The Case of the Cat Show Princess

by Cindy Vincent

  “That’s easy, kid,” he told me. “Just find out what’s going on. Get the details. And tell her we’re working on a plan to save her.”

  I’m sure my eyes went about as wide as my food dish. “We are?”

  Bogey nodded. “Don’t sweat it, kid. We’ll figure out something.”

  “Uh, okay.” I only hoped I’d be able to help figure out whatever it was I was supposed to figure out . . . whenever the time came that I was supposed to figure it out.

  I leaned in closer to Gracie for a moment, because, to tell you the truth, I needed a good hug. My stomach kept doing flip-flops, and for some reason, it just wouldn’t stop.

  “Buckley, isn’t this fun?” Gracie asked.

  Well, I have to say, fun wasn’t exactly the word I would have used to describe the whole situation. But I was glad that Gracie was happy. And it sure made me feel better when she cuddled me.

  I looked at Bogey and saw him stand straight up in my Mom’s arms. Obviously something had gotten him pretty excited.

  “P.A. at two o’clock,” he hollered.

  “P.A. at two o’clock?” I repeated.

  At two o’clock? What did that mean? I tried to catch a glimpse of my Mom’s watch. She wore it on her wrist, along with the antique diamond bracelet my Dad had given her for their anniversary.

  After a few more steps, I was finally able to focus on the face of that watch.

  “It’s not two o’clock yet,” I told Bogey. “It’s more like twenty minutes till eleven o’clock.”

  Now Bogey leaned over my Mom’s shoulder and looked back at me. “No,” he meowed. “Look in the direction of the number two on a clock.”

  “Huh?” For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what my friend was talking about.

  Now he pointed with his paw. “Look over and to your right.”

  That’s when I saw it. In fact, I couldn’t have missed it if I tried. There it was, the main cat show cage for the Princess. Two cages down from the end of a row. And the whole thing was a bright, hot pink. Plus, it was decorated with all kinds of crystals and sparkly things. The curtains around the side and back of her cage were made from some kind of shiny silver fabric.

  And in case all that didn’t let everyone know whom the cage belonged to, well, there was a huge sign in purple letters with her name on it. A big sparkling tiara also sat on top of the cage.

  Holy Mackerel!

  I could hardly believe my eyes. I sure hoped Gracie didn’t see all that stuff! Because, if she did, she’d probably want to decorate our cage like that, too.

  And, well, for Bogey and me, that would have really been embarrassing!

  So I kissed Gracie on the nose to distract her.

  She just giggled and hugged me tighter.

  All the while, I secretly took one last peek at the cage. The Princess wasn’t there, so I guessed she must have still been at her first competition. But I didn’t have much time to think about that. Instead, I was busy counting the number of cages between the Princess’ cage and the Agility Competition area.

  Lucky for me, the Agility area was just one row and ten cages away. Plus another two cages from the end of the Princess’ row. I counted all those cages a second time before we got there. Just to make sure I had it right.

  And let me tell you, when we finally arrived at the Agility area, I could hardly believe what I saw. Holy Catnip, what a place! It kind of reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of a circus. The whole area was round and closed in with a wire fence that was taller than my Mom. Inside the enclosed area was an inner circle and an outer circle. Seats were set up in the outer circle, so the people and their cats who were waiting could watch the competition. But the Agility course itself was set up in the inner circle.

  And what a course it was! I saw a tunnel, a couple of log bridges, and a hoop that was raised up off the ground. Plus there was a teeter-totter and something that looked like a pyramid with a path that went up and then came down on the other side. Finally, there was a path around the whole thing and a line with a big banner that read, “Finish Line.”

  Holy Catnip! How would a cat ever remember where they were supposed to go while they were running that course? And how would Bogey ever keep track of which obstacle to run and when?

  But I knew my Mom had helped Bogey practice on the course she’d set up at home. So if anybody could handle the Agility course here at the cat show, it was Bogey!

  Though one thing was for sure — I was really glad I didn’t have to run that course! This time I was happy just to sit around and look cute!

  Once all the people and their cats were inside the Agility Competition area, the lady judge fastened the wire mesh door. I smiled when I saw the latch on that wire door. That’s because it looked exactly like the latches we have on the doors inside our house. And Bogey and I’ve gotten pretty good at opening those latches. All we have to do is stand on our hind legs and grab onto the metal bar. Then we pull down with our front legs while using all our weight to push on the door. And ta-da! The door opens easy as pie.

  Now Bogey and I looked at each other. He nodded and I nodded. We both knew what the other was thinking. It would be simple for me to open that door and zoom on out.

  Especially since our Mom and Gracie had found seats close to the Agility area entrance. That meant I didn’t even have far to go to get to the door.

  I saw Bogey glance around the room, so I did the same thing. Just like he’d taught me. Bogey always said that a good cat detective should be aware of their surroundings. At all times.

  So I looked at all the pet Moms and Dads and family members inside the Agility area. Everyone was holding a cat, except for a man who had brought two pet carriers.

  Bogey nodded to those pet carriers. “Do you see that, kid? It’s the perfect set up. Kittens!”

  I leaned over Gracie’s arms for a better look. And sure enough, inside those pet carriers were the Havana Browns from the cage next to ours.

  “Are kittens good?” I asked Bogey.

  He flexed his right paw. “Oh, yeah. There’s nothing like kittens at an Agility Competition. We can use them to create a distraction.”

  “We can? But how?” I watched while the kittens’ Dad opened the pet carrier doors just a crack.

  Bogey grinned and stretched both his front legs. “You’ll see pretty soon, kid.”

  I stared at my friend. “I will?”

  Now Bogey arched his back to stretch even more muscles. “Yup. Here’s what I’d like you to do, kid. When I start to run the course, you start to squirm around in Gracie’s arms. Get her to set you down on the floor.”

  “Um, okay,” I gulped. Though to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I wanted Gracie to let go of me. It sure felt nice and safe to be in her arms.

  Bogey nodded at the door. “Then, when you can, make a run for the door and let yourself out. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Aye, aye,” I said. “But won’t someone come after me?”

  Bogey shook his head. “Not if we create enough confusion. That’s where the kittens come in.”

  Before I could ask what he meant by that, the judge began talking to the whole group. “Good morning, everyone. I’m sure you can see how the Agility track is set up. Just take your cat through all the obstacles in the right order and then make a big run around the track to the Finish Line. The cats with the two fastest times will win the blue and the red ribbons, and go on to the next round.”

  Okay, right about then my heart started to pound really loud. Would Bogey remember all the obstacles he had to go through and the order he was supposed to run them? Could he race across the course faster than anyone else? I glanced over at my friend. He grinned and stretched his hind legs, while I started to shake in my paws.

  The judge pulled a sheet of paper from a folder and held it before her. “First up, we have George,” she announced.

  An orange-haired man stood up with an orange tiger-striped cat. The man carried a long feather wand just like
the one the judge had used during my competition.

  He put George at the Starting Line of the track and looked up at the judge.

  Now the judge held up a stopwatch. She glanced at George and then back at the watch.

  “Go!” she yelled all of a sudden.

  With that, George’s Dad touched that feather wand to the floor and ran it all the way to the pyramid. He slid it up and down that pyramid and George ran right behind it. Then he had George jump over a bridge, run through a tunnel and finally onto the bottom end of the teeter-totter. Next the man had George run straight up one side of the teeter-totter. And when George passed the center bar, his weight made the other side of that teeter-totter drop to the ground.

  I’m sure my eyes went pretty wide about then. “Some trick,” I said to Bogey.

  He nodded. “One of my favorites, kid. You have to time that right or it doesn’t work too well.”

  “Wow,” I said just barely above a whisper. Someday I hoped Bogey would teach me how to run the teeter-totter.

  I turned my head back in time to see George balance across the top of another bridge. Then his Dad took the feather wand over to the hoop, but George ran to the pyramid instead.

  For a minute, I wondered what had happened. Especially when George’s Dad kept calling to him, and the whole crowd went, “Ooohhhh . . .”

  “What’s going on?” I asked Bogey.

  Bogey shook his head. “He went the wrong way, kid. It’s easy to do in the heat of competition.”

  Suddenly I felt a little sorry for George, even though I’d never met the guy. But his Dad tapped on the hoop and George quickly made a U-turn. Then he jumped through the hoop, made a lap around the track and passed the Finish Line.

  George’s Dad picked him up and gave him a big hug. The rest of the group clapped for George and I cheered for him, too. The judge recorded his time while George’s Dad carried him back to his seat.

  “And now,” said the judge, “the next cat to run the course will be Speedy.”

  Holy Mackerel! Did she say Speedy? I figured a cat with a name like Speedy must really be fast! How in the world would Bogey ever beat a cat named Speedy?

  My heart started to pound really loud inside my chest. I’m sure my eyes were pretty huge when I turned back to Bogey. But he just grinned at me and kept on stretching his muscles.

  I gulped when I saw a woman enter the ring with a skinny, little gray cat. She had a big smile on her face, kind of like she knew her cat was already going to win.

  “Okay, Speedy,” she said. “Let’s bring home another ribbon.”

  Another ribbon? This Speedy cat must have had a whole wall full of ribbons. He probably had so many ribbons he couldn’t count them all!

  The judge held up her stopwatch and I covered my eyes with my paws. I could barely stand to watch. But then I lowered my paws just enough so I could peek out.

  Now the judge hollered, “Go!” And Speedy’s Mom raced toward the pyramid with a feather wand.

  “Come on, Speedy!” she yelled to her cat.

  But Speedy took one look at his Mom, let out a huge yawn and flopped over onto his side. Then he extended a paw and started to lick his toes.

  His Mom yelled at him again and again, telling him to run. But Speedy ignored everything she said. Finally, he rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes.

  Apparently he’d already won enough ribbons and he didn’t care to win any more.

  A few minutes later, the judge yelled, “Time!”

  And that was the end of Speedy’s run in the Agility Competition.

  Speedy’s Mom shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. She walked over, picked up Speedy and gave him a big hug. He started to purr as she took him back to sit in the audience.

  That’s when Bogey glanced at me. “Okay, kid. It’s time to start squirming away from Gracie.”

  I took a deep breath. “Got it.”

  And the next thing I knew, the judge had called Bogey’s name. It was his turn to run the Agility Course.

  He nodded at me and grinned. “It’s time for me to show them how it’s done, kid.”

  Seconds later, my Mom had him at the Starting Line.

  The judge pushed her stopwatch and yelled, “Go!”

  Then all of a sudden, Bogey practically turned into a blur on the Agility Course. He flew over the pyramid and headed for the first bridge. He jumped it with room to spare and landed inches from the tunnel. Then he zoomed through the tunnel while the whole audience started to cheer.

  And that’s when I made my move. I squirmed in Gracie’s arms and tried to get down. She was so excited about Bogey that she probably didn’t even realize she’d let me jump to the floor.

  All the while, I didn’t take my eyes off my best friend. He passed over that teeter-totter in record speed. Then he headed straight for the second bridge while I headed straight for the door. He balanced across that last bridge and zoomed toward the hoop.

  At that moment, I stood on my hind legs and grabbed onto the metal bar of the door latch. I pulled down on it and put all my weight on the door. The door opened just as smooth as silk. A split second later, I put my front paws onto the floor outside the Agility area. I turned my head just in time to catch a glimpse of Bogey crossing the Finish Line. The whole audience went wild cheering for him.

  And while everyone had their attention on Bogey, I figured now was a good time for me to take off running. So I raced for the nearest table and dove under it.

  Behind me I heard the judge yell, “Record Time!”

  Right then and there, I wanted to cheer like I’d never cheered in my life! I was so proud of my friend, and I wished I could have been there to give him a pat on the back.

  But I knew I couldn’t do that. Not at the moment, anyway. Instead, I had a job to do. And I’d been lucky to make it out of the Agility area without being spotted. Now it was up to me to find the Princess and learn more about her situation.

  Besides, I had to remember that I wasn’t exactly out of the woods yet. Someone could come looking for me at any second. So I just stayed still and waited for Bogey to create the distraction he’d been telling me about.

  And seconds later, I saw him put that plan into place. From my spot beneath the table, I could see Bogey through the wire fence. He grabbed a paw full of cat treats and threw them all into the air at once.

  Let me tell you, those cat treats flew up like birds taking off from a tree. And the instant those treats were airborne, the Havana Brown kittens went crazy! With the speed of gazelles, they each raced for a treat and climbed over anyone and anything in their way.

  Holy Mackerel!

  One kitten ran right up and over a lady’s back. This caused her to scream and jump up. Her own cat hit the ground running and chased after that very kitten. Another kitten knocked over a lady’s purse and all her stuff went rolling across the ground. Two of the other kittens went around and around the audience. They wove in and out of people’s chairs and over people’s laps.

  Before I knew it, cats were running everywhere. People were screaming and scrambling to get their own animals. I heard cats hissing and men shouting out orders. If I said it was absolute confusion inside that Agility area, well . . . that would have been the understatement of the year!

  I laughed to myself and saw Bogey’s head pop up near the door. He munched on a cat treat and grinned at me.

  Boy, oh, boy, when Bogey said he was going to create a distraction, well, he wasn’t kidding!

  He waved me on and I knew that was my cue to go find the Princess’ cage. Now it was my turn to get up the courage to do the job I was supposed to do.

  The job of a cat detective.

  Holy Catnip.

  CHAPTER 7

  Holy Catnip! There I was, a cat on the loose who had just escaped from the Agility area. Right about then, I felt like every hair on my body was standing on end! I could hardly believe I was on my own and racing along beneath that table.

  Even so, I knew
I wouldn’t be on my own for long. Gracie and my Mom would come looking for me the minute they noticed I was gone.

  That meant I had to find the Princess and fast!

  I crept along as close as I could to the floor. All the while, I kept an eye out for anyone who might be coming after me. Luckily, I only saw lots and lots of shoes go by. Red shoes, black shoes, running shoes, and even some flip-flops went past me. Some were coming and some were going. But the important thing was, none of them seemed to be searching for me.

  I finally reached the end of the first table and leaped over to the floor beneath a second table. Then I peeked out and counted the cages on the other side of the row. I had to count carefully so I could find my way back to the Princess’ cage.

  Behind me, I heard a loud commotion still coming from the Agility area. I smiled when I thought of the kittens running around like crazy. That was the fun thing about kittens. They didn’t really care about the Agility Competition. Or any other competition, for that matter. The only thing kittens cared about was playing.

  I stopped at the end of the next table and took another quick peek out from underneath. On the other side of the row was the entrance to another row that led to the Princess’ cage. Her cage was only two from the end, so that meant I didn’t have far to go. And best of all, her owner was just carrying her back from a competition.

  I watched as that Count from Austria unzipped the zipper to her cage. But instead of picking her up and gently placing her inside — like my Mom would do — he just sort of threw her in that cage.

  Holy Mackerel! I hoped that poor little cat wasn’t hurt!

  Right about then, I wanted to growl like I’ve never growled before. But I knew I couldn’t. I knew I had to stay calm and cool and do my job.

  Just like a cat detective is supposed to do.

  So I scooted a little farther back under the table, to make sure I was really out of sight. But I could still see the Princess’ cage perfectly well. And I watched while that Count guy zipped the zipper up again.

  “Now shut up and get some rest,” he told her. “I expect you to look your best for the next round.”