The Case Of The Displaced Family

Nobody in the village suspected that the old lean-to opposite the bakery was headquarters for one of the most secret organisations in the world.
To most people, it looked like a few bits of wood, a tired roof, and an old carrot box.
But some of the letters on the box had faded, leaving only:
CA T
And that, according to Mister M, could only mean one thing.
C.A.T.
Cat Action Team.

“Agents, we have a situation,” said Mister M.

Shadow and Marmalade looked up.

“Shadow has discovered a mother cat with very young kittens in the quieter part of the village.”

Marmalade sat forward.

“New arrivals?”

“Not exactly,” said Mister M. “Shadow?”

Shadow took over.

“I heard the kittens first. They are very young. The mother is hiding behind a low wall.”

“Did you speak to her?” asked Marmalade.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“She made it quite clear that I should keep my distance.”

Mister M nodded.

Marmalade looked thoughtful.

“So what do we know?”

“Only that she is there,” said Shadow. “And that she is extremely defensive.”

Mister M turned towards Marmalade.

“This is not a surveillance problem. It needs diplomacy.”

Marmalade straightened.

“You will make contact,” said Mister M.

“With food?” asked Marmalade.

“With patience.”

Marmalade considered this.

“Is patience like food?”

“No.”

“Then I may need instructions.”

Marmalade found the mother cat exactly where Shadow had described.

She was tucked behind the low wall, with the kittens hidden close beside her.

As soon as Marmalade appeared, her head came up.

She hissed.

Marmalade stopped.

“Good afternoon,” he said.

The mother cat hissed again.

Marmalade sat down.

A little further away.

“I have been told to be patient,” he said.

The mother cat stared at him.

Marmalade looked away.

He waited.

Nothing happened.

He waited a little longer.

Still nothing.

“This patience business takes quite a long time,” he muttered.

The mother cat gave a quieter hiss.

Marmalade stayed where he was.

After a while, she stopped hissing altogether.

That seemed like progress.

Marmalade glanced towards her.

“I am not here to take your food,” he said.

The mother cat looked at him.

“There isn’t any food,” she said.

Marmalade blinked.

That was not the answer he had expected.

“Our place is gone,” she continued.

“Gone?”

“Fenced off. Machines.”

Marmalade looked towards the tiny shapes beside her.

“And the kittens?”

“Too small to move far.”

For once, Marmalade had nothing to say.

He stood up slowly.

“I think Mister M needs to know about this,” he said.

The mother cat watched him leave.

She did not hiss.

Marmalade returned to headquarters looking unusually serious.

“Well?” asked Mister M.

“She has been displaced,” said Marmalade.

Shadow looked up.

“Her old home has gone. Fenced off. Machines are there now.”

“And the kittens?” asked Mister M.

“Too young to move very far.”

For a moment, nobody said anything.

“Then she needs food,” said Shadow.

Mister M nodded.

“Food,” he said, “and somewhere safe.”

“She still doesn’t trust us completely,” said Marmalade.

“She does not need to,” replied Mister M. “Not yet.”

Shadow looked at him.

“So what do we do?”

Mister M sat a little straighter.

“We show her where help can be found.”

Shadow left headquarters first.

His job was to find the safest route between the mother cat’s home and the feeding place.

He checked the road.

Too busy.

He checked the alley behind the shops.

Too many dogs.

A narrow path beside a garden wall looked better. It was quiet, partly hidden by bushes, and led almost all the way to the place where the humans put down food each day.

Shadow returned to headquarters.

“I have a route,” he said.

Mister M nodded.

“Good. Marmalade, you will take her.”

Marmalade looked towards the village.

And if she will not follow me?”

“Then you do not rush her,” said Mister M. “She must decide for herself.”

A little later, Marmalade was sitting once again near the mother cat.

She watched him carefully.

“There is a place nearby,” he said. “Food appears there every day.”

The mother cat said nothing.

“The same humans come back,” Marmalade continued. “Cats are not chased away.”

She glanced towards her kittens.

“You do not have to stay,” said Marmalade. “Just come and see.”

The mother cat hesitated.

Then, slowly, she stood.

Marmalade got to his feet.

He did not move towards her.

Instead, he turned and began walking along the route Shadow had found.

After a few steps, he looked back.

The mother cat was settling her kittens, then she started following.

Marmalade kept well ahead of her.

He followed the quiet path beside the garden wall, exactly as Shadow had shown him.

The mother cat stayed several paces behind.

Whenever Marmalade looked back, she stopped.

So he stopped looking back.

At last they reached the feeding place.

Mister M and Shadow were already there, watching from a distance.

Several other cats were gathered around the bowls.

The mother cat froze.

One by one, the other cats looked up.

For a moment they watched the newcomer.

Then, apparently satisfied that she was no threat, they went back to eating.

A human was filling the remaining bowls.

Marmalade sat down.

“She comes every day,” he said quietly.

The mother cat watched.

The human filled the last bowl, stood up, and walked away.

Still the mother cat did not move.

Marmalade waited.

Eventually she crept forward.

She sniffed the nearest bowl.

Then she began to eat.

The other cats glanced at her again, but none of them challenged her.

Within moments, everyone was eating.

Marmalade watched her for a moment.

He looked at the other bowls.

Then he looked away.

Mister M noticed.

For Marmalade, this was an impressive display of restraint.

The mother cat ate quickly.

When she had finished, she turned at once and hurried back along the path.

Shadow watched her go.

“Back to the kittens.”

Mister M nodded.

“Exactly where she should be.”

For the next two days, C.A.T. kept watch.

Shadow checked the route.

Marmalade watched the feeding place.

The mother cat came back.

The first time, she waited at the edge until the other cats had started eating.

The second time, she came closer.

By the third visit, she walked straight to the bowls.

“She is learning,” said Shadow.

“She is deciding,” said Mister M.

Marmalade looked towards the path.

“And the kittens?”

“When she trusts the place,” said Mister M, “she will bring them. A mother cat knows when it is time.”

So they waited.

The following morning, Shadow was the first to notice.

He stared towards the sanctuary wall.

“Mister M.”

Mister M looked up.

The mother cat was there.

Beside her were the kittens.

They were tucked close against the wall while she ate nearby.

Marmalade hurried over, then stopped himself before getting too close.

“She brought them.”

Mister M nodded.

“When she was ready.”

Shadow watched the kittens settling together in the safe corner.

“So now?”

Mister M looked at the mother cat, then at the kittens, then at the bowls.

“Case closed.”

Marmalade looked towards the food.

“With catering,” he said.

To anyone passing by, they looked like three ordinary street cats.

Which, of course, was exactly what they wanted people to think.

Case file closed. please leave any relevant comments and likes in the Guestbook here. Thanks