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Snoop was excited about his adventure planned for that evening to the cat shelter. Nothing was going to stop him... nothing.
“Service please!”
Chapter 4
"Snoop, I don't have time this evening to hunt you down to feed you. Where are you hiding this time?" called Miss Pam as she walked from room to room searching for him. "You disappear into thin air, just like a puff of smoke," she laughed as she went back to the kitchen. "I'm not your maid!"
But she was his maid...reality had yet to set in.
She set his fancy bowl of "Gourmet Ocean Sardines" on the kitchen counter. It had a horrid smell but it was one of Snoop's favorites. He refused to eat on the floor, so Miss Pam accommodated his dining wishes. She designed him his very own little "diner" at the end of the counter, with a place mat and a cushioned mat for his feet. He was definitely spoiled. She had never had a cat like him who seemed to control her, and get away with it. But she loved him despite his demanding ways.
"Wherever you are hiding Snoop Alexander Stone, please come out to get your food, ok?" she pleaded. "I can't wait for you any longer."
But Snoop was nowhere in sight.
Miss Pam was unaware that he had quietly exited through the cat door on the back porch and was on his way to his evening adventure with Custer.
Cat on a bus
Chapter 5
"Nothing worse than dodging human feet!" griped Snoop as he quickly brushed between a maze of feet of all sizes.
He was in the rear of the bus nudged next to the door, waiting for the next bus stop. Passengers were busy reading newspapers, texting and talking on their cell phones. Everyone seemed to be completely absorbed in their own private little world. They were unaware that a black cat was taking a ride with them on the Chatsville city transit system.
"Humans. They amaze me how unconscious they are of the simple things in life," remarked Snoop.
The bus came to a quick stop on 9th Street where the city park was located. The door swung open and Snoop made a fast jump down to the sidewalk.
"Hey! Look at the black cat!" yelled a little girl who was getting off the bus with her mother. "Mommy, can I take him home with us, please?" she pleaded to her uninterested mother.
"No! Don't touch him. He'll scratch you," yelled the mother as she jerked her daughter's arm.
"I don't scratch little girls," said Snoop to the child in a kind voice.
"Mommy! He talked to me!" screamed the child.
"Don't be a silly girl," remarked the mother. "Stay away from him and be quiet."
The mother clapped her hands together loudly to scare Snoop away from her daughter. Snoop wasn't a bit frightened and continued to come closer to the child, until the mother attempted to kick him.
Snoop dashed off in a flurry towards the entrance to the park. He glanced back at the mother and growled.
"I am shocked how cruel a human can be at times," he thought to himself.
He shook his head, straightened his fur and continued running at top speed towards the old weeping willow tree just outside the park. Custer would be waiting for him there beneath the long branches of the tree.
Mister Custer
Chapter 6
"Psst ...Snoop! I'm over here!" whispered Custer as Snoop approached the big willow tree.
“How’s it going Custer?” greeted Snoop with a big grin.
"What took you so long? I've been lying here waiting for you on this damp ground for over an hour," Custer complained. "My fur is matted with these disgusting little green leaves, and I am not happy!"
"Calm down Custer. You are making a big fuss over nothing." replied Snoop. He pushed his nose between the branches and saw Custer curled up in a ball with wet leaves clinging to his fur from his head to the tip of his tail. Snoop started to giggle, but then remembered Custer was 15 years old, and a senior citizen of the cat world. Snoop would mind his manners and have more respect for Custer's complaints.
"Hey, when you get to my age, you won't like mats in your fur either!" Custer complained as he slowly got on all fours.
The two cats found a dry spot to sit together near the trunk of the tree. They curled their paws underneath their chests and starred at each other, nose to nose.
Custer was the first to speak, "Now what, Snoop?"
"Ok, Custer, here's the plan. The cat shelter is just up the street. They will be closing at 8 PM, so we don't have a lot of time. It's almost dark now so we'll be able to scout around without humans watching our movements. But we have to be very careful. If we're caught trying to slip in the front door of the shelter, then our plan is ruined. Do you remember those cat carriers they leave out front for shelter cats to be put in?" asked Snoop.
"Oh, sure, I remember those horrid things. What about them?" Custer asked as he licked his right paw repeatedly. Custer was quite a finicky cat when it came to his coat of fur. He didn't like a speck of dirt anywhere on his body. Sometimes he would have a lick fest and groom for more than ten minutes on just one paw.
“Hey, Custer, can you stop the lick ritual for five minutes please?” questioned Snoop impatiently.
“Yea, yea, go ahead Snoop, tell me the plan,” replied Custer, not at all happy that his fur was still ruffled on his front paws.
"We're going to hop into one of those carriers, and wait for the staff to take us in before closing. They bring the carriers in every evening by using a small forklift. I guess they are too lazy to carry them. They won't know we're in the carriers. After we’re inside the shelter, we'll wait quietly until after closing. Then all of the humans will have gone home. Then we are set! " Snoop said with excitement in his voice.
"You are a genius Snoop! I would have never thought of such a crafty idea. But of course, you Bombays are known for your high intelligence," complimented Custer.
"Custer, have you ever known a dumb cat?" asked Snoop smiling.
"Never!" exclaimed Custer.
"Then let's go!" Snoop said excitedly, as the two of them quietly raced across the grass and up the street to the entrance of the Chatsville Cat Shelter.
Little Orphans
Chapter 7
"Custer, don't make a racket when you hop into that cat carrier," whispered Snoop as both cats neared the front of the shelter. "We have to be as quiet as church mice."
"Now Snoop, the idea of church mice is a tasty thought!" said Custer as he licked his lips.
"Do you always have food on your mind Custer? Stay focused!" snapped Snoop impatiently.
"Ok, boss," answered Custer obediently with a slight grin on his face. He knew that this was a serious mission for both he and Snoop, but he still liked to poke a little fun.
The two cats paced side by side, stepping cautiously without a sound, until they came within three feet of the lined up carriers. As they approached, they could hear soft kitty whimpers but couldn’t tell which carriers the sounds were coming from.
Several empty cat carriers were sitting wide open near the front door of the shelter. There were also many closed carriers filled with homeless little felines that people had discarded earlier that evening. People had simply driven by, opened their car doors and quickly abandoned these little
fur souls. It was a human action similar to taking out the trash. An all too easy heartless method to toss a cat away. What ever happened to, “till death do us part?”
Snoop and Custer could hear the mews and whimpers of the homeless cats in the carriers. It was like a feline chorus of sad little souls. It was heartbreaking.
A warm tear rolled down Snoop's black fur cheek and made its way underneath his long whiskers. At that moment, he realized how truly thankful he was to have Miss Pam love him and care for every little detail of his feline life. He was so lucky. Custer was having similar thoughts as he sat crouched down on the cold sidewalk. He was also a very fortunate kitty. He had lived in the same wonderful home in Chatsville all of his life with two devoted cat lovers. He never wanted for anything, except a delicious bird or a chewy bug every once in awhile.
Enough tears. It was time to get this party rolling.
Snoop and Custer didn't wait another minute. They jumped into two empty carriers, quickly closed the lids, and huddled in silence.
After about fifteen minutes, the shelter side door cracked opened and two male staff members shuffled out to where the filled carriers were waiting. The two men were complaining of the job at hand and quickly lit up cigarettes.
“I hate cigarette smoke.” whispered Custer to Snoop. “Makes my fur stink.”
“Be quiet Custer! They might hear you!“ replied Snoop as he crouched lower into the carrier.
Tonight, all of the carriers would be hand carried into the shelter. This surprised Snoop but he was sure happy about it. He thought this was a safer plan than to be lifted up by a forklift and dropped roughly to the ground. He had seen that unfortunate scene too many times as he had sat watching from across the street during the past month. He had been tempted to give the ASPCA a call to complain. But who would believe a cat, anyway?
The adventure was about to begin.
The Glorious Cat Buffet
MEOW!
Chapter 8
"Oh, my goodness, Snoop, have you ever seen so many sad cats?" said Custer as he looked around at the rows and rows of caged homeless cats inside the main room of the shelter. Most of the cats were sitting in tight little cages without bedding, and only minimal space to exist. Some were even without sufficient food or water.
Custer started to cry softly at the pitiful sight he witnessed. He didn't want the caged cats to see his tears, and Snoop was quick to notice Custer's compassion.
"Hey, they aren't going be sad for long, Custer. Let's get busy with what we came here to do and put some kitty smiles on these cat faces!" said Snoop. "Are you ready to free these prisoners?"
"Yes indeed! Where do we start?" answered Custer in an excited voice.
"Follow me!" exclaimed Snoop.
The shelter cats were thrilled to see both Snoop and Custer. A chorus of jubilant meows completely filled the dingy room, as little wanting paws reached out through the bars to greet Snoop and Custer. It was obvious these orphans were desperate for the attention coming from their two cat visitors.
Snoop raced up to each cage and gave each feline occupant a quick sniff and a smile. With an agile paw, he quickly lifted each lock on every cage to free each cat.
"This is great Snoop! Just look at all of the smiles on these cats and listen to their purring!" cried Custer.
Several kittens tumbled playfully out of a tiny cage and scampered towards Custer. Custer was delighted to see the little ones so happy. He welcomed them with a warm rub against their thin little bodies and started to lick each kitten clean.
"Where's your mama?" Custer asked a very timid little white kitten.
"I don't remember my mama," cried the kitten.
"Well, we'll have to do something about that!" said Custer.
A tall striped tom cat approached Snoop. He was rather thin and his fur was badly matted. His green eyes were without a spark and he walked with a slight limp. His name was Thomas.
"My name is Thomas the Cat. Can you please get us all some food?" he asked Snoop in a soft weak voice.
Snoop clawed himself up on top of a table that was in the center of the room. All cat eyes were on him.
"Listen up Thomas, and all my friends here. Follow me into the back room and you will find a buffet of food waiting for you!" announced Snoop.
Snoop knew that hundreds of bags of dry cat food and moist cat food packets were stored in the back room. What he couldn't understand was why the food dishes weren't kept filled in the cages of these orphan cats. He would need to do some investigation and give the ASPCA a call for sure.
All of the cats followed Snoop and Custer into the back room. It was a parade to a glorious feline feast.
Suddenly, there was the sound of cars pulling up, doors slamming shut, and loud human voices.
Snoop to the Rescue
Chapter 9
“Snoop, what‘s happening?” yelled Custer in a fearful voice.
“I don’t know Custer. You stay put while I go and find out what’s going on. Make sure all of the shelter cats get safely back in their cages,” yelled Snoop. “Hurry Custer!”
Snoop was afraid of what he would find outside as he cracked opened the shelter’s back door. He got down on his hunches and in slow-motion crept outside just far enough to see the street. His eyes were met with flashing lights from several police cars parked in the front of the shelter. The police officers were getting back in their squad cars and appeared to be preparing to leave.
“Why are the police here?” questioned Snoop to himself. But he stopped for a moment and realized he must have tripped a motion sensor when he climbed up on that table in the shelter. That action of his had set off the silent alarm system and the police were summoned. “Oh, what a dumb thing for me to have done! I’ve ruined everything,” he cried.
He peered out the door once more and noticed a red GTO pulling up. The driver’s side car door opened and a man in a suit got out.
It was him…it was George Putter.
Snoop cowered in fear. He knew that George would be furious if he found out Snoop was behind this false alarm. Snoop feared for his life. He didn’t know what to do next.
“Should I hide back in the shelter or just take off and leave my dear friend Custer behind?” he said frantically. “I don’t know what to do!” he screamed.
But then something extraordinary happened.
Snoop continued to keep an eye on George Putter. George was informed by the police that this was a false alarm and George’s cat shelter was secure.
“No problem Mr. Putter,” assured one of the officers. “Place is locked up tight.”
“Thank you. You can be on your way now,” barked George to the officer in charge.
George was within five feet of his car when another car came out of nowhere heading directly on a collision course with George and his GTO.
Snoop saw what was about to happen and took action.
Snoop ran at top speed in front of George, jumped on him and knocked him over onto the grass out of the way of the upcoming speeding car. The speeding car collided into George’s GTO flipping it over several times. Flames quickly engulfed both the GTO and the other car. Snoop could hear screams of terror from the passengers in the colliding car but the passengers were able to safely escape the burning vehicle.
George starred trembling in horror. He was not injured but visibly in shock. He had witnessed something that he never thought possible…a cat had saved his life…and that cat was the one he had thrown away. It was Catface….the cat that he had hated and dumped in a dirty cardboard box on the side of the road that cold day back in November.
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The story does not end because something miraculous was about to happen in the city of Chatsville, New Hampshire.
The Adventures of Snoop Cat...Cat On a Bus Page 2
