Wednesday 9 November 2016

Curtains -The Ginger Tom Cat

Extract from my cat story. Adventures of a Ginger. Will keep you posted on this development.
Meanwhile a friend's website to browse for doggy treats
http://www.silvercollar.ie/

CURTAINS AND THE NEWCOMER

As Curtains Doyle rounded the corner of the sitting room on route to his favourite sunspot he encountered an unusual obstacle. His ginger snout came nose to nose with something white, soft and furry with pixie ears and blue eyes and a face not unlike his own, but much smaller.
   The ginger cat drew back in distaste. A kitten! What was this white kitten, with a splash of black and brown streaks and patches on its face and tail, doing in his hallway? 

Behind it, on all fours, was his owner Eimear, cooing and sighing into the kitten’s ears. Curtains made a dash at the ball of white fluff and emitted a cry that sent the kitten catapulting through the air. Then the triumphant Ginger retreated into the kitchen to consider this latest addition to the Doyle household.
   According to Eimear, Curtains emitted a series of sharp hisses before he leapt onto the kitchen stool and positioned himself in such a way that he had a bird’s eye view of all comings and goings into the kitchen.
   After a few minutes Eimear minus kitty appeared around the door frame. She approached the Ginger tomcat cautiously but was stopped in her tracks by an unmistakable hiss, bared teeth and a show of sharp claws. Undaunted by this display of discontent the nine year old crept nearer.
   
“Curtains. It’s you I love!” 

This flattery, however, made no impression on the outraged Ginger Tom. He repeated his earlier performance and Eimear was forced to withdraw. So was her brother Eoin but, in his case, the antics of his regular play mate reduced him to tears.
  
“I’m afraid of Curtains!” he bawled. “He doesn’t like me anymore. It’s that kitten’s fault. Why did we have to get a kitten anyway?”
   “Mum’s idea of company for Curtains. That kitten will have to go!” declared his big sister.
  “Give him time. He might come around to the idea,” said Mum after listening to their account of the meeting between the two cats.

  Meanwhile Curtains was giving out his usual recognisable signals that he wanted out, scratching at the window, meowing loudly.
  “Why doesn’t that cat use the cat –flap? He just loves to have us all running after him,” said Mum. 
Curtains flicked his tail high, ignored these outrageous allegations and refused to descend from his perch on the windowsill. When Mum finally opened the window the Ginger Tom leapt with relief onto the driveway and headed for the road.
  
“What if he doesn’t come back?” wailed Eoin, watching the cat walk purposefully towards the open gate.
   “It’s chicken in a puddle for dinner,” shouted Eimear after the disappearing tomcat. “He’ll be back! You know how he loves chicken.”
   Curtains already knew what was for dinner. He’d been sniffing the delicious aroma of chicken soaked in garlic and cream for hours now. This timely reminder took the strut out of his swagger and caused him to waiver in his determination to take a long stroll that might hopefully be interpreted as a sulk. He sat stock still in the driveway to reconsider his position.
   
Perhaps the kitten hadn’t come to stay. Perhaps it was gone already. He looked wistfully towards the dining room where Eimear was setting the table for dinner. He wouldn’t leave home just yet. Not until after dinner anyway.

   Curtains was so intent on his thoughts that he didn’t see Togs Toner, the neighbour’s King Charles spaniel, sneaking up on him. Togs was about to pounce on the unsuspecting Ginger when the dog found himself mounted by a fully clawed white ball of rage; the kitten scratching furiously at his back and biting into his neck. Before Togs could dislodge his attacker from behind he felt himself confronted by a huge ginger paw which gave him a clout in the face. The spaniel let out a high pitched wail and scampered quickly under the fence and back to his kennel followed by a flash of ginger.

   “Good work, Junior!” declared Curtains on returning to his side of the fence. But the white ball of fluff lay inert on the driveway. Curtains nudged the kitten with his snout.
   “This won’t do, Junior. No pretending now!”

   But the kitten wasn’t pretending. He was lying face down in the gravel path. Curtains sank his teeth carefully into the loose flesh around the kitten’s neck and lifted it gently. Then he headed straight for the cat flap which Junior had so recently discovered and that he himself only used in emergencies.

   “Curtains has killed the kitten!” wailed Eoin on seeing the cats emerge through the flap. “Bad cat! I hate Curtains!”
    “How did that kitten get outside?” demanded Mum who was staring down at the lifeless creature that Curtains dropped at her feet, just as he would do with a dead bird or mouse.
   “He ran away!” shouted Eimear from the hallway. “I saw the whole thing from the window. The kitten saved Curtains from Togs Toner, but it got injured in the fight. Curtains didn’t touch it.”
   “The kitten saved Curtains?” Eoin was wide eyed as he considered this revelation.
   “Look! The kitten’s beginning to move! It’s not dead,” said Mum.

   And sure enough the small creature was beginning to stir. A few moments later, when kitty opened its eyes it saw itself enveloped in a warm ginger furry paw. A rough tongue was licking its head and ears. It made a shaky attempt to stand up, and when the kitten collapsed a ginger snout gently raised it up again.

   “I think Curtains has got used to the new kitten already, “declared Eimear.
   “Can we keep it now?” asked Eoin.
   “What will we call him?”
   “Ronaldinho?” suggested Eoin.
   “That’s not fair! No footballers’ names!” wailed his sister.
    “What about Junior?” said Mum.
    Both cats perked up their ears when they heard this suggestion.
   “I think the kitten likes that name,” said Eoin.
   “I think they both do,” said Eimear.
   “And with a name like that our Curtains can’t complain, now can he?” said Mum.


  Certainly not, thought the Ginger Tom, wallowing in his new position as Topcat.  

Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2016 

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