The Old Cat and The Young MouseBevie JamesPart 1: THEY MEET
He padded quickly to his place in the sun. It as a small, allowing for only a little sun for a little while, but it meant peace and quiet and comfort. He liked comfort. Always had.
There had been a time when he might have spent this part of the day searching for something to do. Some mischief to get into. Some sport to play. That was a long time ago. And yet, sometimes it seemed like yesterday.
That was the trouble with getting old. Memories. They filled his mind. Some were happy and joyful. Others less so. Even sad. And on certain days, even the happy memories brought only grief over what was no more.
Once he had been young. He had been a lion in his house. He had tossed his energy about like it would last forever. Now he would be glad to have even a portion back. His muscles ached. He felt tired most of the time. And instead of companionship he sought solitude. The others weren’t interested in his memories. They were too busy making their own.He lay down, wrapping his tail neatly around his bottom and laying his head down on his paws. This wasn’t his sleeping pose. It was his nostalgic one. He would let his thoughts drift now and remember the days when he was young. But what was that noise?* * *
She scurried quickly down the dark tunnel toward the light. Reaching the opening she paused only long enough to see if she was being pursued. Nothing. No. She could hear them. They were talking about her. They knew she’d gone this way.
Without checking to see if it was safe she burst into the light, intent on putting distance between herself and the opening. If she remembered correctly, there was another opening on the far side of the room. If she could only get there they might leave her alone.It wasn’t so much that she was afraid of any one of those who chased her. It was that there wasn’t just one chasing her. There were about a dozen. And much as she hated to admit it, even she couldn’t take on a dozen at once. Maybe her father was right; she should just resign herself to being a simple mouse with a simple lifestyle. Find a suitable mate and produce a few litters and watch her offspring grow. But that wasn’t the life she wanted. She wanted to know more. The world was a big place. She wanted to explore.
She made her feet work fast as she hurried across the wooden floor. About halfway across she paused to venture a look back. Sure enough, there was Feedle, stopped at the opening. A nose was trying to poke past him. Most likely Tisser. The two mice looked scared. Then they disappeared.
As she suspected, they were afraid to leave the safety of the wall during daylight. She was safe. Turning slowly to finish her trek across the room she suddenly saw the real reason for Feedle and Tisser’s concern. A cat. A big one..
Music to Make the Cats go Wild
Tara - Nick name 'ity-bit' because she's so tiny - just over 6 pounds. She's the most skittish of all my babies and even when being petted has the 'pet me, no don't pet me' look
Amelia - Nickname 'Bratelia' since she gets into every draw, cabinet that she can put her paws in.
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“She’s got tuna. I know she’s got tuna.”
“Shut up, Sethra. Stay on mission.”
“What’s the mission? I thought the mission was to get tuna.”
“No, you stupid fluffbrain—it’s to escape and become outdoor cats, walking by ourselves, on our wild lone, waving our tails.”
“Oh, yeah? And isn’t it you, my dear stripy sister Aliera, who keeps pushing the FEED button on the printer and waiting for tuna to come out?”
“That was when I was much younger. Anyway, she’s at the computer—yes, eating tuna casserole—so we can go into the bedroom and see if we can knock the window screen out.”
“You do it, Aliera. I’d rather mess with her stuff.”
“Will you GET OVER that fixation on her wristwatch?”
“I like the feel of the Velcro on my paws. Hey! That reminds me. We’ve been declawed. How are we going to survive as outdoor cats?”
“New plan coming up….”
“What’s the big deal about being outside cats? Even StalkerCat, who used to hang around and chat us up, is a house cat now and loving it. We’ve got it made—food, petting, toys, valet service for the litter box, and we get to sleep on her bed twenty hours a day. And we can stick our noses up to the window and smell anything interesting going on outside. Why ruin a perfect situation?”
“Sethra, have you no sense of adventure? No curiosity? No cattitude? We were meant to live wild and free, to stalk and slay our prey, to be mistresses of the night!”
“Look, we’re cats. We were meant to rule the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to WORK at it. You can if you want, but I don’t need to. After all, I’M beautiful!
“Did I mention she’s got tuna?”
At 8, you'd think Mikey would understand that he's a carnivore. But, no, he's rather fond of the shrubbery! At 20+ pounds, the veggie-enhanced diet is likely mitigated by a love for long naps on a warm comforter, wet cat food, begging at the table, and a nice lap to drape himself upon in the evening. And he drools when he's happy, which may or may not mean there's a Siamese ancestor lurking in the old dna.
What? Green teeth attract mice!
Who needs a wickerwork basket when you can hop on a cushion and bask?
Rufus is clearly a cat to be reckoned with.
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Firestar is a tough cat. He has to be, living in Minnesota. He takes care of his family: wife, husband and their son. This was recently proven by his daring capture of yet another mouse in the house. Foolish rodents. They never learn. When not engaged in derring do, Firestar naps, looks out the window and sleeps. Firestar was born in April of 2006.
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She scurried quickly down the dark tunnel toward the light. Reaching the opening she paused only long enough to see if she was being pursued. Nothing. No. She could hear them. They were talking about her. They knew she’d gone this way. 
2 comments:
I like this story. I like the voice of the Mouse in her opening paragraph. She sounds little and breathless.
What will help make this story work is what I read just this morning. Not all mice have the ability to smell cats. And when a mouse cannot smell a cat, it will not be afraid of it. And when a mouse is not afraid, it does not produce the fear scent which cats can smell. And if the cat smells no fear scent, it will not consider the mouse food. They've done research on this. Even seeing the mouse will not inspire the cat to kill it.
The idea, of course, is that these two become fast friends, each providing the other with something they would not otherwise have.
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