a group or cluster of cats.
Red and Taako Cat: @ohsugarfoot
Although he’d been a stray once, he took to being a housecat immediately. He loved people and he loved his special pillow and he loved food. Sometimes he liked to go into the backyard and just smell the breeze, but he always came right back in. He often didn’t even leave entirely, having Red hold the door open while he decided, “In or out?”
Red called his name again. She ripped her nest of blankets out of the closet and threw cabinet doors open and shoved books off of shelves to look behind them.
“Taako?” she called again, trying to keep her voice calm. If Taako heard the panic in her voice, he’d be anxious, too, and then maybe hide even more.
Maya poked her head out of the room she shared with Pavaana. “Red?”
Red whirled toward her, eyes wide and frightened.
“I can’t find Taako. He’s missing.”
Maya immediately snapped to attention to the situation.
“Were any of the windows or doors left open?” she asked. She rushed out of the room and headed toward the kitchen to check the windows there. Red followed.
Red froze when she saw the window near the door on the back wall. It was cracked open, just barely. Icy fear shot down her spine.
“Maya, was that you?” she asked, voice soft and shaky.
Maya put her hand through the gap to more accurately check the size of the space.
“I’ll get Pavaana,” she said. “He can help look.”
Red bit her lip and sucked in a shaky breath.
He’d be able to survive our there, but he wouldn’t thrive, and Red didn’t want to lose him to the streets again.
She rushed out the back door as Maya led Pavaana to the kitchen. She left the door open, just in case. Just in case he came back and wanted to go inside.
Maya checked all of the plant pots and Pavaana looked up in the trees wile Red searched underneath the bushy plants in the soft dirt.
“Taako!” she cried. She’d recognise that rough, chainsaw miaow anywhere, “Taako, where are you?”
And, like he’d never been missing, Taako pranced up to Red and rubbed against her leg.
“Oh, Taako, you dummy.” She picked him up and smushed her cheek against his face. “I thought you were gone!”
Taako wiggled in Red’s grasp, squirming out of her arms. Red frowned. Weird. He usually liked being held.
Taako walked a few steps and turned around and miaowed again as Maya and Pavaana approached. A few more steps, another miaow. A few more, a few more.
“Do you want to show me something?” Red asked. Taako started to walk away again, pausing to look over his shoulder to make sure Red, Maya, and Pavaana followed.
Another miaow came from the edge of the small backyard, near the fence, from the direction of the pink and yellow plumeria.
“Did you make a friend?” Red asked. She followed and knelt down to follow when Taako rubbed against the bush. Another miaow that was definitely not Taako.
Maya and Pavaana crouched down to the ground beside her. Pavaana lifted the bottom branches of the shrubby flower plant, and underneath was another cat, brown and white striped, with three tiny, just born kittens. They hadn’t even opened their eyes. The older cat—the mother?— was grooming them with her tongue. She froze when Pavaana exposed her hiding place and she growled, a sound Red had never heard a cat make before.
“Okay, I think Mama Cat wants to be left alone.” Pavaana stood and helped Maya up. Red stayed on her knees, but backed up a few paces.
“Taako,” she said. “Did you do this?”
Taako miaowed and headbutted her chin. She snorted a little and stood, scooping him up in her arms.
Mama Cat obviously wasn’t going leave her kittens, so Red took Taako back inside, she the door—and the window—and went to the refrigerator to see if she had anything Mama Cat could eat.
Well. Apparently they had five cats, now. There was no way the family would be able to take care of that many. Maybe Agni could take them. Or they could live with Annaisha with the library cats.
But first she’d have to get this little monster neutered.
