The Homeless Kitten

Chapter Three

“Lily, are you sure you don’t want to go home?” Dad asked. “Mum just texted. She says she can walk up and get you and take Hugo back, too. We’ve been watching for an hour now. You must be getting hungry – it’s past lunchtime.”

Lily shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to go home. And I don’t mind not having any lunch.”

They were sitting on a fallen tree with Hugo at their feet, just close enough to see the abandoned sofa through the bracken. Lily was pretty sure they were far enough away not to worry the mother cat, as long as they were quiet. The sofa wasn’t that far from the main paths through the wood, so she must have been coming and going with people and dogs around.

“Please, Dad,” Lily begged, as Dad started to text Mum back. “I really want to stay and make sure the kittens are OK. I know we’ve been here an hour but that’s a whole hour that their mum hasn’t come back to look after them. That can’t be right, can it? She’s been gone ages.”

Dad nodded. “It does seem a long time to me but I’m not really sure how often tiny kittens need to be fed. I don’t think we can stay here all day, Lily. Perhaps we can keep popping back to check on them.”

“But there’s so many people who walk their dogs in this wood,” Lily pointed out. “I know Hugo just wants to look at the kittens but another dog might hurt them.”

They’d seen quite a few dog walkers already but luckily none of the dogs had come close enough to sniff out the kittens. Dad had asked the owners if they’d seen a cat around but they’d all said no. One lady had even offered to go home and ring the RSPCA when Dad and Lily told her about the kittens but Dad had explained they’d already called the shelter.

“OK,” Dad said, putting his phone away. “I’ve told Mum we’ll stay.”

“What do you think could have happened to their mum?” Lily asked, a little while later. “I don’t think she’s coming back, Dad. Why would she leave them?”

Dad sighed. “I don’t know. Perhaps she just couldn’t look after them properly. The lady from the shelter did say that if a very young cat has kittens, they do sometimes abandon them. Because they just haven’t got the energy to feed themselves and make enough milk for the kittens, too. If she’s a stray and she’s having to hunt for her food, or steal it out of bins, she might not be able to cope.”

“That’s so sad.” Lily sighed, thinking of Pixie next door – so plump and well fed.

“Or it could be that she’s not a stray. Maybe she just came here to have her kittens, and now her family have found her and they’re keeping her in to stop her going off again.”

“But they must know the kittens need her!” Lily shook her head. “Nobody would be that mean!”

Dad nodded. “No, you’re probably right. I’m sure the owners would want to look after the kittens, too. Unless maybe they didn’t realize she was pregnant…?”

Dad looked over towards the gap in the fence and the alleyway that led down to the houses and frowned. “Lily, listen, love. I don’t want to upset you but there is another thing that could have happened. It’s quite a busy road out there. She could have been hit by a car.”

Lily swallowed and her voice wobbled when she answered. “I know. I was thinking that. We go down that road to school and cars do go really fast along there. Do you think she tried to cross it?”

“If she doesn’t come back we’ll probably never know.” Dad put his arms round her shoulders. “But it’s a possibility.”

“Poor cat,” Lily whispered. “And poor kittens.”

“Well, at least we found them, thanks to Hugo.”

“He’s a hero.” Lily rubbed his nose and Hugo turned to look back at her for a moment. Then his ears twitched and he stood up, gazing down the path. “Someone’s coming,” Lily murmured. “Oh, it’s Mum! And Carly! But I said I didn’t want to go back, Dad.”

“Hello!” Lily’s mum stood on tiptoe, trying to see the sofa and the kittens. “We thought we’d come and bring you some sandwiches. Are they over there?”

“Can I go and see?” Carly asked.

“Just quickly,” Dad suggested. “We’re watching for their mum, Carly. We don’t want to scare her off.”

As Mum and Carly hurried over to take a quick look, Hugo stood up, whining a little.

“It’s OK, boy.” Dad patted him reassuringly. “He really is keeping watch over those kittens, isn’t he?”

“They’re beautiful,” Mum whispered, as she and Carly came creeping back through the bracken. “But so tiny! Surely they’re going to need feeding soon?”

Dad nodded. “I reckon so. But the lady at the shelter told us not to do anything until this evening. Just watch and wait.”

“Lily, you’re sure you don’t want to come home with us? You’ve been out here for hours.”

Lily shook her head. “Not yet, Mum, please. I’m so worried about them – and their mum,” she added sadly. “Dad thinks she might have been run over.”

“Oh, Lily.” Mum hugged her.

“It’s so lucky that Hugo sniffed them out,” Lily murmured.

“I was going to say that we’d take him back,” Mum said thoughtfully. “But looking at him, I’m not sure he’d come. He’s had his eyes fixed on that sofa the whole time since we arrived. Maybe he thinks that because he found the kittens he’s got to look after them.” She was smiling but she sounded half-serious.

Lily nodded. “German Shepherds are often guard dogs, aren’t they? Hugo’s guarding the kittens.”