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“Nope. Mum thinks we’re all too busy to manage the walks and everything. And I like dogs, but not the same way that I love cats.” She giggled. “Chris said maybe we should get a lizard and Ruby thought that was a great idea. I’ve never seen Mum look so worried.” Then her smile faded and she looked miserably at Sky. “I don’t see how we can ever get a cat, not unless we move house.”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_5]

“Look at these – oh, little sweethearts!” Maria peered into the box. “They’re tiny. Maybe six weeks, do you think? They’re early, we haven’t hit kitten season yet!”

The three kittens peered back up at her cautiously, eyes round and wary. There was nothing else in the box with them, not even an old towel, and they were huddled close together. Their mother was gone and they were cold and scared.

“Where did they come from?” Lily asked, coming to look. “Wow, theyare pretty. Gorgeous stripey tabbies– and we don’t often get a pure white kitten.”

Maria picked up the white kitten gently.“She’s a girl. Isn’t she lovely? And what blue eyes! They were left behind the wheelie bins outside the supermarket. One of the workers from the warehouse brought them in. He said he wished he could keep them but he didn’t think they’d like his dog.”

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“At least they weren’t dumped until they started eating solid food,” Lily said. “Poor little loves – they look really lost.” Then she laughed as the white kitten let out a loud, squeaky mew. “Was that because I mentioned food? Are you hungry?” She tickled her under the chin and the white kitten gazed at her in surprise and then mewed again. “Let’s get you three into a pen and then we can try you on a little bit of wet food. They don’t look too skinny, do they? Someone must have been looking after their mum pretty well. I guess they just didn’t want the kittens.”

The white kitten wriggled and squealed, struggling to get back to her brother and sister. She wanted her mother more, but the other kittens were the only thing that she knew in this strange place. They would have to do.

“Yes, it’s OK, here you go.” Maria slipped her back into the box with the others. “We’ll put the box in the pen with them for the time being, shall we? It might help them feel safe.”

The white kitten huddled gratefully with the others, letting them nuzzle her all over. Then the three kittens froze as the box was picked up again. They skidded a little on the cardboard, sinking in their tiny claws and mewing in panic. What was happening? Where were they going now?

“Do you think they’re big enough to get out, or shall we tip the box on its side?” Maria asked.

“Mmmm. Tip it over, I’d say. It will take them ages to climb out and they might not be able to get back in again. A box isn’t much comfort, but it’s all they’ve got at the minute.”

Lily reached in and gathered up the kittens in a furry, squeaking mass until Maria had turned the box on to its side, so the kittens could easily step out into their pen.“There! Now you can have a little look around.”

The two tabby kittens looked at the open side of the box, and then padded slowly towards it. They peered out and snuffled at the air, then they set off to explore the pen. The white kitten watched them but she took a while to follow. The box felt safe and she didn’t like the bright lights.

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But she didn’t like being left alone either, and at last she stepped out of the box and began to sniff her way around.

She was in the back of the pen, padding her paws on the soft basket, when she smelled food. She hadn’t noticed the dish being put into the pen and she dashed over to join the other kittens. Her tabby sister was actually standing in the food bowl. The white kitten had to eat around her but she was so hungry that she didn’t care.

“Did you see that?” Maria crouched down by the pen to watch the three kittens eating. “She took ages to notice the food. The other two heard me opening the door and they rushed straight up. The white one just kept looking at the basket.”

“Maybe she wasn’t as hungry?” Lily suggested, but then she shook her head. “No, look at her now, she’s eating like she’s half-starved.”

“Yeah…” Maria clicked her fingers and the two tabby kittens looked up at once, their ears twitching. It was obvious they’d heard her. When she didn’t do anything else, they went back to eating as fast as they could.

The white kitten didn’t look up.

“I suppose we should have guessed that she might be deaf,” Lily said, looking at the white kitten. “White cats quite often are, and I’ve heard that if they have blue eyes it’s even more likely. Poor little thing.”

“It doesn’t seem to bother her though,” Maria pointed out. “She’s just as big as the other two, so it hasn’t stopped her feeding.”

Lily nodded.“But it’s going to make it harder to find her a home.”

The white kitten licked around her bit of the food dish, and then licked her tabby sister’s paws too. She sat down by the bowl and yawned, showing tiny needle-sharp teeth.

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