Operation Kittens

The first thing I did when I got up this morning was to search for the kittens. They had been under the shed but my mom hadn’t seen them for a couple of days and I feared that the mother cat had moved them. I started searching the backyard, which is overgrown enough that I would never find them if they wanted to hide. Then I heard mewling! I tramped around unsuccessfully, knowing that the kittens could probably hear me coming far before I could ever get a chance to see them. I tried to stand on a chair to see if they were next door but fell off and scraped my leg. After spying on the neighbor’s yard all I could see were two big, cute dogs and nowhere for any cats to hide. My mom also went outside with no success, though her method of searching was to call for them.

An hour later I spotted something moving in our cluster of rosebushes that did not seem like a plant. My mom and I trooped outside to see an adorable tiny gray cat(think Russian Blue) with yellow eyes. We decided to give her some food, which I put on the grass within her line of sight. Five minutes later she came out of her hiding place and started ravenously licking the bowl. Apparently, we have officially adopted her.

After I showered I looked in the backyard and didn’t spot her. Still wanting to steal the kittens as we will have to eventually, I softly pattered out to the square where she had been hiding. Not seeing her, I advanced cautiously, expecting a warning growl if I got too close. I wasn’t expecting her to suddenly jump out of the bushes hissing. I ran out of the clearing, then kneeled down, showing her that I was no threat, and retreated into the house.

My parents and I had then had lunch and discussed a family problem we're having(no, not Chris). I then went outside for a walk, staying far away from the cats. I sat for around forty minutes thinking about life and how beautiful certain things in the backyard were, with stray thoughts directed to the kittens. I hoped my sunbathing would help accustom her to the humans of the household and show that we posed no threat. We have many species of butterfly in our backyard: Spring Skippers, Cabbage Whites, Painted Ladies, False Monarchs, occasional Swallowtails, and around three other species I don't know the name of. A ladybug crawled up my leg. Snuggles was let outside and I stayed to supervise him, and by supervise I mean watch him poop on the lawn and then come for hugs. When he got too hot to pet I went inside and he followed me.