Three days after we bought our second kitten, he got into a bit of an accident. I won’t say whether he survived. That would ruin the point of the story.
It was during the Winter Holidays and we were decorating the house. It was the afternoon, when we usually take a break and just be lazy. Or in my case watch the kitten and Catarina to make sure nothing happens. I was leaning against the two steps up to our game room, watching the unnamed kitten pouncing around whatever that green stuff is that you wrap around railings. Whatever it was, it must’ve smelled like the wild, because both cats’ eyes were dilated, and the kitten was bouncing around, attacking everything.
When he got tired he would lie down, panting a little, and start purring loudly. Catarina would hiss. Just as loudly. “Be nice, Cat!” I warned the one year old fat tabby. She looked up at me and meowed.
It went on like that for a while. The kitten would jump around a bit, being watched by me and Catarina. Then he’d lie down and purr. And Cat would hiss. “Be nice, Cat!” I would tell her. And she’d just reply with a meow. Which could’ve meant anything from ‘Ok’ to ‘Quit telling me what to do, stupid human!’.
And then the kitten decided to be a little dare devil. He weaved through the railings of the cat walk. “Kitty! Quit that!” I grabbed him when I got the chance. He replied with a startled and slightly insulted meow. “Don’t do that! You’re gonna fall!” Then I’d put him down and he’d start purring loudly again. Which of course caused Cat to hiss at him. I got annoyed. “Cat! Be nice!” She looked up at me and blinked. Meow. That time I was sure she just called me something nasty.
“Wait, kitty! Come back!” I said, seeing the kitten weaving again, but getting closer to the edge this time. He must’ve thought I was encouraging him, because he began purring loudly. Which of course caused Catarina to hiss. What I hadn’t expected was for the kitten to jump in surprise and slip on the smooth wood. He fell. Crap! He fell! Already?! Our family doesn’t have much luck with pets after about two years. Something tends to go wrong. I thought that we were going to lose a pet after three days in the worst way possible. Death.
There was a thunk of kitten on wood and I gasped, my eyes widening. He missed the couch. Now I was certain he wasn’t going to live. The TV got muted and I ran downstairs, Catarina right behind me. Mom and Heather came from the parents’ room and Dad was sitting on the couch, looking at the kitten. Catarina was on the last step of the stairs.
Finally, there was a noise. The kitten mewed and got up, purring. Catarina hissed and jumped down onto the tile, squeaking as she always did when she landed from a jump. Everyone released their breath at a different time.
“You’re lucky he survived!” He dad shouted.
“I didn’t push him!” I replied, shocked he would even accuse me of pushing the kitten. I loved pets! The unnamed bengal-tabby kitten started purring louder, so Cat replied with a hiss. “Would you quit hissing at him, Cat?!” She looked at me and meowed.
The kitten limped slightly over to her, holding a paw a little in the air. He plopped onto the ground in front of Catarina. He meowed once and purred loudly. She replied with a very sophisticated and royal sounding ‘Mow’.