by Terri Cabral
Wits End Studio Productions
Thisbe - An Extraordinary Cat
Her Adventures Continue…
Written By
TERRI CABRAL
Copyright © 2016 Terri Cabral
All Rights Reserved
Wits End Studio Productions
North Myrtle Beach, SC
www.witsendstudioproductions.ws
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN-13: 978-1481046398
ISBN-10: 148104639X
Chapter 1: Caught
My name is Thisbe. I was born almost ten years ago to a beautiful orange and white cat, known as Pumpkin (to the humans) but to me she was Mama. I loved her so much. Mama taught me many things but the lesson I remember most is to be kind to others and they will be kind to you. I’ve tried to follow that lesson throughout my life. Over the years I’ve encountered many different animals from dogs to foxes to birds and found each one unique. Some were nice and some were not very nice at all. I was adopted at about two months old by Ana. She introduced me to other animals that soon became good friends. We moved from our apartment to Grandma’s house for a little while which left me alone and without friends. When Ana had to go on a long work trip she brought me to Belinda’s house out in the country. I’d always lived in the city and was never allowed to roam about freely, so living out among the trees and grass without all the cars made my life wonderful. I explored many places outdoors and met lots of different animals. There I met some wonderful friends both animal and human.
My best friend was a bird. She was a beautiful Chickadee known as Chipper. We shared many adventures and fun times together but one day last summer a black cat named Mystique ended my friend’s life. It made me very sad. So sad I stopped eating for a while and just slept all day long. I did not care to live with Belinda anymore. There were too many sad memories. I wished Ana would come and get me. She always visited Belinda and me when she was in the area but I had not seen her in a long time. Belinda saw how upset I was and contacted Ana. Belinda knew I wanted to go home. My visit to the country had ended.
I am now home with Ana in a place she calls Michigan. I spent nearly eight years at Belinda’s house in a place they called Massachusetts. Humans have funny names for places. I learned a lot in those years. I learned about human time, the names of things in a house and I loved playing outside in the large yard with my two dog friends Duke and Butch. I had turtle, duck, and beaver friends at the pond near my house. I also had a special human friend. His name was Arturo and he was Belinda’s husband that passed away. Only I could see him and talk to him. I wish Arturo would come to my new house and visit with me. He told me he could travel to different places. Maybe he will once I’ve been here for a while. I hope he can find me. He was the only human I could really talk to that understood me! Mama told me once that Papa could see human spirits and that it was a special gift given to some cats. I could talk to Arturo and he could talk to my animal friends on the other side. I couldn’t see them because he said it took too much energy for animals to be seen on this side but he would always convey messages from them to me from his side.
I love being back with Ana. I missed her so much. During the day, Ana is away at the theatre where she works but she’s usually home by nightfall. Ana has worked in theatres for a long time. When I was just a kitten and first came to live with Ana, she taught dance. I loved to watch her move about our apartment. It was very large compared to this place. I’ve quickly adjusted to this tiny apartment. There’s a large window in the living room that looks out onto a porch but Ana told me I must never sit by the window because “the crabby old landlady” might see me and I am not allowed to live here. The old lady doesn’t like animals, especially cats. Ana told me that pets were not allowed but she didn’t care about the rules. Ana wanted me home with her. Ana said I wasn’t a pet, I was her baby girl. There’s a window in the bedroom but I’m not allowed sit on the sill for the same reason. So I have to settle for a seat on the bed. At least I can look out the window and not be seen by anyone.
Ana talks to me like she talks to people. I understand her better now that I’m older. I spent many years with Belinda. She talked to me all the time. Belinda spoke many different languages. I learned so much from her that I came to understand some words that she spoke in other languages!
I arrived here to live with Ana in early spring. Ana wasn’t as busy at the theater as she is now. We spent a lot of time together but now Ana is working at the theatre from early in the morning to late at night. She’s hardly home anymore. She always leaves the bedroom window open and the overhead fan on to allow a bit of a breeze for me. I can tell it’s summer for the sun is much brighter and the air warmer. I miss going outside and listening to the birds sing. It’s such a pretty sound. I know cats are supposed to eat birds and other animals but I can’t hurt another animal.
I sat on the bed after Ana left for the day and sighed. There isn’t much to do in this apartment. I miss Belinda’s house. I love Ana and missed living with her but this apartment is so boring. I can’t sit by the big window in the other room and I can’t sit on the window sill in here and talk to birds...birds? I hardly see any! I might as well sleep and wait for Ana to come home.
It was a sunny, warm summer morning. I curled up in a bright patch of sunlight on the bed when I heard the door to the apartment open. Ana’s home already? Yeah! I jumped down to greet her but when I walked out to the living room I stopped short. That’s not Ana! A short, heavy woman with thick glasses, grey curly hair, dressed in a large flowery dress leaning on a curved, black stick was standing there huffing and puffing, out of breath. There was a man in a dark blue shirt and pants holding a red metal box in his hand. He was standing next to her. The old lady stepped back and screamed nearly knocking over the man.
“AHHHH! What is THAT THING doing in one of MY apartments?” She shouted and pointed her stick at me. I was scared. I thought she was going to hit me.
“This woman knows she is NOT supposed to have PETS! AND it’s a CAT! Eeeeuww! All they do is tear things up and spray pee on everything! Go in the bathroom and fix that leaking toilet and let’s get out of here! I HATE cats!”
Suddenly, I was very angry. I don’t like you either, crabby old lady! How dare you say ALL cats do that! Then I panicked and remembered what Ana told me. Oh no! Does this mean Ana will have to move? She said she wouldn’t get rid of me! What’s going to happen? I was very distraught at this invasion of our home. I followed the man into the bathroom and watched carefully as he poked around the toilet and sink.
“Hi little kitty” the man whispered to me, “You seem like a nice cat. This apartment smells just fine. That old lady doesn’t like you so you better stay away from her. No telling what she’ll do.” He rubbed my head and smiled.
He returned to the living room and said, “Well, lady, ain’t nothin’ wrong with this toilet or sink. We best check the pipes downstairs. It might be a leak between the floors.” I was cautiously peeking around the bathroom doorway. I didn’t want to get anywhere near that old lady.
The old woman turned to leave, “Well
fine, let’s get out of here. I’m going to let this woman know if she doesn’t get rid of this cat immediately, she will be evicted!”
They left our apartment. The old woman slammed the door behind her. I heard the door lock.
I thought Evicted? What’s that? Oh no! Ana won’t get rid of me, will she? Ana is so happy I’m back with her. I don’t want to leave again. I don’t like that old lady. She’s mean.
I sat in the living room and waited patiently for Ana to come home. I couldn’t sleep. I was too upset. In a little while, I heard the phone ring. The answering machine came on. I heard Ana politely say please leave a message then I could hear the voice of the old lady yelling at Ana. My heart sank. Oh no…Ana…please don’t send me away! I wish I had never come out of the bedroom. Slowly I wandered back to the bedroom. I jumped up on the bed and waited for Ana to come home.
Later that night, Ana arrived home and called out, “Hello my precious baby! Where is my Thisbe girl? Thisbe?” Slowly I emerged from the bedroom. “There you are, my baby. Did you have a good day? Looks like I have a message. Let’s see who it is.” I thought Oh no! She’s going to hear that old lady yelling at her. I watched as she listened to her messages. She heard the old woman shouting into her phone, “Pets are NOT allowed in MY apartments! You know the rules. Get rid of that cat immediately or you will be evicted. I am keeping your deposit for all the damages done by that vile creature.”
Ana was really angry. She looked at me and asked, “DAMAGES? VILE CREATURE? WHAT was she doing in MY apartment WITHOUT MY consent? She had no right to come barging in here! What did she want?” I didn’t know what to do, I was very upset. All I could do was think Please don’t send me away again. I want to be with you.
Ana was so furious she called the woman immediately not caring that it was very late at night. I sat by Ana’s feet and listened.
“Hello this is Ana Costa in 412D. I DON’T CARE what TIME it is! WHAT were YOU doing in MY apartment WITHOUT contacting ME first? WHAT? My TOILET? There is NOTHING wrong with it! Oh I see…well in case you didn’t know, you are supposed to contact the apartment renter BEFORE you go barging into their apartment unannounced! There is a matter of PRIVACY for the tenant!!!..... AN EMERGENCY? There was no emergency… The cat?...I am cat sitting for a friend...one more day. You better contact me FIRST the next time you need to come into my apartment. I’m tired of your attitude towards your renters. I keep this place clean AND pay my rent ON TIME. …WHAT? NO this cat does NOT spray.” Ana slammed the phone down.
“OOOh what a …a……” She said some words I had never heard before. “I just want to take that old, fat woman and …She has NEVER been civil or even nice! I pay a lot of money for this tiny apartment!” I slowly backed away from Ana. I had never seen her so angry! What is Ana going to do?
Ana took a deep breath, “Thisbe, this requires some sneaky action. I think I am going to have to let you spend some time with a friend of mine. Just for a little while until I can convince this nasty, old woman that I no longer have a cat. I know someone who’ll be able to take you for a little while. I think I’ll call Danny in the morning and see if he can take you in for a few weeks.”
“MEOW? WHAT? I have to LEAVE? But you said you would not get rid of me again! Meow?”
“Don’t worry Tiz. It’s only for a few weeks. You’ll like Danny and Adam. They have a huge, beautiful home. They also have two very friendly cats. I think you’ll get along just fine with them. It’s only until I’ve convinced this old hag that you are gone then I will sneak you back into the apartment. I need some chamomile tea. Let’s put on some calming music, okay? ”
Ana turned on some quiet music and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on for tea. After getting into her pajamas, she settled down on the sofa with a hot cup of tea and me by her side.
“Tiz, I can’t believe she barged into my apartment like that for no reason. She really annoys me! She had no right to enter without my consent. There was no emergency. The woman downstairs had complained of a little leak in her ceiling. That old lady is just nosey. Other tenants have complained about the same thing. She barged into the guy next door’s apartment and he was home! She has no life and wants to find out all about her tenants. I need to move to a better place where you and I can live in peace.”
I was enjoying the head rub and thinking about visiting Ana’s friend, Danny. Well, it would be a chance for me to get out of this apartment for a little while and see some other place, as long as it’s only for a short time. I would make new animal friends. I miss talking with other animals. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. I tried to let Ana know that I didn’t mind going to another place. I rubbed up against Ana and purred loudly, “Meow…It’s okay Ana. I don’t mind going to another home for a little while if it will make this crabby old lady leave you alone. I love you. I want us to be happy.”
We both yawned. Ana said “Come on, Tiz, it’s late, love, time to go to bed. I’m beat. I’ll call Danny in the morning. Let’s go and snuggle together for tonight. I hate having to let you go again. I just got you back in my life.” Those were exactly my sentiments.
The next morning Ana called Danny. I listened carefully. Ana asked nicely, “So do you think you could take Thisbe for a week or two until I can clear the apartment with that old woman?”
I guess Danny agreed because Ana packed up my things and took me to his house.
Handing me over to Danny, Ana kissed me goodbye and said, “Now be a good girl. I’ll be back for you in a couple of weeks. I’ll miss you! Think of it as a little vacation, sweetie. You’ll make some new friends. Okay?”
Then Ana said to Danny, “I know she’ll be a good girl. This is hard on her. She just got here and now she has to be uprooted again. Call me if you have any problems but you shouldn’t have any.”
Looking directly at me, Ana said, “Right, Thisbe?” Then she turned to Danny and said, “Danny, all of her food, toys, and blanket are in this box.”
Danny smiled and said, “Sure, Ana, no problem. Our two cats stay outside most of the time except when it’s cold. Does Thisbe go outside?”
Ana replied “When she lived with my aunt Belinda, she was outside all the time because my aunt had a lot of land in the country. You could show her how to get out there and see what happens but please don’t let her wander in the street. She’s had her shots and vaccinations, too.”
Danny assured Ana, “Now don’t you worry a bit! We have a closed-in back yard. She’ll be safe out there. You can call me anytime and check on her. I know you are up to your eyeballs in work but if you get a minute, come over and visit. I know Adam would love to see you. We’ll see you at the theatre in a couple of weeks for opening night. We have season tickets.”
“Danny, you’re the best! Thanks so much. Love you.” Ana gave Danny a hug. She kissed me on the head. “I love you too, baby. You’ll be home soon. Have fun! Enjoy your new friends. I love you.” She ran out quickly.
Danny looked at me and said, “Now Thisbe, don’t fret. You can go out in our yard during the day and come inside at night. We have a pet door in the back. Come here, I’ll show you.” Danny showed me the pet door. I was thrilled. Wow, I wish Belinda had one of these. I can go outside whenever I want to. I think I like this place.
“Now Thisbe, we have an old tom cat that is nearly twenty years old. Wilbur doesn’t do much but sleep all day. The other is a twelve year old female cat. You and Fidelia might get along. She sleeps a lot, too, but don’t all cats? I’ll set up your litter box in the mud room off the back door. Your food bowls will be in the kitchen with the others. I’m gone most of the day and so is Adam so you are on your own. Have fun. I have to go now. It’s a pretty day out there so feel free to explore the backyard. I’ll see you later.” Danny grabbed his keys and left. I was alone.
I wonder where the other cats are. He said they should be outside. This pet door looks easy. Let’s see, I just push it like this. I pushed open the door and stepped out onto
a bricked patio. This is beautiful! Look at all the plants and trees! There are so many flowers. Oh …is that a small pond? I walked over to investigate the backyard pond. There are fish in there but no turtles. I walked around the pond toward the other side of the yard when I noticed a large grayish-brown cat curled up. I thought I’d be friendly and introduce myself.
“Excuse me…hello, my name is Thisbe. I’ll be staying at your house for a while. What’s your name?”
The cat looked up. “HUH? WHAT? I didn’t hear you. What did you say? Who are you?”
I spoke a little louder. “MY NAME IS THISBE. I’LL BE LIVING HERE FOR A WHILE. WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”
The old cat rolled over on his back and stretched his legs out in four directions. He then rolled back to his stomach and yawned. He looked squarely into my eyes and said slowly, “Look sweetie, I’m an old cat. I like my naps. I live to sleep. I don’t want to socialize with some young thing. Go see Fidelia on the other side of the yard. She might want to talk. My name is Wilbur and this is MY spot. Nice to meet ya! Bye!”
He stood up for a moment and stretched. I could see his true size. He was a very large cat. Goodness, I thought, he’s enormous. Even Creamsicle wasn’t THIS big. I guess I had better go find Fidelia.
“IT WAS NICE MEETING YOU, WILBUR. I’LL GO SEE IF I CAN TALK WITH FIDELIA. HAVE A NICE NAP.”
Wilbur muttered something unintelligible, stretched again, curled up in a ball and tucked his head under his arm.
Well, he’s no fun. I hope Fidelia likes company. I wandered over to the other side of the yard where I found Fidelia napping in the morning sun. I don’t think I’ll disturb her. I’ll just curl up here and nap. Maybe when she wakes up she’ll see me and we can meet. I found a warm patch of grass in the sun and curled up for a nap.
POW! A paw whacked me in the head waking me from a sound sleep. “What? Huh?” Looking up I saw Fidelia standing next to me. The slim, black and white cat spoke sharply.
“Who are you and what are you doing here? Did you climb the fence? Did you eat our food? This is OUR yard. You better get out of here right now – freeloader!”
I stood up, shook myself, and said, “Hello! You must be Fidelia. My name is Thisbe. I’ll be staying here for a little while as your houseguest.”
Immediately Fidelia changed her attitude. “Oh! I am so sorry, Thisbe. I didn’t hurt you, did I? Sometimes stray cats climb our fence and eat our food. I don’t like freeloaders. How did you know my name?”
I smiled. “I met Wilbur earlier and he told me. You were sleeping so I didn’t want to disturb you. My human mom is friends with Danny. She had to drop me off here for a while until the mean old lady at our apartment goes away…or something. I’m not quite sure. Sometimes humans confuse me.”
“Oh, I know it. They have always confounded me. I stay out of their way as much as possible. I only go in the house when it’s cold or if I’m hungry. The two humans who live here are very nice to us. They don’t demand too much. I lived with a large family before I came here. They were very demanding. The small humans kept trying to grab my tail and pull my fur. The bigger humans kept putting me into the smallest human’s bed at night. She was so cruel to me. She pulled my ears, tail and fur. I kept biting and scratching her but she would not leave me alone.”
“I’ve never met a small human. What else did they do to you?”
“Oh, it was so annoying. They all tried to tie ribbons on my tail and around my neck. They also tried to put human clothes on me. I would have none of that! I clawed and bit them but they still tried to do it. They finally gave me to Danny. They said I wasn’t fit to be a part of their family. I was too dangerous for their precious little humans. Pshaw! They were all horrid!”
“I don’t like things around my neck either. Ana, my human mom, used to take me to the park. She said she had to put a collar and leash on me. I hated the collar and leash…that’s until Thomas started coming with us to the park. He and I would spend the whole afternoon tied together with our leashes. THAT was very nice. He was so sweet.”
“Is Thomas your mate?”
“Thomas was my best friend. We spent a wonderful time together but when Ana and I moved away, I never saw him again. It broke my heart but that was so very long ago. I was barely a year old. I’m almost ten years old now.”
Fidelia stepped back and looked at me. “You are nearly ten years old? You are so small and petit. I thought you were very young. You look in excellent health. The humans say I am twelve years old. Some days I feel very old. Welcome to our home Thisbe. I think I am going to like having you here for a while. You are much better company than that lazy old Wilbur. I miss conversing with another cat. Come with me and I’ll show you around my house.”
I was excited and happy. Oh good! This IS going to be a fun time. Fidelia is a very nice cat. It’s nice to have a girl cat friend.
As we walked into the house, Fidelia said, “We live in a huge house. There are many rooms and different levels. I’ll show you some of my favorite places to nap. In the winter it’s very cold outside, so Wilbur and I find warm places to sleep inside.”
We entered a large room filled with two large cream-colored sofas, three big chairs all covered in various shades of green, a very large fireplace and several bookcases. The windows were covered with dark red drapes but were open to let in the light. It was so much larger than any room I had ever been in. It’s funny how I have learned the names of all these things that humans have in a house. I listened to Belinda and Ana and other people talk about their houses. One learns a lot of things if one listens carefully!
Fidelia continued, “The humans call this the sitting room. I guess it’s because they both sit in here.”
I smiled. “That’s a big fireplace. I had a small one in my old house. In the winter there was always a hot fire burning. There was a black furry rug in front of the fireplace. I liked to sleep on that a lot.”
Fidelia was impressed. “It sounds like you had a nice place. I like the fireplace too but the humans hardly have any fire burning in it. I like these two humans. They are nice men but they are hardly ever here. Where do you live now?”
“I live with Ana in a small apartment. It doesn’t seem too far from here because the car ride was not very long. My old home was out in the country and I had lots of land to explore. I’ll tell you all about it. Do you get lonely when the men are not here? I miss Ana when she’s not home. I was used to going outside at my old house. I had so many friends. I met turtles, beavers, ducks and birds. My best friend was a little bird named Chipper. She was so sweet.”
Fidelia shook her head. “Wait a minute…you had a friend who was a little bird?”
I nodded. “Yes, I know cats usually eat birds but I can’t do that. I love their song and I could never hurt another animal except for the cat that ate Chipper. She was…well…she was just mean but she got hers.”
“What do you mean...got hers?”
I continued, “She was hunting birds down by the stream one day and fell in. She was carried downstream and drowned. I was very happy to hear that news. My friend, Butch, the dog next door, told me the good news.”
“A dog? Wow, Thisbe, you are extraordinary. I like you. Come on, I’ll show you some more of the house.”
We continued our exploration of the house. Fidelia was correct. It was an enormous house. It was summer and very warm, so we spent many hours outside sharing our life stories. Some of the stories she told me of the young humans made me very glad I had never met one. I don’t think I ever want to meet one.
In the summer evenings, Adam and Danny came home and ate their dinner outside on the patio much like Belinda did with her friends. Fidelia, Wilbur and I explored the large backyard. Wilbur was very funny when he wasn’t sleeping. He told us of his life. He had lived with many different families until he came to Danny’s house when he was twelve years old. He had quite a lot of stories to tell.
My visit with Fidelia and Wilbur seemed so short. Before I
realized it Ana had returned to pick me up
She stood in the kitchen holding me and said, “Danny, thank you so much. She wasn’t any problem, was she?”
“Oh no, I think she and Fidelia hung out together most of the time. I would always find them sleeping together or outside watching the fish in the pond. I think Thisbe had a good time. Bring her over any time.”
Ana smiled, “Thanks again, Danny. See you at opening night.”
When Ana and I got back to the apartment, I walked around to make sure nothing had changed since I left. Happy to be home, I hopped up on the sofa and purred loudly.
“I am so glad to be home. It was a fun trip but I’d rather stay here with you.”
Ana shook her head and laughed, “Thisbe, I will never leave you again, I promise you.” She sat on the sofa and placed me in her lap and began to scratch my head. “I’ve missed you so much. I love you, Thisbe!” I love you too, Ana.
