A little bundle of hope
The fish skeleton I was carrying in my mouth was tough to hold on to. A bit clichéd I admit, but when you're living on the streets, anything will do. You don't have the luxury to worry about taste. I looked up to see the sky darkening quickly, night was coming. I sped up my trot a little, my paws aching from the ice on the sidewalk. It wasn't always like this though, being homeless, trying to provide food for a wife and new born kitten. We had a master once, not too long ago actually. As I made it back to our makeshift home made out of old discarded newspapers and paper bags, I felt a tear fall from my eye. "Don't let them see you cry!" I told myself as I blinked the tear out of existence. But inside, I still wept. Not for me, but for my family, and what may become of us. I walked up to Sandy; my wife, who was busy giving our new born kitten (Who I was hoping we'd name her Mittens but we haven't discussed her name yet) a tongue bath. "How has she been?" I asked her as I set down the remains of the fish. "Cold" Sandy replied rather crossly. I couldn't blame her though; it's been a rough couple of weeks. Before I go on, perhaps I should go back a bit and explain how we happened upon this sad situation.
About two weeks ago, give or take (It's hard to keep track of time when you're a cat!), me and Sandy were living with a nice master. I think her name was Katherine or something like that. She was a middle aged lady who never had kids and was the kind who made her pets her children. Something we cats adore in a master, means a lot of pampering. Course I was never usually the one being pampered. Katherine found me on her doorstep one night. I was previously in a fight with another alley cat over a morsel of salami, or some other type of meat. See, unlike my wife, Sandy, I was born an alley cat. So like I was saying, I had lost the fight only because I was malnourished but I still could have taken him. Cheater had help from a tomcat! Not a fair fight! Anyway I was about to give up hope and was just laying there, contemplating my existence. If you have a cat and see them staring off into space that's generally what we are thinking about. We cats can be very philosophical. When I heard the door behind me open and I realized I was on a door stoop. I clenched my butt cheeks expected to be hit on the bum by a broom. It's happened to me more than once and I can tell you it sure does hurt! Instead there was Katherine, one of the nicest humans I have ever met. She took me in to her home and had me fixed and healed up in no time. It was then that I first met Sandy.
It was then that I was given my domesticated name. Previously my street name was Trevor. That's what all the other alley cats called me anyway. My name I go by now was Tobias. I kind of liked it, it had a nice ring to it. Sandy had always been different though, more refined if you will. She was born in a litter of kittens, separated from her mother rather early though. She told me that it always tore her up inside at night. She had abandonment issues, I can see why though. So young and being torn from your family and such. See I had grown up with my mom, she too, was an alley cat. She taught me the ropes of growing up on the street. I now use those ropes to try to keep my family hoisted above the waters of calamity. But it's still very hard sometimes. Anyway, Sandy was taken as a kitten and was given a home by Katherine. She had everything she had ever wanted. Katherine saved me a good three years ago, and I must admit, I was growing rather accustomed to the pampered lifestyle. But then again, nothing golden can stay.
It happened about a few weeks ago, Katherine got a call from her landlady. It seemed Katherine couldn't pay her rent no more. So she was going to go move to a cheaper apartment. She looked and looked but couldn't find an apartment that accepted pets, so she left us out in the cold. Sandy was declawed for Christ-sake! It was up to me to provide food for my new family. It had been tough before when it was just me, living on my own, but now...things were looking grim. I must have been starring at nothing because I seen Sandy's white paw wave over my eyes, now blotted grey with dirt and filth; it saddened me inside. "..Hello?! Are you even listening?" She asked. I shook my head a bit in an attempt to regroup myself and pull me out of my reminiscence and back into the present. "I'm sorry hon., I was just thinking of how we ended up here." I apologized. I could see she was about to speak when the baby woke up and started crying. "Oh shh shh" my wife said as she licked her and tried to cover her as best as she could with her body. "These streets are no place for a baby." She then said to me. I looked down in shame, I knew she was right. I had to do something. That night we all slept very close to each other for warmth. I fell asleep to the tender beating of my wife's heart. Which must have been very big to stick with me through this ordeal. I cried myself to sleep that night.
She was right though, the streets were a dangerous place. Dogs, other street cats which formed gangs, and of course 'The Man'. We all stayed clear of 'The Man', we all knew that cats that got taken by him were never heard from again. That's why I insisted Sandy and the baby (I'm getting rather sick of calling it "the baby" but we have had more on our mind than coming up with a good name for her. I began to, in my mind, call her Hope. Hope that Hope will have a better life than this, that things will start looking up again.) Stay out of site when I was gone foraging for the day. Out on the streets there were two kinds of cats. Ones that sucked up to humans and ones that didn't. In the past I would never have degraded myself in front of humans, begging for some food. Old McKinley's Deli and bar around noon was a well known locale. As drunk, monetarily well off fat cats entered through the front to 'wet their whistle', the sell out cats, (or S.O.C.s as we called them) were all lined up in the back alley, just waiting. At noon every day old man McKinley would come out and feed the cats sliced meat or any other food not desirable enough to feed to the local drunkards that consisted of his customers. In the past, you would never have seen me in such a place, I had pride, respect; funny how having a family changes a man...or cat, however you want to word it.
I stood there, keeping my head down. Praying that no one there would know who I once was, trying to blend in with the other riff raff. There has to be a better way than this. I started thinking of some way we could get off the streets, into a home. "Well well well! Look who it is, Creamy!" Instantly my fur stood up on edge. I hated that nickname, I knew instantly who it was too. Racism exists outside of the human species too. I was an orange and white tabby. I never really liked my fur color, but it was the hand I was dealt. I used to be acquaintances with an old tomcat named Roscoe. I say acquaintance because we were never really friends. He always teased me cause of my fur color and we always disagreed with how with how each other did things. I gritted my teeth and looked up. There, smiling his toothy grin was Roscoe. He had a big scar running down right eye. Black and grey scraggly fur, he was one mean looking cat. "Hello Patches.." I sneered. "So back on the streets after three long years of the sweet life eh? What happened? She kicked you back on your stray behind?" Roscoe laughed. "Oh yes Rossy, I mean, what with such fabulous strays like you out here, what would she want with an actual cat like me when she could have a bunch of mutts?" I sneered. He didn't like that too much I think cause I seen his eye start to twitch, which meant I better start thinking of an exit. I looked around and seen his cronies approaching me from behind. Beyond Roscoe was a long alleyway, then a chain link fence, then the street.
"You're going to pay for that Cream.." He said as he slowly started approaching me. "My name..is..Tobias!" I yelled through gritted teeth and swiped at his good eye with my claws, momentarily blinding him. I sprinted over him and ran full force with his posse right behind me. I glanced behind me to see them closing the distance; I straightened my head back to see the chain link fence looming over me. I leapt as high as I could and begun to climb. As soon as I reached the top of the fence, I leapt. The frozen sidewalk impacting on my paws made me flinch in pain. I quickly regained composure and raced off. I managed to loose them shortly after by ducking under an old post office mail box. I sat there for a minute panting heavily. As I sat there resting, I happened to glance up on a street pole and it was then that a bolt struck me. Not literally mind you, but a sudden idea came down from the heavens. Shedding a little light of hope came crashing down on me. On the telephone pole was a sign that said "Free Kittens!" I figured, if there was a way we could get a family interested in Hope, that we can all move in with them; or at the very least, find a good home for my baby. The thought of her growing up saddened me deeply and I don't know how Sandy would take it, but it'd be better than what we could provide for her. I raced home to go tell Sandy of my plans.
It was nearing three in the afternoon when I got back to our home. "Sandy?" I called out, a bit panicky at first from not seeing them right away. "Over here hon." She replied, shaking off a few newspapers. "We were hiding like you told us to." I must have jumped when I first heard her voice because she giggled a little. God I loved her. "Hon I got a great idea..." I exclaimed. As I told her my plans I examined her facial expressions. There was a twitch of her whiskers but I think that was cause of the bitter breeze that whipped through the alleyway. Hope was pawing at her as she listened. I then saw what I haven't seen since we've been kicked out of the apartment. That special, shimmering, sparkle in her eye. I smiled and hugged her close, hoping that this plan will give us a better life.
It was just a few hours till dark. We knew that it was nearly what humans called 'Christmas'. So we sat there in the middle of the sidewalk. It made me a bit nervous, fearing that my family would get trampled. We stayed out of the way mostly and had Hope made to look adorable, which wasn't very hard. She had mostly white fur like her mother with a small patch of orange fur on top of her head and on the tip of her tail. She was adorable, I felt so proud. Two adult parents and their child came down the sidewalk, the little girl skipping in anticipation of their upcoming holiday. "Ok hon, here comes someone, try to be cute." I reminded Hope and Sandy. Hope just smiled innocently, obviously not understanding, she was too young to. Sandy shifted nervously, "I hope this works..." she mumbled. When the little girl seen Hope her eyes widened. "Aww! Look mommy! A kitty! Aww she has a family!" She exclaimed, tugging on her mother's coat sleeve. "I see that darling, but I don't know that you are ready for that kind of commitment yet hon." "Of course I am Mamma, pwease?!" She begged. The mother looked at the father, who shrugged, not really interested in what was going on. I don't know if it is possible to 'cross one's paws' as it were, but I sure as heck tried! The mother looked down at the child and nodded. "Yay!" She exclaimed and bent down to pick her up. They turned and started to walk away. A multitude of different feelings bubbled inside of me. My daughter would get a better home, of which I was excited. On the other hand I loved her and couldn't bear to not be there for her. My god, what have I done? I looked over to my wife but she wasn't there, I scanned the area quickly searching for her. I seen her running after Hope and the humans, I chased after her. They were half a block away and were getting into those big metal things with wheels. Sandy got there first and was standing on her hind paws, her front ones up on the girl's legs, and was crying and meowing sadly. I got to her seconds after. "Aw mommy look! Her parents don't want her to go!" The little girl said with tears in her eyes. "I can't take their baby away from them!" She bawled. "Well darling, do you want the kitten or not?" The mother asked, the father getting impatient. "Not unless they can all come with us!" The girl responded. I was trying to calm my wife who was still sobbing on the sidewalk next to the car. "Dear, I'd love to help the cats but they are strays, they probably have diseases or something." I felt my hopes sink. What have I done? I hugged my wife close, tears streaming from my eyes too as I expected the machine to roll off with our daughter forever. "I promise to take care of all of them mama! Look they are so sad!" The little girl cried. My ears perked up with a glint of hope that started to rise inside me. I looked up to see the father shrug and start the mechanical monster. The mother sighed and nodded, turning around to sit down in the front seat. "Yay! Come here kitties!" She said as she patted the back seat next to her. Sandy jumped in and started nuzzling both the little girl and Hope. I took one last look behind at those damnable streets and jumped in the seat. I heard the metal door close shut as the vehicle sped off.
I woke up the next day to the sound of Sandy purring, our daughter curled up next to her. I smiled and shifted my paws, looking at the fireplace which was right next to where we lay. In the background Christmas music was playing, the house was all illuminated by numerous, shimmering, multicolored lights. I was overflowing with a wealth of joy and contentment. Lucy, (as I later found out was the little girl's name) came over and placed a bowl of milk next to us. "Here you go kitties!" She smiled and petted me on the head before skipping out to the den. "So hon..." I said to Sandy. "Have you thought of a name for our daughter yet?" She lifted her head from licking her. "I had a few ideas, what about you?" She asked me. I smiled and lapped up some of the milk, then walked back to her. I think we should name her Hope. She looked down at her and smiled. I think, it's a perfect name she purred and smiled up at me. I smiled back and settled in for a nap, with my loving wife and daughter Hope by my side, perhaps the happiest cat in all the northwest. I purred myself to sleep that night.