by Holly Webb
Misty edged her way out from under the top, shaking her fur crossly. Why had Amy done that?
She slunk over to the tree house door and watched Amy going up the garden towards the house. Misty slipped out along the branch, and jumped down on to the fence, then into Amy’s garden. Keeping her distance, she followed Amy, trotting after her. But just as she reached the house, Amy closed the door.
Misty stood outside it sadly. She wished she could follow Amy into the house. It looked warm and friendly.
There was a big magnolia tree, growing close to the kitchen window, and Misty scrambled up the trunk to a branch, then jumped on to the window sill. She could see Amy, and two other people, laughing and eating.
The food smelled delicious. She mewed, hoping that Amy would see her and let her in. But the man sitting closest to the window was the one who stood up and came to look.
“It’s a cat!” He laughed. “A little black kitten. Come and see, Amy.”
Amy jumped as she saw Misty, accidentally knocking her glass of juice off the table. It smashed on the floor, and the woman got up with a sigh.
Misty leaped back on to the branch, hiding in the gathering darkness, and watching as they cleared up the mess. She wished she was in there with them, but Amy had seemed upset to see her and she didn’t know why. Misty watched for a while, until Amy disappeared and the lights went off. Then she pattered sadly down the garden and back up into the tree house. But this time she didn’t sleep on the beanbag. She curled up on the hoodie top instead. It smelled of Amy.
“Mum came up to the tree house and nearly saw Misty last night!” Amy told Lily before school on Friday morning. “I had to throw my hoodie on top of her, poor thing! And then she was suddenly there at the window, and Dad saw her!” She sighed. “It’s fun having a secret kitten, but I wish I didn’t have to hide her all the time. It would be so nice to be able to take her inside, too. I’d love her to sleep on my bed, like Stella does with you.”
“It is nice,” Lily admitted. “She keeps my toes toasty. Do you think your mum and dad really wouldn’t let you keep her?”
Amy shook her head thoughtfully. “I just don’t know. I’ve begged for a kitten for so long – if they were going to let me have one, wouldn’t they have given in by now? I can’t see them changing their minds.”
“But she’s so cute!”
“Maybe I should tell them all about Misty. But what if they make me take her to a cat shelter?” Amy shuddered at the thought.
Even so, she couldn’t stop imagining how lovely it would be to curl up and sleep with her own little kitten. She just had to think of a way…
“This is brilliant!” Lily said excitedly, as she laid out her sleeping bag on the floor of the tree house. “I’m so glad Mum agreed I could stay over. Do you really think Misty will come and sleep with us too?”
“I think she spends the night here sometimes now. I tried brushing all the cat hairs off the beanbag last night, and there were more this morning. So she must have been here…”
Amy had come up with the sleepover plan at school, and the girls had begged their mums to let them do it that Saturday. Lily’s mum had been a bit worried that they would be cold, but she’d agreed in the end, when Lily reminded her about the special sleeping bags they’d bought to go camping. She even had a spare one for Amy!
“This is even better than camping! Oh, I do hope Misty comes,” Lily said excitedly, as she clambered into her sleeping bag.
Amy nodded, glancing over at the window from her sleeping bag. It was too dark to see much – especially a black kitten. Misty had spent the afternoon in the tree house, but she’d run off when Amy started to move things around to get ready for the sleepover.
They chatted for ages by the light of their torches, but they kept yawning as it grew later and later.
“I don’t think she’s going to come,” Amy said sadly, when she looked at her watch and discovered it was ten o’clock.
“Never mind.” Lily gave her a hug. “It’s a brilliant sleepover anyway. Maybe we’ll see her in the morning.”
Amy nodded, but she did feel disappointed. And as Lily yawned more and more, and then drifted off to sleep, she felt lonely too. The wind was blowing and she could hear the creak of the branches. It seemed to shake the tree house more at night, although she didn’t see why it would. Amy lay there with her torch making a circle on the ceiling, worrying about Misty. Where was she on this chilly night? Was someone looking after her?
A sudden thud made her yelp with fright, and she swung her torch round. The beam caught a pair of glowing green eyes, staring at her in surprise.
“Misty! You came!”
Purring delightedly, the kitten raced across the boards to leap on to Amy’s sleeping bag, padding at it eagerly with her determined little paws.
Amy lay down again, and yawned. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she murmured.
Misty curled up next to Amy’s shoulder, half inside the sleeping bag. It was wonderfully warm. She was very glad she was there, too.
Amy stroked Misty gently, and soon the pair of them were fast asleep.
Chapter Six
“Oh, Amy, she’s here!”
Amy blinked sleepily, and looked over at Lily, who was sitting up in her sleeping bag. There was a warm, furry weight on her chest, and Amy remembered her late night visitor. Misty had stayed all night!
“She turned up a little while after you went to sleep.” Amy suddenly sat up, making Misty squeak. “Lily, what time is it? My mum! She said she’d bring us our breakfast in the morning.”
Lily’s eyes widened. “It feels like we slept quite late.” She wriggled over to the door and opened it. “Oh no, she’s coming down the garden! With toast!”
“I don’t care if she’s got toast! What are we going to do?”
But they were both sleepy and giggly with excitement about Misty, and all Amy could think of was to pull her sleeping bag up over the kitten. Which Misty didn’t like. She wriggled about indignantly, and just as Amy’s mum appeared at the top of the ladder, she poked her head back out.
“Hello, girls! Did you sleep well?” Amy’s mum smiled at them. “I thought you might be hungry.” Then she noticed Misty, and her eyes widened. “Amy, is that a cat?”
“It’s a kitten,” Amy told her, cuddling Misty close.
“Where on earth has it come from?” her mother asked, sounding confused.
“I found her,” Amy said defensively. “She’s a stray. I’ve been looking after her.”
“But she must belong to someone. Oh, Amy, I think we need to speak to your dad about this. Come back to the house, right now.”
Amy climbed awkwardly down the ladder, with Misty still snuggled up against her pyjamas. Misty was shivering, as if she could tell that something was wrong.
Amy’s dad was drinking some tea at the table, and looked up in surprise as he spotted Amy holding Misty.
“Amy, isn’t that the kitten who was at the window the other day?” he said, getting up to take a closer look.
Misty hissed nervously, as this big man suddenly loomed over her.
“Sorry, kitty. I didn’t mean to scare you. She’s a sweet little thing, isn’t she?”
“But whose sweet little thing, that’s the point!” Amy’s mum said.
“I don’t think Misty belongs to anyone, Mrs Griffiths,” Lily put in.
“She’s got a name? Amy, you’ve named her?” Amy’s mum stared at them suspiciously. “This isn’t just a one-off thing, is it? How long have you been keeping this kitten in your tree house?”
“I haven’t been keeping her there. She just came! I first saw her a couple of weeks ago. Just after my birthday. But I don’t know how often she sleeps there.”
Mum turned to Lily. “All that cat food that you bought! Was that for this kitten?” she demanded.
“Ye-es,” Lily admitted, looking guilty.
Mum sighed. “Amy, it’s not up to you to feed somebody else’s cat! We’ll never
get rid of her now. Not if you’ve been feeding her. We need to find the kitten’s owner.”
“She doesn’t have an owner!” Amy protested.
“She must do,” her mum said firmly.
“Honestly, she doesn’t. She’s a stray. She really doesn’t belong to anyone. She doesn’t even have a collar. And look how thin she is!” Amy paused and looked at Misty. “Well, she isn’t now, but that’s only because I’ve been feeding her. She was so skinny, Mum! Ask Lily.”
Amy’s mum sank down into a chair. “I know you two are in this together,” she snapped. “I can’t believe you’ve both been hiding someone else’s kitten!”
“Sorry, Mrs Griffiths…” Lily muttered, and Amy put an arm round her, feeling upset. She hadn’t meant to get her friend into trouble.
Amy’s dad pulled up a chair and took a sip of his tea. “OK. Let’s not get upset,” he said. “Sit down, girls, and tell us what happened with the kitten.”
Amy sat down next to her dad. She looked up at Mum, determined to make her understand. “Misty was really nervous at first. It took ages before she’d let me pick her up. She was really scared. Even if she did have an owner, they haven’t looked after her properly.”
Misty put her paws on the table, and sniffed hopefully at Dad’s tea.
Dad laughed. “She looks hungry. Shall I give her some milk? Since Amy’s already been feeding her, it can’t make that much difference.”
Amy’s mum only sighed, but Amy shook her head. “No, Dad. Cats aren’t supposed to drink milk. It gives them a stomach upset. You can give her some water, though. And I could go and get one of her tins from the tree house, if you like?”
Misty mewed hopefully, and Amy’s dad nodded. “She knows what you just said. Go on then.”
When Amy and Lily came back, Misty was sitting on her dad’s lap.
“Dad! I didn’t know you liked cats!”
“She was pretty determined.” He shrugged. But he was smiling, and he stroked Misty’s head very gently, as though he knew exactly how to handle a kitten.
Amy watched, wide-eyed. Mum and Dad had always been so firm about her not having a cat that she’d thought they didn’t like them. But Dad looked really happy having Misty on his knee. Amy stared at him hopefully, and then exchanged a thoughtful look with Lily.
Just then, Misty jumped lightly off Amy’s dad’s lap, stepped delicately around the table to her mum, and sat staring pleadingly up at her, her sparkling green eyes looking as big as saucers.
“She’s a charmer!”Amy’s dad laughed. “She wants to stay.”
“Stay! We can’t keep her! I can’t believe you’re giving in!” Amy’s mum protested. “Yes, she is cute, but we said Amy was too young for a pet.”
“She’s been looking after this one quite well so far,”Amy’s dad pointed out. “I didn’t know cats shouldn’t have milk. And this is a very sweet little cat.” Misty mewed hopefully at Amy’s mum.
“We’d better feed her, anyway,” Mum said, shaking her head. “She’s obviously hungry.”
Amy lifted Misty down from the table and placed her on the floor, while her mum took down an old bowl. Mum opened the tin of cat food and started to empty it out. Purring, Misty butted her head against her leg, making Mum laugh with surprise.
Mum shook her head. “I never thought I’d say this, but all right. You can keep her here – for the moment. If we find out she actually belongs to someone else, she goes straight back! And I’m going to ring the vet, and check no one’s asked about a lost kitten. All right?”
Amy threw her arms around her mum. “Yes. But she doesn’t have an owner, I’m sure.” She then looked down at the kitten, who was tucking into the food greedily. “This is your new home, Misty!”
Chapter Seven
Over the next few days, even Amy’s mum got used to the idea of having a cat. Misty was so sweet, and very well-behaved. Amy’s mum had been worried about her making messes in the house, but Amy’s dad went out and bought a litter tray, and Misty soon showed that she was beautifully house trained.
“I don’t think she can have been born feral,” Amy’s mum said, tickling Misty under the chin. “She’s so friendly. I’m still worried she’s somebody’s pet.”
Amy folded her arms and frowned. “Well, it was somebody who didn’t love her as much as we do!” She sighed. “OK, OK, Mum. I promise. We’ll give her back, if anyone says they’ve lost her.” But she was certain they wouldn’t.
Misty and Amy still spent a lot of time in the tree house. It was Misty’s favourite place, and Amy loved curling up there with her. But once Misty had proved she could use the litter tray, she was allowed anywhere in the house, too. She loved exploring – the house was full of warm, comfortable places. And Amy’s dad was very good to sit on. She was even allowed to sleep on Amy’s bed, since she hated being shut in the kitchen. They had tried it on her first night in the house, but Misty had mewed frantically, and in the end Amy’s mum had given in. Now she slept snuggled up with Amy, or sometimes blissfully curled on Amy’s toes.
Amy spent the last of her birthday money buying her toys, and a collar – a pink one that looked beautiful against her black fur.
Misty could still remember her old home with Mrs Jones, but she knew she belonged to Amy now.
Mrs Jones sat in her armchair, staring out at the front garden, and stroking Charlie. But she was frowning. “It’s been a week since I’ve seen Jet now,” she murmured to the Siamese cat. “I hadn’t realized, because she was only popping in and out even before. But she hasn’t even been back for her food.” She looked down at Charlie, worriedly. “I have to say, Charlie, you’re a bit heavier than you used to be. Have you been eating Jet’s meals?” She pushed him gently off her lap, and stood up, leaning on her stick. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen, with Charlie trotting after her.
“Sarah, when did you last see Jet?” said Mrs Jones, easing herself on to a kitchen chair.
Her daughter looked surprised. “Oh. I don’t know, Mum.” She glanced over at the cat food bowls, both of which were empty. “Well, she’s eaten her breakfast, so she must have been here this morning, although I didn’t actually see her.” She smiled as Charlie wove around her ankles. “It’s a pity we can’t ask him!”
“Hmm.” Mrs Jones frowned. “I don’t think we need to ask him. It’s clear exactly who’s been eating Jet’s food. Look how much plumper he is!”
Sarah shook her head. “Oh no. He wouldn’t!”
“Sarah, I haven’t seen Jet for a week. And before then she was so flighty and scared that I’d only see her here and there for a second. I think Charlie frightened her away.”
“Charlie’s not like that, really…” But Sarah was looking a little worried.
“It isn’t his fault,” said Mrs Jones. “This is his house, after all. But we have to find Jet. I should’ve realized what was going on, but those new pills Dr Jackson gave me made me so tired. Poor Jet! She must be starving by now. She doesn’t know the area at all… She might’ve got lost or she could even have been run over.” Mrs Jones’s voice wobbled at the thought.
Sarah came over and put her arm comfortingly around her mother. “Don’t worry, Mum, we’ll find Jet. I’m sure she can’t have gone far.”
One afternoon, a fortnight after their sleepover, Amy and Lily were walking back from school, chatting away as their mums followed behind.
“Dad’s going to put in a cat flap this weekend,” Amy told her friend happily.
But Lily didn’t reply. Amy looked round and realized that Lily wasn’t actually there. She’d stopped and was looking up at something stuck to the lamp post they’d just passed.
Amy went back to see what Lily was staring at. “What is it? Oh no…”
It was a poster, with a photo of a small kitten, and the words: “LOST. Jet, a black kitten. Please check sheds and garages in case she has been trapped inside. Contact Mrs Sylvia Jones if you have seen our cat.” Underneath there was a phone number and an address.
Amy stared at the poster numbly. “Do you – do you think it’s Misty?” she whispered to Lily.
“It looks ever so like her,” Lily admitted sadly. “And Rose Tree Close is only round the corner from you, isn’t it?”
Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes. “I don’t want to give her back,” she muttered. “It isn’t fair. Misty doesn’t love this Mrs Jones, whoever she is. She can’t do, or she wouldn’t have come to live with us. And think how thin Misty was when we first saw her – she mustn’t have looked after her properly!”
Lily nodded. “What are you going to do?”
Amy looked up at the poster. “I could just pretend I haven’t seen it. That Mrs Jones doesn’t deserve to have Misty back – I wouldn’t feel guilty.” Then she gazed at the photo of Misty again. “Well, only a little bit…”
She glanced along the road. Her mum and Lily’s had nearly caught them up. She could just tear down the poster, then Mum would never know… But as her mum approached Amy could see that she was holding another copy that she must have taken from somewhere further down the street.
“Oh, Amy. You’ve seen it too. I’m so sorry, but it looks like Misty has a home after all.”
“But how do we know it’s her?” Amy whispered.
“She does look very similar,” Mum said gently.
“She didn’t like her old home, or she wouldn’t have run away. She’s ours now. Dad was even going to put in a cat flap!”
“I know, Amy. But someone’s missing her – this Mrs Jones—”
“She doesn’t deserve a kitten!” Amy sniffed, and Lily squeezed her hand.
