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Rosie shook her head, smiling.“I didn’t think any of them could get up there. But I suppose if he went from the climbing frame to the table, to the edge of the sink and then scrabbled up the curtain… This whole kitchen is like a playground for kittens. But he’s definitely the most adventurous!”

“Hello,” Ava whispered to the kitten as he eyed her round the side of the photo frame. “Are you stuck?” The kitten looked so funny with his head sticking out one end of the frame and his tail the other. He mewed at her and edged a little further out from behind the photo. But there wasn’tmuch room and he nudged into a vase that was standing behind him, making it wobble dangerously.

“Oh!” Ava said worriedly. “Come on, kitten. You’re going to get squished in a minute.” She reached up to lift him out from behind the photo frame and then looked uncertainly at Rosie. Was it OK to pick the kitten up?

Rosie nodded at her.“Can you reach? Just lift him down from there.”

Ava slipped both hands round the kitten’s middle, hoping she wasn’t scaring him. But she thought he actually looked quite grateful to be rescued. He didn’t wriggle at all and she snuggled him against her cardigan, loving the feel of his warm fur and his squidgy kitten tummy.

“Oh, he’s very handsome!” Mum said, coming over to look. “So stripey!”

“He’s the stripiest cat I’ve ever seen,” Ava agreed, looking down at the kitten. He was a beautiful golden brown colour, with black stripes running down his sides and fat black rings all along his tail. Ava had seen tabby cats before, of course, but never one with such perfect stripes.

“He’s what’s called a mackerel tabby,” Rosie said. “Like the fish – they have stripes, too.”

“He looks more like a tiger,” Mum said. “The way his stripes match on both sides.”

Ava giggled as the kitten scrabbled his way up her cardigan and climbed on to her shoulder. She knew he was probably just trying to get up high, so that he could see what was going on with all these strange people in his kitchen but it felt like he belonged with her somehow.

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“Mum,” she whispered. “Do you think… Could we have this one?”

Lucy stood up to see. She’d been trying to get the ginger kittens to look at her toy cat but they weren’t very interested. “What’s his name?” she asked Rosie.

“Oh, well, I tried not to name them, because I knew they’d be going to new owners,” Rosie explained. “But in my head I’ve been calling him Adventure Kitten.”

“He sounds like a superhero!” Ava said.

“I think he’s called Tiger,” Lucy said, nodding her head. “Let’s take him home now.”

“Oh, Lucy, we haven’t decided yet,” Mum said, but she was smiling. “And don’t forget, we need to go and buy a cat carrier and a basket and, oh, lots of things! Although heis lovely…”

“And Tiger would be a great name,” Dad said. “Bel? Ava? What do you think?”

Bel reached up to stroke the kitten’s tiny paws and smiled. “Even his paws are stripey.”

Ava nodded, just a little, so as not to shake the kitten around too much.“It’s perfect! He looks just like a tiger and he’s as brave as one, too.”

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When the carrier was set down at last and the wire door swung open, Tiger didn’t move. He wasn’t sure what was outside the carrier but he knew it wasn’t his home. It smelled different. There was no comforting smell of his mother and the other kittens.

“Why isn’t he coming out?” Bel said, crouching down.

“He’s probably frightened,” Mum explained. “This is all really strange for him.”

“Should we try the cat treats? The ones Rosie said he liked?” Ava suggested, opening the kitchen cupboard.

Tiger took a step closer to the open wire door as he heard the crinkle of the foil packet. He could smell the treats, too– the delicious fishy ones. Even though he was still scared, he padded forwards another couple of steps and peered through the wire bars. Yes, there was the packet. His whiskers twitched and he eyed the girl holding the treats.

“Come on, kitten!” Lucy wriggled away from Mum and bounced towards the cat carrier. Tiger heard her voice and the thud of her footsteps and retreated back inside the carrier.

“Luuu-cy!” Ava snapped and then wished she hadn’t when her little sister’s face crumpled. “You have to be really gentle,” she added, but Lucy had already burst into tears.

“Maybe we should give Tiger some time to come out by himself,” Dad suggested. “I know you all want to play with him but he’s nervous. Why don’t we put on a DVD?” He picked up Lucy for a cuddle and led Bel out of the kitchen but Ava hesitated. Surelyshe could stay? Tiger liked her– he’d let her lift him off the bookshelf the day before and he’d seemed happy for her to hold him then. She looked pleadingly at Dad but he shook his head. “It isn’t fair otherwise, Ava,” he pointed out. “And there’ll be loads of time to play with him.”