Kitty 14

I am participating in NANOWRIMO this year. I will attempt to post my daily ramblings in the hopes that eventually it will become a book which will entertain you as well as myself…

This is a work of fiction. No real people, places or events were used. Copyright ã 2011 Plot Roach.

Kitty Part 14

By Plot Roach

A shadow passed over them, and the dog moved away from Kitty’s cage.

“Well hello,” the human said, leaning over and peering into the pet carrier. “I’m glad to see that you are up and about.”

“Did our little patient wake up?” asked another voice.

The human female unlocked the cage and stood back. “It’s okay, dear,” the human said. “You are among friends.”

Kitty sat silently in the back of her cage, watching the woman until she disappeared from view.

“It’s okay,” said the dog, once again beside Kitty’s pet carrier. “They’re just humans. They’re not going to bite.”

The human female set down bowls of food and water well within reach of the opened pet carrier. Kitty’s greedy eyes took them in, and her stomach threatened to leap from her mouth in order to consume the food. But she remembered the scene in the parking lot where those who had been unable to void their stomachs of poisoned food in time were now cold as the paved road which they had traveled.

Kitty nosed the door open, taking in the room and those who were in it. The two humans were a few feet away, while the cat known as Lucy watched from her perch on a nearby table. Two more cats had taken up residence on an overstuffed chair. The cats seemed aloof, the dog next to her calm and the humans anxious. Kitty made a dash for the dark corner of a table and hoped that from there she would not only be protected from the humans, but from the strangely calm dog as well. Kitty was pretty sure that she could take the cats if it came down to a fight, but was praying that like the feral felines she had met on the street that they had better things to do than harass her.

“What’s wrong?” asked the dog once Kitty had taken up position under the table.

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong?’” Kitty asked. “I’m in your territory, and a strange dog at that. And the humans just put out food and water. Do you think that you will fool me into thinking that we are friends?” Kitty asked. “I know that just as soon as my attention is focused on the food, you’ll turn on me and try and kill me. The humans probably do this with other dogs as well.”

“Um, did I somehow offend you?” the dog asked. “This isn’t a trick. The humans hit you with their car by mistake. They fixed you up and brought you here until they can find your family. We’re not here to hurt you, we’re here to help.”

“Why?” Kitty asked.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do if someone is hurt and needs help. You drop everything and fix their problems, you give them a safe place to stay and you feed them.”

“My old pack would turn on you if they heard you talk like that. The weak were attacked and killed.” Kitty could not bring herself to say ‘eaten’. “If you had said that around Max, you would have been driven out of the pack -or worse.”

“I don’t think that I would like this ‘Max’ dog that you’re talking about. But I doubt that you will have to worry about meeting up with him here.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kitty said, edging toward the food and water bowls. Is this dog for real? She asked herself. I’m about to eat his food and drink his water and he’s okay with it? She leaned forward and cautiously sniffed the food.

“What’s wrong?” the dog asked. “Did you want something different? I know that kibble isn’t much, but I’m sure the humans could open a can of wet food for you if it comes down to it.”

Kitty shuddered, hoping that the wild cat that she had met by the apartment complex was wrong about killed dogs and cats ending up in cans for human consumption. I abstained from eating fallen pack members all this time, she thought. I would hate to start eating my own kind now.

She took a piece of kibble and rolled it around in her mouth, testing for chemicals, poisonous or otherwise. When she could taste nothing but the tang of the kibble and felt no ill effects, she downed the bowl of dry food as fast as she could, following it up with a healthy drink of water. Once done, she resumed her place under the table. In all the time that she had been out of the cage, the humans had not moved from their spot, but had watched her constantly.

“See,” the dog said. “I told you that they only wanted to help you.”

“I see that now,” Kitty said. “But why?”