“Oh, I see. But will they let you have just one?”
“Oh yes. There are three ginger and white kittens, so we could have one of those. And there’s a tabby kitten with really long fur – she doesn’t have any brothers or sisters. I’m hoping we can have her – she’sso pretty.”
“Oh wow, I love tabby-striped cats!” Isla bounced a little in her chair. “So when are you going to decide?”
“Someone from the shelter’s coming round today, Mum said. They have to do a home visit to check that we’ll be good cat owners. They want to see if the road outside the house is too busy and that sort of thing.”
“But you’ve already got Pickle,” Isla pointed out. “And he’s so lovely and friendly. That ought toprove you’re good cat owners.”
Hailey nodded.“I said that! But Mum says they have to make sure.” She frowned. “I hope it’s OK. I don’t think our road’s that busy, do you?”
Isla shook her head. Hailey lived two doors down from her and their road was quite narrow– cars always went down it really slowly. “I’ve seen Pickle sitting in the middle of the road before,” she pointed out. “He glares at the cars and they have to stop and wait for him to move. He couldn’t do that if they were going fast.”
Hailey grinned.“I know. Mum says she was right to name him Pickle – he’s so naughty!”
“Do you think he’s going to be OK, having another cat in the house?” Isla asked.
“Of course he will!” Hailey stared at her. “Mum and Dad already had another cat when they first got Pickle – he was fine. And you just said he was lovely and friendly!”
Isla blinked. Hailey sounded almost cross.“Yeah, I know he is, but cats like their own space, don’t they? Pickle thinks your house ishis house. What if he doesn’t want another cat to share it?”
“He won’t be like that,” Hailey said firmly. “He’ll love having a kitten around. Mum said it’s going to give him a new lease of life – he’ll enjoy playing with the kitten and he won’t spend the whole day sleeping like he does now.”
“Sleeping in the middle of the road,” Isla giggled.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]
That afternoon, after school, Isla and Hailey were going to walk home with Hailey’s mum and her younger brother Max, who was in the year below them. Isla’s mum and Hailey’s mum took it in turns to do the school run since they lived so close to each other.
Hailey dashed across the playground to find her mum as soon as they were let out and Isla hurried after her.
“Mum! Did the person from the shelter come round today? What did they say?” Hailey demanded, throwing her arms round her mum’s middle.
“Hello, sweetheart. Did you have a good day? Hi, Isla.” Hailey’s mum smiled at her.
“Mum! The cat person! What happened?”
“Well, she said the road was fine and it was good that we had a garden. She was a bit worried about Pickle, but—Oh, there’s Max!”
Hailey and Isla exchanged worried glances as Hailey’s mum stopped to wave at Max and then admire the star sticker on the worksheet he was showing her.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_5]
“What did the lady say about Pickle, Mum?” Hailey broke in eventually as her mum was making sure that Max had brought all of his PE kit home to be washed.
“Oh! Sorry, Hailey. She said sometimes an older cat finds it hard to get used to sharing with a new kitten, but I explained that Pickle is super chilled. How he never fights with any of the other cats in the street and he’s very friendly.”
“That’s what I said to Isla,” Hailey agreed, nodding.
“He doesn’t even mind that little ginger cat from down the road sitting in our garden,” Hailey’s mum went on. “So I told her all that and she said in that case he’d probably be fine. But we have to introduce them to each other carefully and give them their own space for the first few days. It was all very sensible.”
“So … she said yes? We can have a kitten?” Hailey hugged her mum again and then Max hugged her too.
Isla watched, trying not to feel a little envious. She was glad for Hailey– but Hailey and Max already had Pickle and he was gorgeous! Now they were getting a kitten too? It was hard not to be just atiny bit jealous…
Hailey’s mum was laughing. “Yes! I called your dad and we agreed we’d go to the shelter tomorrow morning and have a look.”
Hailey nodded eagerly.“I hope no one’s adopted that tabby kitten!”
[Êàðòèíêà: img_6]
The tabby kitten padded across the wooden floor, her ears flickering. She was very confused. Until today, she had been sharing a pen with three ginger and white kittens, a brother and two sisters. They’d curled up in the same basket, squabbled over food and chased each other’s tails. There had been people too, bringing them their meals and cleaning up the pen, but she hadn’t noticed them all that much.
Now everything had changed and she didn’t understand what was happening. There were no more ginger and white kittens. She was alone in a big room, with a new bed that smelled strange and a food bowl that seemed to be just for her. She curled up in the clean-smelling bed, feeling very small and very alone.
There was another cat somewhere, though. She was sure of it. She could smell it and, when the people had first brought her into the house in that odd, jolting carrier, she had heard a cat. There had been mewing as it was bundled away into another room.
The little kitten huddled closer to the cushioned side of the bed and stared wide-eyed at the door. The handle was rattling. Someone was coming in!
[Êàðòèíêà: img_7]
Two someones– a woman and a girl. They had come to top up her food bowl and bring her fresh water, and then the girl sat down on the floor by her basket and made squeaky noises, gently patting her knees and whispering. The kitten eyed her anxiously.
“Don’t scare her, Hailey.”
“I’m not! I just wanted to stroke her.”
“OK, but you know they said we had to take it slowly. Besides, we probably smell like Pickle to her. I expect she’s confused.”
The kitten watched them talk, her eyes darting from person to person. The girl was very close and that worried her, but she did sound gentle. And the food smelled good– it was making her hungry. Cautiously, she sat up and crawled to the edge of the basket.
“Let her get at the food, Hailey. Move back a bit. I think she’s nervous about going past you.”
The kitten twitched her tail as the girl moved, but she was only backing away so that was all right. She kept watching the girl as she went over to the bowl, gulping down the food with one eye on the people all the time. There was definitely another cat– she could smell it on them. A boy cat who’d lived here a long time, she thought. His scent was everywhere. This washis house.
The kitten finished the bowl of food and sipped a little water. She was feeling sleepy now and the girl had been so quiet all the time she was eating. Perhaps it was safe to go and have a look at her? A bit of a sniff?
She padded slowly forwards, keeping her bottom and tail nervously low. She was ready to leap back at once if either of them made any sudden movements. But they didn’t. The girl was so still, she was hardly even breathing.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_8]
The kitten sniffed at her shoe and then started to climb, slowly and carefully, up on to her foot. The girl felt warm and her trousers were soft. The kitten slumped sideways against her crossed legs and yawned.
Just then the door creaked a little, sliding slowly inwards, and the kitten’s eyes widened. What was happening? Who was coming in now?
“Mum! You didn’t shut the door!” the girl yelped, leaning protectively over the kitten, reaching for her.
The kitten saw the big hands coming and quivered with fright. She didn’t know where to run. Where was safe? She squeaked in dismay and then her fur stood up all over as a huge black cat stalked into the room.