Misty The Abandoned Kitten

Chapter Eight

Misty felt very confused. She was back with Mrs Jones, but Amy was there too. She wasn’t sure what was happening. Mrs Jones had Charlie now, so why had Amy brought her here? But it was so nice to have Mrs Jones holding her again. She rubbed herself against the old lady’s cheek lovingly.

Mrs Jones led them into the sitting room, and sat down with Misty on her lap. “Where did you find her?” she asked, smiling at them so gratefully that Amy felt guilty.

“She came into Amy’s tree house,” her mum explained. “We did ask around, but no one seemed to have lost a kitten. She’s actually been with us a couple of weeks. I’m sorry, you must have been so worried.”

Mrs Jones nodded. “I was terrified that she’d got lost or had even been run over. I’ve only just moved here, you see, to live with my daughter, so Jet doesn’t know the area very well.” She scratched Misty behind the ears, and the little cat stretched her paws out blissfully. “She kept wandering off – we hardly saw her – and then she disappeared. I thought she’d gone too far and got lost.”

Mum gave Amy a look, and Amy stared at the carpet, feeling miserable and guilty. Mrs Jones had hardly seen her because Amy had been tempting her away. She’d been so stupid! Mum had been right – she really had stolen someone else’s cat.

“Amy looked after her very well,” her mum said, giving Amy a hug. “We’d always thought she was too young for a pet, but we’ve changed our minds after watching her with your cat. We’re definitely going to get a kitten of our own. I mean it,” she added to Amy in a whisper. “We’re so proud of you.”

There was a scuffling noise at the door, and Misty suddenly tensed up. She had forgotten! It had been beautifully quiet, almost like things used to be, with just Mrs Jones. But now Millie and Dan were home!

“Gran! Gran! Oh! You’ve got Jet back!” A little boy raced into the room, and tried to grab Misty.

Amy gasped, as she watched Misty cower back against Mrs Jones. A little girl came running in after him, and tried to pull her brother away so she could reach the kitten too.

“Gently, Dan! Millie, be careful! You’ll frighten her,” Mrs Jones cried. The children stopped shoving as their mum came in. “These are my grandchildren. They’ve missed her too,” Mrs Jones explained to Amy and her mum. “And this is my daughter, Sarah.”

Sarah was smiling delightedly. “I’m so glad you’ve found her. We’ve all been so worried.”

Amy looked anxiously at Misty – or Jet, she supposed she ought to call her now. She was pressed against Mrs Jones, her ears twitching with fright. Amy thought the children were loud, so she couldn’t imagine how a kitten felt.

“We’d better go – leave you all to settle down,” Amy’s mum said.

“Please, let me have your number – I’d like to call and let you know how Jet is. I’m really so grateful.” Mrs Jones stood up, with Jet held against her shoulder, and led them out into the hallway. “My goodness! Jet, what is it?”

The kitten suddenly scrabbled her way up Mrs Jones’s shoulder, and leaped to the top of a shelf, almost knocking over a vase. Her tail was fluffed up, and her ears were laid back. Charlie was here!

“Oh, you’ve got another cat!” Amy exclaimed, seeing the sleek Siamese padding along the hallway, staring up at her little Misty.

“Yes, that’s Charlie. He belongs to my daughter. He and Jet don’t always get along too well. But I’m sure they’ll settle down now that she’s back.”

Watching Misty spitting angrily from her safe spot on the shelf, Amy thought that it didn’t look like they got along at all.

“You were very good, Amy,” her mum said, as they walked home. “I really did mean it about you getting your own kitten.”

“Thanks,” Amy whispered. “Not for a while though,” she added. She knew she ought to be happy at the idea of her own kitten. But at the moment all she could think of was Misty, scared by those noisy, grabby children, and terrified of that Siamese cat. It made her want to cry. When she’d first seen Misty with Mrs Jones, she’d thought she’d got it all wrong, and Misty did belong with her. But now she wasn’t sure. What if that Siamese had been stealing all of Misty’s food and that’s how the kitten had ended up so thin? She wouldn’t be surprised. She was almost sure that Charlie had made Misty run away. And now Amy had made her go back.

Misty raced across the living room, making for her hiding place under the bookshelf. But she couldn’t get in! She wriggled frantically, but she’d grown – two weeks of proper food, and she was simply too big to fit into her special safe place. Why had Amy left her here? Was she going to come back? Shaking, she turned back to face Charlie, who was right on her tail. She hissed defiantly, and raked her little claws across his nose. But he was just so big! With one swipe of his long brown paw he sent her rolling over and over across the carpet, and then he jumped on her.

“Honestly! Mum, she’s fighting with Charlie already! Stop it! Bad cat!” Sarah tried to pull the two of them apart as they scratched and spat.

Mrs Jones heaved herself up from her chair, and tried to help. “Jet, Jet, come here. Oh, he’s hurting her.” She waved Charlie away with her walking stick, and leaned down to scoop up the little kitten. “Oh dear…” She sat down again, the kitten a ball of trembling black fur in her arms.

“Charlie hates not being able to use the cat flap, that’s why he’s being grumpy,” Sarah muttered, picking up Charlie, and holding him as he wriggled and spat at Jet.

“I know, but Jet might run off again, if we let her out. We need to keep her in for now, so she starts thinking of this as her home.”Mrs Jones stroked her gently.

Sarah sighed. “We’ll just have to keep them apart until they get used to each other.”

Mrs Jones looked worriedly down at the kitten, still shaking on her lap.

“Maybe I was wrong to say you’d get along with Charlie… I suppose I was just so pleased to have you back. Poor little Jet. Whatever are we going to do with you two?”

After school a few days later, Amy was up in the tree house lying with her head resting on the beanbag. There were little black hairs on it here and there. She looked up and saw that, sitting on the shelf, there was still one tin of cat food left, that she’d never remembered to bring into the house. It was all she had left of Misty, that and her collar, which was on her bedside table.

Mum kept mentioning the idea of another kitten, and Lily had bought her a cat magazine, so she could look at what sort of cat she might like. But Amy just couldn’t think about it yet. It would feel like betraying Misty – betraying her all over again, because Amy felt sure they had done the wrong thing by taking Misty home. She kept listening out for that telltale thump on the wooden boards that meant Misty was coming back to her, but it never came. She supposed Mrs Jones was keeping Misty shut up so she didn’t stray again.

It had been five days. Nearly a week. Perhaps after a week, they’d let Misty go out into the garden? Maybe she’d come walking along the fence again, and Amy could at least stroke her. That wouldn’t do any harm, would it? As long as Amy didn’t feed her, no one could say she was trying to tempt her back. Even just seeing her would be enough. All she wanted was to know that Misty was all right.

Mum was calling her for tea. Amy looked hopefully along the fence as she climbed down the ladder, but there was no Misty trotting along to see her.

She sat down at the kitchen table, picking at her pasta and staring at the newspaper ad that Mum had ringed. “Kittens, eight weeks old. Tabby and white.” Amy didn’t want a tabby and white cat. She wanted a black one. A very particular black one.

“Has Charlie finished his dinner, Sarah? Can we let Jet in?” Mrs Jones was peering round the kitchen door, with Jet in her arms.

Charlie looked up at her and hissed crossly. He hadn’t finished, and he didn’t want that kitten anywhere near his food.

“Oh, Charlie,” Sarah sighed. “They really aren’t getting on any better, are they?”

Mrs Jones shook her head. “I’m beginning to wonder if I did the right thing,” she admitted, her voice sad. “Maybe I should have let that little girl keep her. You could see she was heartbroken when she brought Jet back.”

“But you’d miss her!” Sarah protested.

“Of course I would! But I think she’d be well looked after. And we still have Charlie. He’s a lovely boy, he just doesn’t like sharing his house…”

Sarah nodded. “Oh, he’s finished.” She picked up Charlie, and took him over to the door to put him out.

Misty watched as Sarah began to open the door, and her whiskers trembled with sudden excitement. The garden! The fence! And along the fence, just waiting for her, was Amy’s garden, and Amy’s house, and Amy.

She wriggled frantically, and made the most enormous leap out of Mrs Jones’s arms. She shot out of the door before Sarah could even think to shut it.

She was going home.

Amy sighed, and stared down at her homework. She was supposed to be writing about her favourite place, but the only place she could think of was the tree house, with Misty curled up on the beanbag. A sudden scuffling at the kitchen window made her look up.

“Misty!” Dad exclaimed, looking up from the pan he was stirring on the hob.

Amy ran to the door to let her in. She knelt down and swept Misty up into her arms. Misty purred gleefully, rubbing her face against Amy’s.

Amy was laughing, and half-crying at the same time. “She came back,” she murmured, and Misty licked her hand gently. Amy’s dad tickled Misty under the chin, then her mum came over to stroke her, too.

“Mum, do we have to…?” Amy asked miserably. “She’s so happy to be here…” She looked pleadingly over at her dad, but he shook his head sadly.

Her mum sighed. “I know. I wish we could just keep her, but it wouldn’t be fair. She doesn’t belong to us.” She picked up the phone.

“Mrs Jones? It’s Emily Griffiths here. Yes, I’m afraid we’ve got Misty again. Sorry, I mean Jet.”

Amy sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, and stroked Misty as she watched her mum miserably.

Her dad put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Maybe Mrs Jones was going out, Amy thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good time to bring Misty back, and they could keep her for just one night. But that would be worse, wouldn’t it? She’d never be able to give her up then.

Misty wriggled indignantly as a tear fell on her head, and then another.

“Really?” The note of surprise in her mum’s voice made Amy look up. “Well, if you’re sure. We’d be delighted.”

Amy stared at her, sudden hope making her feel almost sick. She watched her mother put down the phone and turn around, beaming. “That was the first time Misty had been out, Amy. She came straight back to you. Mrs Jones says that she obviously thinks she’s your cat now, and it isn’t fair to keep her. She’s given Misty to you.” She hugged them all – Amy and Misty and Dad together. “Well, we promised you a kitten, didn’t we?”

“Oh, Mum! Wait a minute.” Amy pressed Misty gently into her dad’s arms, and dashed upstairs, then raced back down again and into the kitchen, with something pink in her hand.

Carefully, she fastened Misty’s collar back on. “You’re really ours now. You’re here to stay,” Amy murmured, taking the kitten from Dad.

Snuggling against Amy’s neck, Misty closed her eyes and purred – a tiny, happy noise. She was home!