The Frightened Kitten

“Those cats that live next door to you are nearly as big as Ben,” Kate’s mum commented, as they came up to Maddy’s garden.

“They’re sitting on Mum’s daffodils again,” Maddy sighed, as she hurried into the front garden and tried to shoo the two big ginger cats off the stone pot that her mum had planted full of bulbs. For some reason Tiger and Tom had decided it was a really good place to sit, and the daffodils were looking a bit squashed now.

Maddy’s mum opened the front door. “I heard you coming, girls. Oh, no, not those horrible cats again!”

Tiger spat crossly at Maddy as she tried to get him off the daffodils, and yowled. He was so different to lovely, sweet-natured Ben. At last, he jumped down, and the pair of them stalked away, glaring back at Maddy.

As the mums chatted, Kate flung her arms round Maddy. “Promise you’ll call me every day! Tell me everything that’s happening at school, OK?”

Maddy nodded. “And anyway, you’re coming back to visit at half-term.”

“We’d better go,” Kate’s mum said. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow, and there’s still some packing to do.”

And that was it. Kate and her mum went back down the path, waving, and Maddy was left on her own.

“I’ve finished,” said Maddy, pushing away her half-eaten dinner. Mum had made her favourite pasta, but she just wasn’t hungry.

Her dad leaned over and put an arm round her shoulders. “Do you think we could tell her the news? To cheer her up?” he suggested to Maddy’s mum, and she nodded.

“What news?” Maddy sniffed sadly.

“Do you remember me telling you that my friend Donna’s cat had kittens a couple of months ago?” Mum asked.

“Oh, yes. You showed me a photo on your phone. They’re gorgeous. There were some tortoiseshell ones – my favourite kind!”

“Good. Because one of them is going to be yours!”

Maddy blinked. “I’m getting a kitten?”

“You can choose which of the litter you’d like. Donna needs to find homes for them all, and we thought it would be nice for you to have a cat, as you’ve wanted one for so long. Especially as you’re bound to miss Kate – getting to know a kitten might make the Easter holidays a bit less sad.” Her mum looked at her anxiously. “We’re not trying to take your mind off missing her, Maddy. It’s a really sad thing for a friend to move away.”

“It just seemed like a good time,” her dad added.

Maddy nodded. “It is a good time,” she whispered. She couldn’t help still feeling sad about Kate, of course, but at the same time, inside she was jumping about and squeaking. A kitten! A kitten! I’m getting a kitten!

Chapter Two

Maddy’s mum showed her some more photos of the kittens, but it was hard to see them in the pictures on her phone. Three of them were ginger and the other two were tortoiseshells, beautiful black, white and orange cats. They were all coiled and snuggled around each other and their mother, who was black like Ben. Maddy was pretty sure she would like a tortoiseshell kitten – Tiger and Tom had put her off ginger cats.

“When can I see them?” Maddy asked the next morning at breakfast.

Mum smiled. “I’ve arranged for us to visit them this afternoon. And if you’re sure which kitten you’d like, you can even bring it home today! We can go to the pet shop on the way to Donna’s house to get everything we’ll need.”

As it turned out, they needed an awful lot of things. A basket, Maddy had thought of that. And a food bowl. But she hadn’t realized there was so much else. A collar. Grooming brush. Food. Special treats that were good for cleaning kitten teeth. Toys…

They were just about to go and pay for everything when Mum stopped. “Oh, I’m so stupid! I forgot that Donna said to bring a cat carrier to take the kitten home in.”

Maddy smiled. Home! She loved the idea of their house being a home for a kitten.

“If you get anything else, we won’t have room for the kitten in the car,” Dad muttered, but Maddy knew he was only joking.

“Can we go to Donna’s now?” she said hopefully, as they stowed all the things in the boot a few minutes later.

Mum nodded, and hugged her. “I’m really excited.”

Maddy threw her arms round her mum’s neck. “I bet I’m more excited than you.”

Dad got in the car and tooted the horn at them. “Come on. I’m so excited I actually want to go and see these kittens some time today!”

“Oh, look at them!” Maddy breathed, stopping in the kitchen doorway and staring. The kittens were all asleep in a large basket in the corner of the room. It was by the radiator, and the floor had been covered with newspaper.

“They’re doing pretty well with their house-training; the newspaper’s just in case they miss the litter tray,” Donna explained. “We’ve been keeping them in the kitchen up till now, but this last week they keep on escaping!”

“How old are they?” Maddy asked. They looked so little. She couldn’t believe they were ready to leave their mum.