The Kidnapped Kitten

by Holly Webb

  For Lizzie

  www.hollywebbanimalstories.com

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  About the Author

  Copyright

  “Laura! Laura!” Tia waved, as she rushed down their street on the way home from school.

  Her neighbour stood up and waved back. Laura was planting something in her front garden and her beautiful cat, Charlie, was sitting next to her, staring suspiciously at the turned-over earth.

  Tia ran up and leaned over the wall, and her little sister, Christy, followed, panting, “You went too fast for me!”

  “Sorry,” said Tia, taking her sister’s hand. “Laura, guess what?”

  Laura smiled. “What? Something good, it sounds like.”

  Tia nodded. “The best. Mum and Dad say we can have a cat!”

  Christy did a twirly dance. “A cat! A cat!” she sang.

  “Oh, that’s so exciting.” Laura beamed at them. “You’ll be brilliant cat owners. You were great when you came with your mum to feed Charlie while I was away. He looked quite grumpy when I got back – I don’t think I was fussing over him as much as you two were.” She looked up in surprise as Charlie suddenly pounced on the pile of earth. “Oh, Charlie! Stop it! You don’t want it, you silly cat.”

  “What is it?” Tia tried to see what Charlie was patting at with his paw.

  “A worm. No, don’t eat it! Euurrgh!” Laura picked up Charlie and dusted the soil off his paws, and the worm made a quick getaway.

  “He eats worms?” Christy peered over the wall at Charlie.

  Laura grinned. “He eats everything. Especially things that wriggle. Bengals are a bit like that. Really nosy.”

  “Charlie’s a special breed of cat then?” Tia asked thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen another cat that looks quite like him. He’s like a leopard.”

  “Exactly.” Laura nodded and put Charlie on top of the wall so the girls could admire him. He sat down with his tail wrapped around his paws and his nose in the air, posing. “Bengals are bred from leopard cats – little wild cats that live in Asia. Leopard cats are spotty like big leopards. But you can get Bengals with swirly stripes as well.”

  Tia reached out her hand to Charlie and made kissy noises at him.

  Charlie gazed back at her. He had his eyes half-closed, which made him look very snooty, but Tia thought it was actually because he was a bit embarrassed about not being allowed to eat worms.

  He eyed her thoughtfully for a few more seconds, then stood up and stepped delicately along the wall to allow her to stroke him.

  “You’re the nicest cat ever,” Tia murmured. She glanced up at Laura. “You know, his fur’s almost sparkly when you look at him in the sunshine.”

  “It’s called glitter.” Laura nodded. “Lots of Bengal cats have it.” She rubbed Charlie’s ears. “It’s actually because some of his fur is see-through, but it looks like he’s covered in gold dust. He’s a precious boy.”

  “Hi, Laura! I hope the girls aren’t bothering you.” Tia and Christy’s mum hurried up.

  “No, it’s fine. They were just telling me their exciting news.” Laura smiled. “If you get a cat, then they can both sit in our front windows and stare at each other!”

  Tia giggled, imagining it. Laura’s house was just across the road from theirs, so the two cats really would be able to see each other. Charlie liked to sit on the windowsill and look out. Tia always waved at him on her way past.

  Tia ran her hand down Charlie’s satiny back again. “Mum! Could we have a cat like Charlie?”

  Her mum reached out to scratch Charlie under the chin. “I’m sorry, Tia, but I don’t think so. Charlie’s beautiful, but he’s a pedigree cat. He must have been really expensive.” She glanced at Laura, looking a bit embarrassed. “Sorry!”

  Laura made a face. “No, don’t worry. He was expensive. But I’d wanted a Bengal cat for ages. I just loved the way they looked, and I’d read about what funny characters they are. So I saved up for him.”

  “We’ll probably go to the Cats Protection League and see if they have any kittens available,” Tia’s mum explained to Laura. “Even though you are gorgeous, aren’t you?” She made coaxing noises at Charlie, and he did his superior face back again.

  “Lucy got Mittens from the Cats Protection League. Lucy’s my best friend from school,” Tia put in. “She’s got a really cute black and white cat, with little white mittens on the fronts of her paws. It’s all right, Mittens isn’t as beautiful as you,” she added to Charlie, who was looking outraged. “Sometimes I think he understands everything we say,” she told Laura.

  “That’s the thing with Bengals,” Laura said. “They’re very clever. Lots of them have tricks, like opening doors – Charlie can do that. But it means they can be quite difficult to look after. When they get bored, they can be naughty. I wouldn’t be able to have Charlie if I didn’t work at home. He’d be lonely if I was out all day.”

  “Cats need company,” Tia’s mum agreed. “But I only work afternoons, so we should be all right.” Tia’s mum worked part-time in the office at Tia and Christy’s school. “Anyway, we should leave you in peace. Come on, girls.”

  “Bye, Charlie.” Tia gave him one last loving stroke. “See you tomorrow on the way to school!”

  “You don’t mind that we can’t have a cat like Charlie?” her mum asked, as she unlocked the front door.

  Tia turned round and hugged her.

  “No! I just want a cat of our own, that’s all. Maybe a black and white cat, like Lucy’s? Will we be able to choose between lots of cats?”

  “I’m not sure…” her mum said. “I’ll have to call the Cats Protection League. Lucy’s mum was telling me about Mittens, and I think she came from a lady who just had a few kittens living in her house. I don’t think the Cats Protection League has one big shelter.”

  “That’s probably nicer for the cats,” Tia pointed out, as she took off her shoes.

  “When’s our cat coming?” Christy asked. Christy was only four, and she didn’t really understand about the time things took.

  “In a little while, I promise,” Mum said, and Tia gave a little sigh of happiness. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to wait too long…

  “Tia! Tia!”

  They were on their way to school, and Tia had been daydreaming about what sort of cat they might get. She jumped when Laura shouted after her.

  Laura was at her front door, with Charlie weaving himself possessively around her ankles. “Oh, I’m glad I caught you! Is your mum around?”

  “She’s a bit further up the road, chasing after Christy,” Tia explained.

  “I don’t want to make you late for school, but I really wanted to let you know…”

  Tia stared at Laura, not really sure what she was talking about.

  “Sorry! I’ll start at the beginning. The lady who bred Charlie called me last night – I’d sent her a photo of him, and she was ringing to say thank you. And she mentioned she’s got a Bengal kitten for sale!”

  “But we can’t—” Tia started to say. Mum was right. They really couldn’t afford a pedigree cat.

  “Oh, I know, but that’s the thing. This kitten won’t be very expensive. She’s got a bent tail. She’s still gorgeous, but it’s what’s called a fault. It means she can’t be in a cat show, and no one would want her to have kittens, as they might have bent tails too. So I thought I’d tell you, just in case you want to go and see her. I expect lots of people will be keen to buy her – so
metimes people wait ages for a Bengal kitten. I wrote it all down for you.” Laura darted back into the house and returned with a scrap of paper. “Here, give this to your mum. It’s the breeder’s phone number.”

  Tia looked down at the piece of paper. Glimmershine Bengals, it said, Helen Mason, and a phone number. But somehow, for Tia, the scribbly writing seemed to say, Your very own kitten…

  “Are we sure about getting a Bengal kitten?” Dad asked, looking at the Glimmershine website. Tia had found it for him on his phone, so he could read it while he ate his toast. “It says here about them being very individual characters. That sounds like the kind of thing teachers say when they don’t want to say just plain naughty.”

  Tia giggled. “Laura said Charlie’s a bit like that.”

  “Mmmm. But he’s so friendly with you and Christy,” Mum said. “Some cats aren’t that keen on children.”

  “Laura said Bengals can be naughty when they get bored and lonely,” Tia added. “But Mum’s around in the mornings, and we can play with the kitten after school.”

  “I suppose so,” Dad agreed. “Well, there’s no harm going to see this kitten, anyway. What time did she say we should come over?”

  “Any time from ten.” Mum looked at her watch. “We should probably get going, actually. It’s about half an hour away.”

  Tia jumped up from the table, nearly tipping over her cereal bowl. Even though it was the weekend, she’d been up since six.

  “Slow down,” Dad chuckled.

  “Sorry…” Tia said. “It’s just so exciting!”

  The car journey seemed to take far longer than half an hour. Tia was much too jittery to read a book or listen to music. They might actually be getting their kitten! She wriggled delightedly at the thought.

  The house they pulled up at looked surprisingly ordinary – apart from a small sign, with a drawing of a cat on it. Somehow Tia had expected something different, although she wasn’t quite sure what. She followed her mum and dad up the path, feeling oddly disappointed.

  Then Christy clutched at her arm. “Tia, look!” She was pointing at the window on one side of the front door.

  The windowsill was lined with kittens. They were all sitting watching the girls walk up the path, their ears pricked up curiously.

  “So many of them!” Tia gasped. They seemed to be different ages, too – some of them were much bigger than the others. She tried to count them, but Dad had rung the doorbell, and the kittens clearly heard it. They hurried to jump down from the windowsill – there had to be a chair or something underneath it, as they were all queuing to get down. Except that they didn’t queue very nicely, they were all pushing and barging into each other.

  Someone had answered the door, but Tia and Christy hardly noticed – they were too busy watching the kittens.

  “If you come in, you’ll be able to see them even better!” A grey-haired lady looked round the door, smiling.

  Tia went pink and hurried in, hauling Christy after her.

  The door to the room with the window was closed, and Tia could hear squeaks and bumps from behind it. She stared at it hopefully, while Mum asked about the kitten Laura had mentioned.

  The grey-haired lady – Helen, Tia remembered she was called – nodded. “She’s a lovely little thing – she’ll make a very friendly pet.” She beamed at the girls. “So would you like to meet them all, then?”

  Tia just nodded, she couldn’t even speak. Christy jumped up and down as Helen carefully opened the door.

  “I have to open it slowly,” she explained. “They get so excited about people visiting, and they will stand there just behind the door. I’ll catch their paws if I’m not careful.” She bent down as the door opened and scooped up a small kitten with golden-brown fur and the most beautiful leopardy spots, who was making a run for it.

  “There’s always one,” she told Tia, “and actually this is the little lady you’ve come to see.”

  Tia gasped as the kitten peered down at her. She had enormous round eyes, not green or yellowy, like most cats, but a soft, turquoise blue. Her ears were massive, too, and she had a great long trail of white whiskers.

  “Come on in, and we’ll shut the door before they all try and escape,” Helen said.

  The room had been a dining room, Tia realized. It still had the table and chairs, but now there were soft, padded baskets, food bowls and litter trays everywhere.

  “It’s a kitten room,” Christy cried, looking round. “There’s so many!”

  “Eleven of them,” Helen said. “Two litters. The smaller ones are ten weeks old, and the bigger ones are twelve weeks. Ready to go to their new homes.”

  “Oh…” Tia breathed. “She’s old enough to come to us already?” She was still staring at the pretty dappled kitten in Helen’s arms. “If she wants to, I mean,” she added. Somehow it seemed quite clear that it wasn’t only her decision. The blue-green eyes peering over Helen’s arm were determined.

  Helen nodded. “Why don’t you try and stroke her?” she said, lowering her arms a little to make it easier for Tia to reach the kitten.

  Very gently, Tia held out her fingers, and the kitten sniffed them thoughtfully. Tia rubbed her hand over the kitten’s silky head. “Oh, she’s so soft. Like satin.”

  The kitten let out a mighty purr, a huge noise from something so small, and Tia burst out laughing. The kitten laid back her ears, her eyes getting even huger, and Tia gulped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she murmured. But the kitten purred again, and Helen slowly held her out to Tia.

  “See if she’ll let you hold her,” she said quietly.

  Tia glanced nervously at Mum. But Mum gave an encouraging smile. “She does seem to like you, Tia. You’re so good at being gentle.”

  Tia carefully took the kitten from Helen. “Look at her gorgeous spots,” she whispered to Mum.

  Dad and Christy were crouched down by the dining table looking at one of the smaller kittens, who was perched on a chair. “She’s not quite like Charlie though, is she? Her spots are in rings. Like pawprints!”

  “She is lovely,” Helen said. “You aren’t worried about her tail, then?”

  “Oh! I forgot.” Tia peered round the little kitten, who was snuggling into the front of her top. It looked pretty much like a normal tail to her, only a little bit bent at the tip. “I love her tail,” she said firmly. “It’s so dark! Nearly black, and the rest of her looks like – like honeycomb toffee!”

  “She does,” Mum nodded.

  “So … we can really have her?” Tia asked hopefully. She giggled as the kitten hooked tiny claws into her top and started to mountaineer up her shoulder and round her neck until she was standing with her front paws on one shoulder and her back paws on the other, like a furry scarf.

  Mum glanced over at Dad, who nodded. “I think she’s perfect.”

  The kitten purred in Tia’s ear, as though she agreed.

  Tia had hoped they might be able to take the kitten home with them, but Mum and Dad said they needed to get everything ready first. Tia supposed they were right. They didn’t even have a cat carrier. So after they’d finally coaxed Christy away from the tiny kittens, they stopped off at the pet shop on the way home.

  “Can we buy some toys as well?” Tia asked. “They had lots of toys at Helen’s house. I don’t want the kitten to be bored at ours.”

  “What are the chances of that?” Dad laughed. “I don’t think her paws are going to touch the floor.”

  “A couple of toys,” Mum agreed. “But we’re not going mad with them, Tia.”

  “I’ve got my birthday money from Gran still,” Tia pointed out. “I could use that.” She stood in front of the cat toys, looking at catnip fish, laser pointers and jingly balls. What should she get? Tia could imagine the kitten loving them all.

  She was just trying out a clockwork mouse, when a poster hanging at the end of the aisle caught her eye. It was for the Cats Protection League, asking for donations to feed all the stray cats the
y took in. Tia looked at it thoughtfully. If her family had adopted a kitten from there, they would have made a donation…

  She looked down at her basket and put back the feathery cat dancer and the catnip monkey. She could make a bunch of feathers, and Mum had lots of knitting wool. She would buy the mouse, but that was all. The rest of her money she dropped into the collection box at the till. The bag the lady gave her to take home was very light, but Tia didn’t mind.

  The kitten let out a despairing wail. She hated being shut up in the cat carrier. It was too small and it smelled funny, and she seemed to have been in it for ages. But then there was a clicking noise and the door swung open.

  The girl was looking in at her now, the one who had stroked her and fussed over her. The kitten nosed forward cautiously. The girl rubbed her ears gently, and the kitten stepped out of the carrier and climbed on to her lap, which was beautifully still after the car ride. Then she peered around worriedly. This wasn’t the place she knew, and there seemed to be an awful lot of people and movement and noise.

  “She’s so quiet,” Tia said, as Dad crouched next to her and stroked the kitten.

  “She’s just not sure what’s going on, poor little thing. She’ll probably go and explore in a minute.”

  But the kitten didn’t. She didn’t go and try out the padded basket they’d bought, or drink from her smart new bowl, or chase after her clockwork mouse. When Tia had to get up and have dinner, the kitten darted off her lap and hid round the side of the cat carrier. She didn’t want to go right back in it, but somehow it felt safe. She could have gone with the girl to the table, but there were too many people over there. Safer to stay by the carrier, she thought.

  “I want her to play with me!” Christy wailed, pushing her plate away. “She sat on Tia for ages! Why won’t she play?”