This story is dedicated to Sarah Sandalwood Horten210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAasHZva7x6
Based on a true story
I never did like cats. I always considered myself a dog person. There is no rule that if you like dogs, then you do not like cats. I just never considered cats fun or friendly. They always seemed to be egoistic and loners. They would come when they wanted something. You can say that cats are the divas of the animal world. They are not as friendly as dogs and never were considered man's best friend.
We lived in the countryside, so we had a dog and a cat. They were not pets. My dad used the dog for hunting and the cat was used to get rid of the mice. He even had a theory that if the cat did not get enough food, it would be better at hunting mice. This theory always seemed inhumane to me, but it did mean that we had never seen a mouse in the house. We often saw a dead mouse on the doorstep.
It was not bad living in the countryside. There was something to do. One of my fondest memories is when Dad cut a huge tree down. We would use the fallen tree as a gym, swing and crawl around the branches as if we were monkeys. My older brother found an old abandoned house that was nearly falling apart. He suggested that we clean it up and we could always use it as a clubhouse. I thought it would also serve as a perfect place to hide when it was time for chores.
So we must have spent a week wiping cobwebs and cleaning and even repairing what we could. I would not call it a fun experience, but we were excited that we now had a clubhouse. I was only 10 years old and had lots of questions. What would happen at the clubhouse? Could we invite our friends? What if the farmer that owned the land caught us? My older brother had all the answers. The club would be a secret one, and if any of our friends came, they would have to take a secrecy oath. After we spent all the time fixing the club, the idea of having a clubhouse was history. My older brother demanded that he would be the leader, and we had no intention of following his commands. This meant that we abandoned the house and the club never started.
The cat always slept in the shed where we had coal and wood, so I would see the cat sleeping every time I went out to get some coal or wood for the fireplace. Sometimes I would pet the cat, other times I would just ignore her. One day, I was surprised when I came out. The cat had kittens. They were so cute, so fragile. It was then that I knew that life is a miracle. I also saw the cat in a different light. She was now a mother, and I could see that she took good care of her kittens.
For the next few days, I spent all my time with the kitten. I would hold them and pet them. At first, their mother would give me a strange look as if she was warning me not to hurt her kittens. As time went by, she would ignore me if I picked a kitten up. I guessed that she now trusted me and it gave her a break. I loved being with the kittens. I had a name for them all and considered them as if they were my children. I did not even tell my brothers about the kittens. I am sure that they knew there were kittens but they did not care. They were more concerned about playing sport.
Dad found me in the shed one day with the kittens. He seemed a bit disappointed that I was there. Then he told me that I should not be there.
“ In a few days, I will have to kill the kittens” he announced.
Dad told me how they would be killed. It was so evil, that I will not even tell you what he said. I looked down at the kittens and my stomach felt as if it was twisted. I felt like vomiting as dad continued telling his plans. My dad was a very strict man and we never dared to argue with him. However, this was something I could not accept. I told Dad that he could not kill the kittens. It was murder! It was genocide! If he did not want more cats here, he could find a home for them. Did he not have any compassion? Dad was in shock that I challenged him, and after he thought, he told me not to be such a wimp.
I could not stop thinking that Dad would murder the kittens. I have seen them as innocent animals that God has created and they never were a threat to anyone. The idea of murdering cats dominated my thoughts. I could not concentrate at school. This got me in trouble. At lunchtime, I did not want to play with my friends. I kept on worrying about the cats, and how I could convince Dad that they should not be killed. I couldn't think of anything.
I decided I would show my protest by boycotting Dad. I ignored him and did not respond to anything he said. I would give my mom a hug when I went to bed and give dad one of my patented looks of disgust. I expected him to cave in and we would negotiate like they do in the United Nations. This did not happen. Maybe it was because I had 3 other brothers, and Dad got enough attention from them. He did get mad at me once for the boycott by telling me that I was being childish, and I had no clue how things worked. I did not care! There was no excuse for the genocide of innocent kittens.
The days were ticking away and the execution of the kittens was getting close. The priest noticed that I was not myself at choir. He asked me was I having problems at home. I told him about the kittens and as Gods creatures, they should not be killed. The priest tried to explain that many farmers killed kittens, otherwise, the cat population would be too high. I just glared at him and wondered were all adults so heartless. To me, it did not matter what farmers have done. God would not have put kittens on earth, just to suffer and be killed!
A friend at school heard about what was bothering me and told me that I had to take action and not depend on others. He told me sometimes protest was not enough to change things. One had to take action. This was the first wise thing that I heard for a long time.
So that night, when everyone was asleep, I took my flashlight and "loaned" one of Mom's shopping baskets and a blanket. I went to the shed and put the kittens in the basket. Their mother refused to sit in the basket. I kidnapped the kittens and took them to the abandoned clubhouse. The kitten's mother followed me, as she must have been worried about where I was taken the kittens. I did not sleep much that night but was so happy that night. The school was not easy the next day as I was so tired. This being said, I was once again happy. I have saved some kittens. I daydreamed in school that teachers would be telling this story sometime in the future when I was declared a saint and the patron saint of kittens.
I tried not to smile the next day when Dad complained. He was on his way to kill the kittens but complained that the mother must have moved the kittens somewhere. Dad looked everywhere but could not find them. Mom did not have much to say about it except that the cat would come back when she was hungry. I did not say a word. I knew that this had to be a secret. Not even my brothers should know about this. Experience has taught me that they could not keep their mouths shut.
I now had to take care of the cat and kittens. This meant that I had to wait until mom was not in the kitchen, then I had to find some cat food and when everyone was busy, I would sneak to the hiding place. This is when I was most paranoid. As I walked to the hiding place, I would look around all the time to make sure that no one was following me or spying. It was hard work being a rebel and a hero! The kittens seemed happy when I came. They were now old enough to get used to food. I think they still prefered their mom's milk. After I made sure there was food and water, I sat down and held them while singing or just talking. I enjoyed my time with the kittens. Besides the fact that I thought the kittens were very cute, I also felt older and more responsible.
Only my best friend knew about the kittens being hidden. He thought it was great at the start but asked me how long would this last? He tried telling me that the more time that went, the bigger the kittens would get. Besides this, The longer time that went, the more of a chance that I would get caught. I knew that my friend was right. I would not admit it.
I continued to take care of the kittens. Maybe I was a bit selfish and wanted to take care of them. I started thinking about what would happen when they became big and not so cute. I had dreams about the kittens growing and having kittens of their own. I was surrounded by kittens! My friend was right. I had to come up with a plan to keep the kittens alive, and a place where I did not have to hide them.
Mom was getting suspicious that something was happening. She noticed that I had to go out when I was supposed to do homework or disappeared when I was supposed to be doing chores. She also asked Dad why she had to still buy cat food when we had no cat. This confused both Dad and mom. I tried to change the subject every time the missing cat food was mentioned.
My parents were not stupid and I knew they knew something strange was going on concerning the cats. I was desperate to find homes for the kittens and offered everyone at school a free kitten. I knew I was taking a big chance here as the news of free kittens would reach the ears of my parents. I could not imagine which punishment they would have for me. The good news though was that I was happy in finding homes for all the kittens. I only had one kitten left.
I was going to the abandoned house to visit the kitten that was left. Dad was there and my heart nearly jumped out of my mouth. I started crying and told Dad that I could explain.
" I knew that you were hiding the kittens," Dad said, " I was mad at first and then proud that you were standing up to something that you thought was wrong. It was also my fault. I did not listen to you when you protested. I heard that you were finding homes for these kittens and this also made me proud of you. I like the fact that you care and protect something that is in danger. I think that this has taught you a lot about life."
I hugged Dad and we promised that we would try to work on communicating better with each other and understanding each other. Dad also agreed that we would keep the kitten that was left
There was peace once again in our family, although I was grounded for a week!
The end
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