous you are.” She smiled, rather sadly. She wanted Whiskers to have a lovely home of his own, but if he stayed at Emily’s, it meant she’d be able to carry on seeing him. Emily’s mum kept saying they were only keeping Satin, but if they couldn’t find a nice owner for Whiskers, she might change her mind…
Whiskers didn’t know what Mia was saying, but he liked listening to her, and she made him feel safe. He purred, very quietly, and nuzzled her hand.
[Êàðòèíêà: i_004.jpg]
“Shall we watch the film in our sleeping bags?” Emily suggested, as she took a bowl of popcorn out of the microwave. “Oh, this smells fab.”
“Definitely sleeping bags,” Poppy agreed.
“Can we bring the kittens?” Libby asked hopefully.
Emily’s mum looked thoughtful. “I suppose for a bit. But they’ll probably want to be back with Silky soon. And after the film, girls, you need to go to sleep! It’s getting late.”
The girls all nodded angelically, but Emily winked at Mia behind her mum’s back. “I’ve got a secret chocolate supply,” she whispered. “Are you bringing Whiskers?”
Mia nodded.“If you think he won’t mind. He prefers being in his pen, doesn’t he?”
Emily shook her head.“Not if it’s you cuddling him.”
Mia went pink.“Do you think he likes me that much?”
Emily rolled her eyes.“Of course he does! Come on!”
Mia went into the living room, and snuggled up in her sleeping bag– even with the heating on high, it was still chilly. Emily’s mum had said they’d better all sleep in a huddle to keep warm, like penguins, and she’d found loads of extra blankets. Whiskers sat on Mia’s tummy, purring quietly to himself. He was happy. He hadn’t been sure about the loud girls, and people grabbing him, but now he had Mia, and she didn’t seem to be going anywhere, like she usually was. He could even put up with the noisy girls if Mia was there too.
[Êàðòèíêà: i_021.jpg]
Mia hardly paid attention to the film at all. She was watching Whiskers, snuggled up on her sleeping bag and stroking him gently. His fur was so soft– and he was such a little cat, so different from Sandy.
As the film went on, the other kittens padded back to the kitchen, looking for Silky and their pen. But Whiskers curled up on top of Mia, and fell fast asleep– and he was still there the next morning.
Chapter Six [Êàðòèíêà: i_012.jpg]
“Oh, Mia!” Dad laughed. “How did you get him to do that?” He’d just arrived to pick Mia up from the sleepover. Libby and Poppy had already gone; they had to hurry off to a dance class.
Mia shook her head, very, very carefully.“I didn’t, Dad. He just climbed up there. I think he’s eyeing my toast.”
From his place on her shoulder, Whiskers purred loudly, and Mia giggled as his long whiskers tickled her cheek.“I wish I didn’t have to go home and say goodbye to you!”
Her dad exchanged a thoughtful glance with Emily’s mum. “When will the kittens be ready to go to new homes?”
“Well, I was looking it up, and it seems that about ten or twelve weeks old would be best. Ours are four weeks now, so they’ll be ten weeks old about halfway through December. So I thought around then. It’s a bit close to Christmas, that’s the only problem. Everyone’s so busy, and I don’t want to be encouraging people to give kittens as presents.”
“Why not?” Mia asked. She thought a kitten would be a lovely Christmas present. Emily was having Satin for her birthday, after all.
“Well, people sometimes get a kitten for their children at Christmas, and don’t really think about them growing up into big cats who need looking after. Then sometimes they’re abandoned,” Emily’s mum added sadly. “Luckily, most kittens get born in the spring or summertime. Silky was a bit late!”
[Êàðòèíêà: i_022.jpg]
Mia reached up and tickled Whiskers under the chin. She could feel his purrs buzzing against her neck.
I could take you home, she thought to herself, just for a second. But then she remembered. She didn’t want another cat – not after Sandy. Very gently, she reached up, and lifted Whiskers off her shoulder, and took him over to the pen. “Sorry, sweetheart, I have to go.”
Whiskers stared after her in surprise. Had Mia not liked him sitting on her shoulder? Why was she going? He wailed– a loud, sad kitten wail that made Mia flinch as she scuttled into the hallway to grab her stuff.
She said goodbye to Emily quickly. She felt bad, rushing off, but she just couldn’t stay any longer. She was almost silent on the walk home, even though Dad kept trying to ask about the party.
“Mia, have you thought…?” Dad started, as they carried her things into the house. “Emily’s mum talking about homes for the kittens made me wonder. You seem to get on so well with Whiskers…”
He trailed off when Mia looked up at him with her eyes full of tears.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I thought I could, but what about Sandy? I’m not going to forget him! I never, ever want another cat again!”
“You don’t have to forget him, Mia…” Dad tried to say, but Mia raced off upstairs to her room and slammed the door behind her.
[Êàðòèíêà: i_004.jpg]
Over the next few weeks, Emily kept Mia updated as they started to look for new homes for the kittens. Her mum had put an ad in the newsagent’s, and the other local shops that had noticeboards. A couple of people had rung about coming to see them already.
“Someone called Maria is coming over on Saturday to see them all,” she told Mia, as they ate their packed lunches. “I’m sort of half-excited, half-sad. I really want them all to have nice homes.” Emily shook her head. “And at least we’re keeping Satin.”
Mia nodded. She wanted them to have good homes, too. Especially Whiskers. He needed a home with somebody who could love him properly, without always remembering another cat. It was no use Emily and Mum and Dad giving her all those hopeful looks. Sandy was her forever cat. She couldn’t replace him, not even with Whiskers.