Big Ears but No Tail

The adventures of a stray kitten.

 

 

BIG EARS BUT NO TAIL

 

The local council had made the decision at the last elections that the oldest district of the town had to be pulled down to make way for new buildings, plus: a police station, a fire station, and a shopping centre. After a hundred and fifty years and two world wars the whole place was going under. Some of the older residents had made complaints saying that the houses only needed doing up. What was needed, according to the local authorities was to make room for modernisation. Families were smaller and so was furniture, and so it was logical that smaller housing units would be more practical than trying to make do and mend with the Victorian buildings. That it would end up looking like every other modernised district was of no interest to those in power. Day after day the giant machines crushed the historic buildings into rubble and dust. The only inhabitants present were dogs, cats, mice and rats, and the odd parrot and other birds who had been allowed to escape.

 

The kitten was covered in a layer of thick dust. As he was so tiny he didn’t need too much to protect him from the inclement weather. The other animals were also seeking refuge from the dust, now turned into mud from the sudden rain. At night they all huddled up together to keep warm and for physical comfort. The older cats and dogs were finding it hard to cope with the hardship that had come upon them unexpectedly. The kittens and puppies still managed to roll over and tumble with each other, ignorant of the easy life that their parents had enjoyed before the families had been forced to leave. The animals who had had owners had left with them, or most of them had. On removal days the pets had run away in fear, or had refused to go into animal carriers at the last minute, making it an almost impossible task for the furniture removals men to catch them. The families had somehow or other got over the loss of a beloved pet and had soon acquired another.

When the machines had finished their work the animal protectors moved in and rounded up the cats and dogs. They knew which ones would find an immediate home and the others would go to kennels or a cattery. The kitten appeared when the other kittens were being placed in carrying baskets. “What do you call that?” one of the workers asked.

The youngster’s companions stared in dismay at the small kitten. What they saw was a small black kitten with enormous ears and eyes and a pathetic tail. It had beautiful long silky fur, but it was not easy to see the beauty of the animal under all that dust. He was duly picked up and put inside a basket. The young boy who had spotted him, said, “Your days of living wild are over. Let’s see what we can do for you at the Welfare Cat Centre.”

The small kitten sat in the van that took him and his companions away from the only home they had ever known. The animals were showered and dried as soon as they arrived at the cattery. Those who were not damaged were given an examination and antibiotics and treatment against parasites and examined for fungi and other cat ailments. Once the initial shock was over they were fed on dry food and a bowl of water. Then they were placed in large cages, two or three together.

The black kitten was in the worst state, and Colin, the vet, picked him up gently and placed him on the examining table. He took his temperature and looked through his fur for anything that shouldn’t be there, like fleas or lice. The tail was in a sorrowful state, with no fur at the end of it. The vet got his assistant, Sylvia, to help, and gave the kitten a local anaesthetic at the beginning of the tail. Carefully he amputated the damaged part and left the healthy part, long enough to cover the kitten’s bottom. “Would you please give him something to eat and water. When he’s done, a basket would be the best place for him. I’d like to keep him under observation overnight, and tomorrow we’ll see how he is.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand. He’s pretty, isn’t he?” Sylvia said stroking the tiny head.

“Yes, he is. Very,” Colin added.

That night was the first night in the kitten’s life he had had a full stomach, was clean and happy. After that, feeling drowsy he let out a little purr of contentment, much to the girl’s delight. All good things come to an end, and soon the kitten was put into a cage in the cattery. There were two other occupants when he arrived and he had some difficulty in settling in. Every day brought the keepers to the cats to give them food and water. At weekends visitors went to the cattery to see if they wanted to adopt one of the tenants. There were always a few adoptions, which encouraged those left behind to imagine themselves in a cosy home sooner rather than later. The kitten now only had a vague memory of the vet’s assistant and the treatment he had received. But deep down he wanted to be warm and well-fed.

 

One Saturday afternoon a small family went to the cattery. After a lot of cajoling Eva’s parents, John and Anna, gave in and said that she could get a kitten. Neither of them were that keen on a pet, but as they had only the one child, thought it better to give in to her demands. They walked along the different rows of cages. The idea was that Eva would choose the cat as it was to be hers. The kitten was looking particularly cute that day and felt optimistic as regards being taken to a new home. When Eva saw him she squealed in delight, “Mummy, Daddy, that’s the kitten I want. He’s so sweet.”

Her parents starred at the kitten with big ears and no tail and said, “But, darling he’s got no tail and just look at those ears!”

Eva said, “I like him as he is. He looks different at the moment but when he’s older he’ll be really handsome.”

“How can you say that! He looks weird, that’s what I think. Why don’t we get a better looking cat?” John declared to his daughter.

“Daddy, that’s the one I want.”

 

The kitten was put into a box and the family got into their car and drove home. At home, Eva’s parents said that she had to leave the kitten in a box in the kitchen. It wasn’t to scratch the furniture.

Eva had bought some toys for the kitten, and then said she was going to call him Sam. Sam soon responded to his name and to Eva, when she called him. It wasn’t long before they were the best of friends. Every afternoon when she came home from school, Eva and Sam shared the sofa while she ate biscuits and had a glass of milk. Eva always put some in a saucer for Sam, and so the two became inseparable. Eva would roll a ball for Sam to run after and twirl a rope to make him jump. At night Sam slept in a soft cat bed at the end of Eva’s bed.

 

After a couple of years of this paradise, all was not well in the family. There were lots of screams and shouts, and Eva crying. One day John was in such a temper that he kicked Sam, “Wretched animal, I don’t know what made us let you have him.”

“He’s not wretched, he’s just a little cat,” Eva said, grabbing hold of Sam and rushing up to her bedroom.

Sam wasn’t too sure what was going on. He felt coldness had entered into what had been a nice warm home. The situation went from bad to worse until one day the father had gone. There were only Eva and Anna, her mother. Sam was even more certain than ever that something devastating was going to take place. Eva was in a bad way, she had been arguing with her mother. Anna and John had decided to divorce and go their separate ways. Eva was to live with her mother and visit her father. There was only one problem - a furry one. “We’re going to live in a flat and there won’t be room for the cat. Anyway I don’t want him, he’ll have to go,” Anna told Eva when they were on the point of moving.

Eva turned on her mother and shouted, “He’s my cat, and you said I could have him. He’s not going anywhere without me.”

At the weekend Eva asked her father if she and Sam could live with him. “You are going to live with your mother and I’ll see you when I can. The cat is out of the question, as my girl friend is allergic to cats. Eva, he’ll have to go back to the cattery. Don’t worry he’ll be all right, after all he’s only a cat.”

 

Those words were never to be forgotten by Eva. Although only eleven years old she wrote her father out of her life. Even though she was supposed to see him, she flatly refused to do so. Anna tried to make her understand that having a pet made holidays difficult, but Eva was at an age when best friends and pets mean a lot to children.

 

Anna took Sam back to the cattery one day while Eva was at school, so that when she arrived home he wasn’t there, and none of his toys either. The following weekend they moved. Eva had photos of Sam, which she kept for the rest of her life.

 

On his first stay at the cattery, Sam had been a tiny kitten, now he was fully grown and very handsome. He didn’t understand why he had been sent back, and felt a sadness that was new to him. Perhaps he had done something wrong, he didn’t know what it might have been.

Sam was a cat who once seen was never forgotten. Sylvia still worked for Colin, but she also did work for other vets. Since the time she and Sam had crossed paths some years had passed and she was now living in a small house that she was able to afford. Sylvia’s father had been rather like Eva’s, and played hot and cold about pets, and anything else that took his fancy at one particular moment. She never had pets when living at home and at the first opportunity she had bought herself a house for her and her pets. One thing Sylvia had always had clear, was that she would have animals instead of children. One day not long after Sam had returned to the cattery, Sylvia paid a visit. “Have you got any new cats in?” she asked the two carers who were in charge that day.

“Hello, Sylvia, we have, and we also have a returnee. Do you remember a small black kitten with enormous ears and no tail? He was here a few years ago. He had come from the area of the great clearance.”

Sylvia said, “Where is he? If he is who I think he is, I remember him very well.”

Sylvia was taken to where Sam was lying down on some paper half asleep. Her eyes moistened as she looked down on him. “I thought he’d been adopted. What happened?”

“A little girl adopted him, but her parents split up and neither of them wanted the cat for personal reasons. The mother brought him back when her daughter was at school.”

“Poor child, what terrible parents to have. And poor cat. What’s his name?”

“His name’s Sam, it’s what Eva, the little girl, called him.”

“Well, he’s coming home with me. I always liked him, but having a father like Eva’s meant no pets of any kind for me.”

Sam’s cage was opened and Sylvia picked him up and gave him a cuddle. “Sam, this is the last time you’re going to be in the cattery. You’re coming home with me,” Sylvia whispered in his ear.

Sam had the feeling that Sylvia was no stranger to him. He was put into a carrying basket and taken to her car, where Sylvia put the basket onto the passenger seat in the front beside her. Sam didn’t mind the basket or the car ride, with Sylvia he knew that he was safe. The car stopped and Sylvia carried the basket to the front door, which she unlocked. There was the barking of a puppy, Sam had never met dogs since his days on the demolition site. He was afraid. Sylvia said as she opened the basket, “Now, Sam, this is your home. The puppy is Morty, and the two cats are Brandi and Hollie. Come and say hello to Sam, the new member of our family.” The puppy ran off but the cats, both females, came up and sniffed Sam. Brandi gave him a lick, and Hollie stood staring at him.

Sylvia told Sam about the puppy, that he had been thrown out of a car and taken to the kennels in a rather forlorn state. He had been with her since she had treated him on his arrival there. Brandi and Hollie were from the same place as Sam, but as there had been so many kittens when the site had been cleared, it was impossible for them all to know each other. Sam stretched out in her arms. Something told him he was at home.

 

For quite a long time the animals and Sylvia lived a peaceful and uneventful life, till one day Sylvia came home with a man. The presence of the stranger perturbed the furry four. According to Brandi and Hollie, it was the first time Sylvia had brought a man home with her.

“Ronnie, this is my family. Brandi, Hollie, Sam, and Morty, the puppy.”

Ronnie seemed a pleasant type and looked from one to the other of Sylvia’s pets. He was of average height and had brown hair and brown eyes. Although he didn’t have film star looks, he had an agreeable expression on his face. It was obvious he cared for Sylvia, and her long dark hair, red lips, and glasses with black frames. Ronnie opened the bag and the four went up to it, sniffing for all their worth. He took out a camera and began photographing them. All that afternoon he had the camera in his hands and any posture of the animals was valid for a photo. They were taken in the funniest of positions; asleep, awake, eating, and playing with a ball of wool or string, rolling over each other, and climbing all over the furniture. Sam was the one who attracted him most. The large ears and the silky fur were unlike any cat he had seen. Pity about the lack of a tail, but perhaps that made Sam more attractive, Ronnie thought to himself.

Ronnie left Sylvia’s and went home to develop the photos. When enlarged they showed up the true characteristics of each animal. The one Ronnie was mainly interested in was Sam. He had never seen a cat like him. As a freelance photographer, Ronnie worked for those who paid him well. His photos appeared in calendars, animal magazines, and advertisements for animal food. The photographs of Sylvia’s pets eventually appeared in an animal magazine with the story of the furry ones.

 

Eva, who was now a teenager still felt resentment about having had Sam taken away from her. Her best friends were those who had pets and let her go out for walks with dogs or sit in their bedrooms with their cats. People who have pets usually buy books and magazines about animals, and so it was, that one of Eva’s friends who had cats bought a monthly magazine where anyone could send photographs of their pets and they would be published. Many of the contributors had made pen friends through such magazines, and a picture of the owner with the pet was also shown. While waiting for her friend to get ready, Eva was leafing through a magazine about cats with all the details of their personal histories. She screamed when she saw Sylvia surrounded by her cats, but most of all at the sight of Sam, three years older and handsomer than ever. Eva wrote down all the details the article included, and made the decision that was to change her life for ever. She was going to get in touch with Sylvia. Ronnie’s name was down as the photographer.

 

When Eva returned from her friend’s house, she rang Sylvia up to see whether it was possible to see her and her pets. Sylvia answered the phone at once, she wasn’t surprised to know it was Eva. “Hello, Sylvia, I’ve just read an article about you and your pets in an animal magazine, together with photos of your pets.”

“Hello, Eva. Thank you for ringing. I was rather hoping that you would, that was one of the reasons I let Ronnie publish the pictures. Listen, why don’t you come and see me here at home. There’s someone I’m sure you’d like to see. How about Saturday afternoon.”

 

Eva was so happy, she could hardly believe her luck. After all this time, she was on the point of meeting up with Sam again. Of course, she would have to avoid telling her mother where she was going.

Eva wasn’t the only person who rang Sylvia after seeing the photographs. One interested party was one of the last tenants of the old properties, called Steve. He told Sylvia that Sam’s parents were a special kind of cat, that had been given to him and his wife as a present from their children. Sylvia asked him if he would like to see Sam the following Saturday afternoon, and the man said he’d like that very much, especially as his wife had died, and he had often wondered what had happened to the kitten.

 

Anna was off out, shopping with her friend for the afternoon of the next Saturday. That left Eva free to go to Sylvia’s without having to invent a story. She arrived at the appointed time to find that Ronnie and an elderly gentleman were sitting in Sylvia’s living-room, drinking tea and waiting for Eva. By the time Eva got to Sylvia’s, she was in a state of high nervousness, wondering whether Sam would remember her after all the time that had passed.

Eva heard Morty barking when she rang the doorbell. Sylvia opened the door to the young girl. The two women in Sam’s life exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

“Hello, Eva, I’m Sylvia. Please come in. I’m glad you’ve managed to come.”

“Hello, Sylvia. Thank you for letting me see you and your pets.”

“Come this way. Today my little house is rather fuller than usual,” Sylvia said as she showed Eva into the living-room.

After the introductions had been made, Eva was presented to Sam and she burst into tears on being reunited with her old playmate. The young girl knew and understood that Sam would stay with Sylvia and the other cats and the puppy, yet at the same time it was also made clear that she could go and see the animals when she wanted to. Sylvia was happy to let Eva take Morty for a walk, as she liked both cats and dogs.

 

Eva and Sylvia sat and listened while Steve told them Sam’s parents’ story, and how the kitten had got lost during the commotion and hurry in which the removal of the dwellers of the old houses had been carried out, in what could only be called indecent haste. Many people had lost their pets. Sam was the only member of his family left, his parents had already died.

That afternoon Sam was the centre of attention. Ronnie didn’t stop taking photographs of the happy meeting and saying how he was a special cat. Steve was very impressed with everything that had happened to his kitten. Ronnie told them that an animal model agency had approached him and wanted to see Sam in an advert for cat food.

“What about the other cats? They’ll feel left out? Either they all go or none of them,” declared Sylvia.

 

That afternoon a new door opened up for Eva and Steve. The two of them were to become firm friends of Sylvia, Ronnie, and the pets. As for Eva, meeting Sam again gave her back some of the joy that her life had lost when he had been returned to the cattery. From that moment on, Eva spent every Saturday with Sylvia, Ronnie, Sam, Brandi, Hollie and Morty. When Sylvia and Ronnie went away for a short holiday, Eva was the one in charge of the animals, and this meant her having Sam once more to herself, even though she had the other cats to look after as well. Anna made an initial fuss about the time Eva spent at Sylvia’s, but soon realized that it was an argument she wasn’t going to win. So Eva began living her own life unencumbered by parents who had robbed her of the two most precious things in her life - her family and Sam. Although Sam now belonged to Sylvia and was happy with her, Eva felt she was a part-time carer of him. Steve wasn’t left out either, being retired he was always on hand to help Eva when Sylvia was away, and he helped out at the cattery, too.

The cats considered Morty to be special, as he was the one who returned home after his walks with tales to tell about the world outside the house and garden.

Sam was considered to be a lucky cat, for others as well as for himself. Sylvia said, “It was because of Sam I’ve got a boyfriend. I hadn’t got one before, because no man wants a woman with three cats and a puppy - but Ronnie did.”

 

Sam lay back in his soft bed. He had brought about the friendship between Eva and Steve, and now everyone was happy, and his story wasn’t over yet. His photographs were published in more magazines, and there were more inquiries about how to get a cat that resembled Sam. The general public fell in love with Sam and his large ears. The fact of his lack of tail made them love him even more. The story of the destruction of the district only added to the melodrama.

 

Well, as he thought while beginning to fall asleep, one good turn deserves another, and the people in his life had proved it to be true.