“Here, boy, come on,” Dad called. “Hugo!”
But Hugo didn’t come back like he usually did. He was sniffing at the old sofa, his plumy tail swishing really fast.
“Maybe it smells of food,” Dad said, edging his way through the bracken to follow him. “It must smell of something, look at him, he’s really excited. Hugo, leave it, come on!”
Hugo’s ears were pricked right forward now, and he was whining and grunting and sniffing at the tatty sofa cushions.
Lily went after Dad, wriggling sideways through the undergrowth – she only had shorts on and there were nettles in among the bracken but she wanted to see what Hugo was so excited about.
Hugo had his nose down the back of the sofa cushions now. Then suddenly he jumped back with a snort.
“What is it?” Lily asked, leaning over – and then she gasped.
Between the cushions and the back of the sofa was a squirming mass of fur. A litter of tiny, fluffy kittens!
“Kittens!” Lily gasped. “Oh, wow! Did Hugo smell them? Or maybe he heard something?”
The kittens were squirming around, making tiny breathy squeaking noises. Hugo had moved the seat cushion with his nose while he was sniffing them out, so their cosy dark nest had been disturbed. Now the big dog was staring down at the kittens with his ears pricked right forward again. Dad had put a hand on his collar, just in case. After all, Hugo really didn’t like Pixie, so it made sense that he wouldn’t like the kittens, either. But right now he looked interested rather than grumpy.
Lily crouched down next to Hugo so she could look, too. There were three kittens – two tabbies and a gorgeous, little white kitten. Their fur looked quite long and fluffy to Lily, longer than Pixie’s, she was sure. Perhaps they were going to be longhairs – like Persians. But they didn’t have squashed Persian noses.
“I don’t understand.” Lily looked around. “Why would anyone put kittens down the back of a sofa? They should have taken them to an animal shelter, not just dumped them in the woods. It’s a horrible thing to do!”
Dad nodded. “It is weird. Unless… Yes, that could be it. Maybe it was the mother cat.”
“You mean, she had her babies out here in the woods?” Lily looked doubtful. Why would a cat want to have kittens in a grubby old sofa?”
“Cats do pick funny places sometimes. Grandma’s cat had a litter of kittens in her wardrobe when she was a little girl, I remember her telling me.”
“But why the woods instead of at home?” Lily looked up at Dad anxiously. “Maybe the mum doesn’t have a home. Do you think she might be a stray?”
“Could be,” Dad agreed. He glanced around, peering through the trees. “I wonder where she is. They look too small to be left alone for very long.”
Just then the white kitten wriggled round and let out a squeaky little mew. Lily laughed delightedly. He – or she – was so cute, with a tiny pink nose and blue eyes. Even though his eyes were open, Lily didn’t think he could really see her – his eyes didn’t seem to be focusing. He was weaving his head about though, snuffing at the air. Lily wondered if he could smell Hugo. Or perhaps he was just upset that their mum was gone and their nest had been disturbed.
“If their eyes are open, that means they’ve got to be a few days old, doesn’t it?” Lily said, trying to think. She’d read somewhere that kittens were born with their eyes closed.
“Ye-ees.” Dad nodded. “I guess so. But I’m still pretty sure they need their mum. They’re too young to be walking around – they’re just squirming about and wriggling on top of each other, aren’t they?” He looked around again. “There’s no sign of the mother cat. I wonder what it’s best to do.”
“Don’t you think we should take them home, Dad?” Lily said pleadingly. “We can’t leave them out here on their own, not when they’re so little. They can’t find any food for themselves, can they? Don’t they still need their mum’s milk?”
Dad shook his head. “Their mum could just have gone looking for food – she might be back any minute. Or maybe she actually is around here somewhere but she’s too scared of us to come back to her kittens. I mean, no cat’s going to walk up to Hugo…”
Hugo was still watching the kittens as though they were the best thing he’d seen in ages. He was following them with his nose as they clambered over and around each other, still squeaking.
“I think he likes them,” Lily said, smiling. But then her smile faded. “What are we going to do, Dad? We can’t just leave them and hope their mum comes back. What if she doesn’t? They need her. Or somebody to look after them, anyway.”
Dad frowned. “You know what? I’m going to ring the animal shelter where we got Hugo. I’ve got their number in my phone. I bet they’ll know what to do.”
Lily nodded. That was definitely a good idea. The staff at the shelter must have to deal with abandoned kittens all the time. She listened as her dad called up and explained about the kittens.
“No, we haven’t seen the mum at all. Do you think she won’t come back while we’re here? No, I suppose not, if she’s a stray… So, what do you think, should we leave them?”
“Oh no…” Lily whispered to herself, looking over at the tiny kittens. The little white one had ended up underneath the other two now. Lily longed to pick him up – surely it couldn’t be good for him to be squashed like that?
She breathed a sigh of relief as he wriggled out and accidentally nudged Hugo’s nose with his own. Hugo stepped back, surprised, and Lily giggled.
“You like them, don’t you?” Lily whispered to Hugo as he rested his chin on the arm of the sofa, gazing at the kittens.
Lily turned back to Dad. Surely the shelter couldn’t be telling him to leave the kittens here? She couldn’t bear to think of them all on their own.
“I’m really not sure how long she’s been away, that’s the thing,” her dad was saying. “Amberdale Woods, that’s right. Mmmm. Yes, we could do that. Will there be someone answering the phone later this evening? OK, I’ll get back to you then. Thanks.”
“What did they say?” Lily burst out.
“They think the mum’s probably right here somewhere, hiding out and watching till we go away.”
“Oh…” Lily looked around the woods, golden and silent in the sunlight. “But what if she’s not? What if she doesn’t come back?”
“Well, that’s the problem. If she doesn’t, I’m afraid the kittens won’t last long without her. They’re just too little to survive by themselves. They’ll have to be taken to the shelter for hand-rearing – that means someone feeding them with a special bottle. So, we need to see what happens.”
Dad made an apologetic face at Lily. “I said we’d keep an eye on them and watch out for their mum, Lils. It might be a bit boring. The lady from the shelter said we needed to give the mother cat a few hours before we do anything like moving the kittens.”
“I don’t mind! I don’t want to leave them – even Hugo doesn’t, look at him.”
Dad nodded. “He’s really fascinated, isn’t he? It’s funny when you think how he is about Pixie. Maybe he doesn’t understand that these are cats, too…” He smiled at Lily. “It’s OK. I’m sure the mum will turn up soon if we get out of her way. Come on, Hugo,” He looked around the clearing as Hugo paced slowly over to his side. “So now we need to find somewhere to watch from.”
Lily stepped back reluctantly from the sofa and the kittens. The white kitten was on the top of the pile now, weaving his head from side to side. She longed to pick him up and cuddle him, and tell him everything was going to be OK but she knew she mustn’t…