Charlie The Kitten Who Saved A Life

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I’ll tell everyone what happened, shall I, Ollie? Unless you want to take over? No? Oh, you think I’m doing a good job of telling my story, for a little kitten who’s never done any public meowing before? Well, that’s very kind, thank you. I learned from the best! Although I keep reminding you, I’m not a little kitten anymore. Look at me. I’m fully grown, and you must admit now you’re hearing my story, I’ve got even more experience of life now than you have. But I suppose, to you, I’ll always be little kitten, won’t I?

Well, everyone, as you know, Oliver has always taken a special interest in me and looked after me. I know I have a real father, but tell me – where is he, eh? Where’s old Tabby when I’m telling my story to the rest of the village cats? Exactly! He’s never around. He’s probably off somewhere chasing some young female. I don’t mind; that’s just the way he is, and it was nice that Oliver took on the role of mentoring me, and my sisters here, instead. I’ve always looked up to him as an example of how to be a good cat. So when I disappeared, naturally Ollie was worried. Apparently he kept on coming to the Big House, looking for me, meowing around the outside of the house, but at first, of course, nobody was there because we were all at our holiday home in Mudditon. And then, apparently, one day he turned up at the house and found that the rest of the family were back home, but not me. He was more worried than ever then. One day Caroline heard him meowing outside, and let him in. As you know, my family love Oliver – almost, but not quite, as much as they love me. He’s told me that Caroline was crying as she stroked him, saying I’d got lost and it was all her fault. Ollie was very upset to hear this, and apparently he went back to the Big House several times after that, to see whether I’d returned.

That day, after my first uncomfortable night’s sleep wearing the horrible collar, I was eating my breakfast and having a moan to myself at the same time about the awkwardness of eating with that thing on, when I heard a familiar meow outside the kitchen door. I left my food for a minute and trotted over to look through the cat flap, and I nearly fell over with excitement. Ollie was outside, calling to me through the flap. I can’t tell you how pleased I was to see him, and I think he was even more excited to see me because he proceeded to shout at the top of his voice and paw at the locked flap.

‘What on earth’s going on?’ Laura said, coming into the kitchen, because I was now making almost as much noise as Ollie was, and pawing at the cat flap from inside too. ‘Oh!’ she said. ‘Hello, Oliver! I suppose you want to come in and play with your friend now he’s back. Hang on a minute and I’ll let you in.’

With which she picked me up and held on to me while she unlocked the flap. As Ollie jumped through, she put me back down and I was so excited, I ran around the room madly, knocking into two chairs and the side of the fridge with the stupid collar.

‘You’re back,’ he meowed at me. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’

‘I know, I’ve been lost, and living rough, and – oh my tail and whiskers, it’s so good to see you! I’ve got so much to tell you about.’

‘So it seems.’ He stared at me. ‘I’d like to rub faces with you, but what you’re wearing makes that a tad difficult. And I have to say, you’re not looking too good. You’ve lost weight, haven’t you? And what’s happened to your eye?’

‘It’s a long story. But first, can you tell me how I can get this dratted thing off? It’s driving me mad. I keep bashing into things, and they won’t let me go outside. Maybe if you could chew the edge, there, or get your claw in between the collar and my neck …?’

Oliver looked at me seriously for a moment.

‘Did the vet put it on you? Have you had some kind of operation done?’

‘Well, yes, he did something to my bad leg, see? It’s still a bit sore but I think it’s getting better now.’

‘Exactly, Charlie. It’s getting better because of whatever the vet did, and they only make us wear those collars to help us get better. So you need to keep it on.’

‘Whose side are you on?’ I said sulkily. ‘I thought I could rely on you to help me.’

‘No. You can rely on me to tell you what you need to know. Don’t you trust your humans anymore? Was it their fault you got lost, or what?’

‘No. It was … well, it was partly Caroline’s fault, I suppose, but I don’t blame her, she’s still only a kitten really and she made a bad mistake. I suppose I did forget how to trust humans, for a while, but now I’m back home, of course I do trust my family.’

‘So stop fighting against them, Charlie! They’re only making you wear the collar, and keeping you indoors, until you get better. And looking at you, quite frankly you do need a period of convalescence. I hate to think what you’ve been through.’

‘Just you wait till I tell you all about it,’ I said. Then I sighed. ‘But I suppose you’re right, I’ll just have to give in and put up with this till they say it can come off.’

‘That’s my boy. Be sensible. Now, finish your breakfast and then I’ll give your face a wash, shall I, as it doesn’t look as if you can do it yourself.’

‘Thanks, Ollie. It’s so good to be back with you. Afterwards we can lie in that sunny corner of the lounge together while I tell you my story.’

‘Charlie, I’d love to, but if it’s a long story it’s going to have to wait till another day. I’ve got to go and visit Nicky today.’

‘Nicky?’ I lifted my head from my food bowl to look at him as well as I could round the edge of the collar.

‘Yes. I’m really worried about her. Not quite as worried as I was about you, of course, but now that I know you’re back, and safe, I want to try and help her. If only I could work out how.’

It was so typical of Oliver. He’s spent half his life helping the humans in the village. No wonder they all think he’s a special kind of cat.

‘What’s happened to her?’ I asked him. As you know, I’m very fond of Nicky myself, so I didn’t like to think of her being in some kind of trouble.

‘She’s just so unhappy these days. And it’s all her stupid male’s fault.’

‘Daniel? Why? What’s he done?’ I had a sudden memory of Nicky and Laura chatting on the sofa of our holiday home. ‘Oh, is it something to do with him going to the pub? Nicky mentioned that when she came to Mudditon. I suppose as you live at the pub, you must see him in there?’

‘Yes, I see him every single night! And he doesn’t just have one quick drink of beer and then go home. He’s there for ages. I pop in to see Nicky most days, and quite often she’s crying, Charlie, because he’s leaving her on her own all the time with their human kitten and she’s told me she thinks he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. It’d be different if she were a cat, wouldn’t it. Our females expect to be left with the kittens while their males go off hunting and … um, well …’

‘… and philandering. I know all about it, Ollie. You don’t need to be coy with me. I’m grown up now, I keep telling you, and I might be neutered, like you, but I’ve been living with some guys who spent most of their lives talking about either stealing food or mating with females.’

‘Really?’ He looked a bit shocked.

‘Yes. Let me tell you—’

‘I do want to hear all about it, Charlie, but at the minute I can’t think straight for worrying about Nicky. I seem to be the only one who can cheer her up.’

‘Oh, all right then.’ I felt a bit let down. What about cheering me up? I had a bad leg and a bad eye and wasn’t allowed out, after all. ‘Go off and cheer her up. Don’t worry about me.’

‘Don’t be like that. I’ll come back, all right? I promise. Meanwhile you promise me you’ll be a sensible kitt … sorry, cat … and stop complaining about wearing that collar and staying indoors. I want you to get better.’

So we both kept our promises. I settled down, accepted that my life was going to be severely restricted until the vet allowed me back my freedom, and tried to be patient. And Oliver duly came back to see me again the next day.

‘So what’s the news with Nicky?’ I asked, but he just shook his head sadly and said there was no change.

‘I keep hanging around Daniel every evening in the pub, meowing at him, trying to persuade him he ought to go home, but he’s so stupid when he starts drinking beer, he just thinks I’m being friendly. I’m going to have a word with Tabby. He’s helped me in the past when I’ve wanted some support with a difficult human. He sometimes needs a bit of persuasion, though!’

‘Good luck with that, then,’ I said, knowing what my father’s like. And as I expected, the next couple of times Oliver came back to see me, it was to report that he’d had no luck finding him.

‘Probably taken himself off somewhere for a few days,’ I said. ‘He’ll be back eventually.’

‘I know. I’m not worried about him – Tabby can look after himself. I was just hoping he could help me think of a way to do something about Daniel.’

I sat up, suddenly excited. So excited, I forgot about my collar for a minute and nearly knocked Ollie over with it.

‘Never mind about him,’ I meowed, ‘I’ll help you.’

‘You?’ Oliver looked startled. ‘But you’re only—’

‘Don’t you dare say I’m only a little kitten. If you’d only let me tell you what I’ve been through recently …’

‘I’m sorry, Charlie. I realise you’re dying to tell me your story, and I haven’t been very good company, have I? You know how I worry about my favourite humans.’

‘Yes, I do. But I’m trying to tell you, I’ve become a very brave and very resourceful cat since I went away. And, well, you’ve done such a lot to help me, when I was growing up, I think it’s time you let me help you, for once, instead of trying to rely on my unreliable father.’

Oliver purred at me thoughtfully.

‘That’s all very well, and I appreciate the offer. But for one thing you’re not allowed out. And even if you were, you wouldn’t be much use in a crisis while you’ve got that thing stuck on your neck.’

‘So wait a few more days, can’t you, for mewing out loud? What’s the rush? If he’s in the pub every single evening …?’

‘I suppose you’re right.’ He got up and flicked his tail anxiously. ‘I just hate seeing Nicky so upset.’ Then he glanced back at me and added, ‘And to be honest, I’m having a hard job thinking of you as a grown-up cat. You’re still not looking all that well, either. Are you sure you’d be up for whatever it is we have to do?’

For the love of catnip! Over the course of the summer, I’d been lost in a strange town, rescued two human kittens from an accident on the beach, been violently attacked by feral cats, persuaded their leader not only to submit to me but to adopt me into their gang, learned to survive by scavenging and sleeping rough, and saved an old lady from vicious seagulls. And Oliver was asking if I thought I could manage a little bit of persuasion of a friendly human?

‘I think I can cope,’ I said, trying to toss my head at him but once again getting unbalanced by the stupid collar.

‘Well, I guess I need to start accepting that you’re not such a little kitten anymore,’ he said. ‘OK. I don’t suppose it’ll be long now till they take you back to the vet, so let’s say that as soon as they let you outside again, you come and meow for me at the pub after dark. Daniel’s bound to be there. You’ll have to follow me and do what I tell you.’

‘Fine,’ I said, feeling a bit patronised, as you can imagine. ‘But when you hear what I’ve been up to—’

‘Yes, I know, I know – I’ll hear all about it, Charlie, don’t worry, just as soon as we’ve sorted out this problem, all right?’

And with that, he meowed for Laura to let him out again, and with a wave of his tail, he was gone.