Cat Little

tickle cat and cat little, originally uploaded by Wahj.

The story behind this picture:

My wife and I came across these feeding bowls downstairs a few weeks ago. "Tickle Cat" is presumably the mother cat we've seen hanging around, and "Cat Little" must be the kitten. Someone was feeding them, though by the time we saw this, only the kitten could be seen – mottled black, and in many ways resembling our Iffy.

Over the next few days we saw the kitten only, always waiting at the bottom of the staircase, or lounging in one of the shoe racks. One night, we came back and found her mewling piteously, her voice all raspy as if she'd been crying all day. K correctly surmised that she was hungry, and when we brought down a bowl of water, she lapped it almost all up, and then ate half a can of cat food. She must have felt better after that, because she immediately started play-pouncing on us (kittens: irrepressible – one minute after being pulled away from the brink of starvation/dehydration, and they're back to playing).

The next day, the cleaners came to wash the floors, and we haven't seen her since. That was more than a week ago. We're hoping that some family – perhaps the one that's been feeding them – took her in. Certainly, given the noise and water from the hoses, she would have instinctively ran through one of the open doors for shelter. Still, we don't know for sure. The only consolation, and it is a very minor one, is that at least she had a good meal, a full belly, and was happy the last time we saw her.