THE CAT'S JOURNEY

It would take many weeks for the cat to get back to her home. She had been put in a van and then left in a remote area of the country two days later. She didn't know where she was, but was able to catch wildlife to keep going on her long journey home. Occasionally, small ponds gave her all the water she needed, which wasn't a lot.

Home - she wondered how long it would take to get there, and what she would find when she eventually did. The men who broke their way into the house were not very good to her Human and the smell all round them was vile! The cat knew that her sense of smell was stronger than anyone else's - but her Human was badly affected by it and could hardly breathe.

Occasionally a human saw her on her journey, but she walked purposefully towards her goal. As long as she seemingly ignored them, no-one tried to catch her. The days had started to become colder and she knew she would soon have to find somewhere suitable to hide from the snow and cold. Suddenly she came across a farm, which could be her refuge for the winter. The farmer's wife saw the visitor and gave her some cat food, there was a cat already living there, but he was old and no longer able to catch mice and rats. He told the newcomer that the farm was a good place to pass time, with good humans who would feed them regularly. All they had to do was to catch and kill mice and rats, leaving the bodies in a special place so the humans knew rhey were doing their job. He was slow, and would love to have an active partner.

They became very good friends and it wasn't too long before there were four kittens to nurture. The cat was eager to resume her journey, so was happy to find that spring was approaching quickly. Her friend was no longer able to catch mice and rats, so the two male kittens were left with him after being trained to help out.  Their sisters would travel with their mother and find good homes for themselves, They were told about how to live in loving homes with humans, so they could settle into homes without too much stress.

Their journey was slow as the kittens wanted to know about everything - people, dogs, cats, and what their lives could be like in the future. One day they came across another farm, but the mother persuaded her daughters to move quickly and quietly, and get away. She had seen two dogs on the premises, one of whom had lots of scars on its face, and fresh wounds as well.  It was clearly no place for a cat at all!

Soon they discovered another friendly farm, and the resident cat said the family were very friendly and would welcome them all. However, the mother had a mission ahead of her, so one kitten was left to help with the necessary rodent control.  Some weeks later the remaining kitten found a home for life with a lovely family, and the cat was able to continue her journey back home.

It was very difficult to work out how long the journey would be, especially when signs of winter started yet again. She knew she was going in the right direction, but surely she would reach home soon! It hadn't seemed such a long journey by road, but she knew it would still take several months. Her best route was away from villages, but she could go there if there was no alternative. Any towns or cities were too dangerous. In villages people liked seeing a cat, and left bowls of milk out for her - however she avoided drinking any since she had been weaned. Some meat was welcome as she needed to eat as much as possible to be prepared for winter - which wasn't far away. One blessing she had was the ability to hibernate for about six weeks. Going through villages gave her the food her body needed to survive. Hibernation wasn't part of cat's normal talents, but a friend of her Human was a seer and able to find suitable spells to help the cat in any situation. What these were would remain unknown until needed

The cat was very confused , she didn't know why the seasons were changing so quickly. The tie to her Human was sometimes strong and sometimes weak. It was all such a mystery she decided to find somewhere safe to sleep for a week and see if her questions were answered. Eight days later, questions had been mainly answered, but not everything was clear. She tried to make sense out of the confusion and that wasn't very easy. The passage of time had become clear - instead of the normal several cat years = one human year - she was on a different timescale. She would experience human years but at an accelerated level. She decided to stop worrying about it and let that do what it needed to do. The main concern was about the link with her Human - it kept coming and going. She now knew things would be okay, although she had a sense of loss deeper than she had ever known.

The near future - a trial of some of her beliefs. She deciided to try to take each new day as happy as possible, and continue with her journey the next day, she had spent too much time in her current location. That night she had a dreadful nightmare, of the men who had taken her initially - looking for her because someone thought she had knowledge and skills to use. Instead of requests, she would be kicked, trod on and whipped - in front of her Human. At least she knew her Human was still alive, but where was she? Why wasn't she having thoughts from her human - this she craved!

Continuing with her journey was difficult, she was so suspicious whenever she was na humans, and there were so many of them - more than had ever seen in one location. She could have found a relatively safe place and hibernated, but she knew that would let her be found by the men. Most of her life had been spent with her Human, and she had become used to sleeping through the night, but didn't know if the men were aware of that. It depended on what information they had been given by her Human, friends and neighbours.

Out of nowhere came a feeling of total despair that she nearly screamed and ran away. She instinctively knew that the people who had catnapped her were nearby, but concentrating on farms. They didn't know she was living by her own means. The first winter had been excellent, although never to happen again, Her body was in the best condition ever and she knew she would meet up with her kittens when the time came for them all to be reunited. She was happy they were not with her, the countless questions "are we nearly there yet", "how long will it take", and others of that ilk, would have clouded her mind.

Days later there was a huge wave of relief, she had covered many miles and found a sense of carefree abandonment. And, out of the blue she found herself to be aware of where her Human was. They would meet again very soon. The meeting place came into view, and with it a sense of joyful relief. The men who had taken her away were no longer looking for her, Her Human had turned away and apologised  for the cat's problems with the men. The cat, using her last gift, quickly reassured her, it had been a very difficult time, but they were together again and no-one would ever bother them at all now.

The next morning, the cat woke and realised that her life was as it had always been, before the dreadful experiences. She was back to living a normal cat's life. Her Human was unaware of the cat's perilous journey, and would never know of it because it had all been a dream!

A novel written by

Virginia Kop
owner of Kop's Kattery

23 June 2015