Episode Nine:
Boots
Two cats stalk each other in the night on a great island called DOOM. One is orange and fluffy. He’s fierce as a tiger. And rather handsome. The other is dark as the night sky. Black fur with terribly sharp claws. The black cat crouches, ready to pounce and dig its sharp claws into the tiger. It jumps. WHAM! The tiger spins around with ferocious speed, pinning the black cat to the ground. ROARRRRRRR!!
I could totally picture it. A story was playing out in my head about how this confrontation was likely to go down. I may have been new to this house, but I knew I had to be the one to own this house. Because I had to protect Abigail and Lily.
Phhh, I’m a Tiger, I thought as I began to prowl around the house in search of my prey. My tail, fluffier than it had been in a long time, twitched back and forth in anticipation. I can handle anything.
I crouched, then slowly slunk to the corner that separated the kitchen from the living room. I gave one last quick glance at Lily in her fish bowl to make sure she was still safe, then leapt around the corner, ready to confront the other cat.
Nothing.
I kept low and continued to silently walk, looking this way and that. I could smell it. Where is it?
Now that I was no longer in the kitchen, it was getting darker and darker. There were no lights on in the living room, and the voices from the kitchen seemed to be getting slightly quieter the further I moved away. I glanced to the right, and suddenly froze like a statue. Right there, barely three feet away, were eyes.
Big, yellow eyes.
I jumped in shock, then arched my back, feeling every single piece of fur on my body stand up straight. It was definitely a pair of eyes I was looking at, but I couldn’t see the rest of the cat. Oh no, I thought. I’m dealing with an invisible cat!
But no… maybe it was just a black cat, like the one I imagined before starting on this journey. A black cat, camouflaged by the dark.
The eyes blinked and disappeared.
What? I crouched down, eyeing the spot where the eyes had vanished. Did the cat actually close its eyes? Sure, it made it harder to see, but made it really vulnerable too. Wow, not a very smart cat!
I had just finished thinking this when I detected a quick motion to my left. What? How had the cat moved so fast? Was this some sort of ninja kitty?
SMASH.
MREWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOOOOO!
The Other Cat and I tumbled in a heap on the floor, with fur flying everywhere. I couldn’t tell if the Other Cat was trying to get away from me or get close enough to bite me. We rolled and tussled. One second I was on top. Then the bottom. Then I felt the Other Cat’s hind legs kicking off of me.
MREMEMEHEEOW!!!!!
Heavy footsteps. Running.
The light to the living room turned on, and I felt a large hand reach down and grab the scruff of my neck, pulling me away from Other Cat. I saw the Other Cat being picked up as well, but the man who lived in the house.
“Tiger, no!” Dad chided.
“Other Cat started it!” I said, which came out as a growl.
“You started it!” the Other Cat spat back in a hiss. “You trespassed on MY house.”
“I didn’t trespass. My little Abigail is here and it is my duty to protect her. Therefore, this is MY HOUSE!! So you are trespassing. Beat it, Cat!”
Other Cat hissed again, and I responded with my loudest yowl.
“Stop it!” Dad yelled.
They held us there, dangling by the scruffs of our necks, just like how my cat mom used to pick me up when I was a tiny kitten. Then, slowly, very slowly, Other Dad set Other Cat down on the floor.
“See?” Other Cat said, patting the floor. “My house.”
“It’s okay, Tiger,” Dad said calmly, now holding me in his arms, stroking me. I began to squirm to try to get down. Not fair. I wanted to be on the ground too.
“Tiger…” Dad raised his eyebrows and began to protest, but then set me carefully down on the floor, gently holding on to my midsection.
I stared at Other Cat, my fur still fluffing up ferociously.
“Tiger. No.”
Other Cat also fluffed her fur.
“Boots, no.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’re named after a boot?”
Boots’s fur relaxed ever so slightly as she rolled her eyes. “Boots is the best name. Ever heard of the movie Puss in Boots?”
I thought back. Actually, Abigail had watched that once before, I remembered. “Yeah..." I said. "But that’s a cat wearing boots. Not a cat NAMED Boot!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Boots said. “Yes, my name is Boots. And boots are really cool because they protect people’s feet. Nice to meet you… Fluff?”
“My name is not Fluff! It’s Tiger!" I protested. “And tigers are really cool because they protect people’s feet and the rest of them.”
“Or eat them.”
“You are a disgusting cat!”
Boots just stared me down. “Well Tiger, are you moving in?” she finally asked. “Why are you here? Looks like we’re going to have to learn how to get along…”
Moving in? “I – I don’t know. I hope not. No offense. We just flooded our house a little, so…”
Boots’s eyes widened. “Impressive. I love being pampered but sometimes I just want to do some more stuff… Like, something crazy!”
“Thank you,” I said uncertainly.
“So can we agree to try to get along?” Boots asked.
I eyed Boots. Now that the lights were on and we’d been talking for a while, she didn’t seem quite as threatening. She was a little smaller than me, and I could tell by her fast breathing that she was probably just as freaked out as I was.
Did it seem like Boots would eat Lily? ...No, not really.
“Just one last question,” I said. “What do you eat?”
“What do I eat?” Boots asked, looking puzzled. “Kibble.”
“Kibble?” I thought about that word. I’d never heard my family mention it before; I hoped Kibble wasn’t a fish. “And what’s kibble?”
“It’s this really tasty dry crunchy stuff. Kind of like cereal for cats.”
“Hmm… Okay, I’m willing to try to make this work, Boots.”
Boots walked toward me, looking a little timid, but determined all the same. “Handshake?”
I walked up too, and we eyed each other, each lifting a paw to handshake.
“Boots, Tiger, no.” Dad walked between us. “No fighting…”
I put my paw down. Boots did too.
“Ah, well.” I said, “I guess we'll shake another time.”
“Now that you’re here…” Boots said slowly. “Want to come see something? I’m not used to having another cat in the house - I think you’ll like it as long as you promise not to take it.”
“I am a noble Tiger. I don’t take things that don’t belong to me.”
Boots’s tail flicked. “I like noble. Come on; follow me.”
I could totally picture it. A story was playing out in my head about how this confrontation was likely to go down. I may have been new to this house, but I knew I had to be the one to own this house. Because I had to protect Abigail and Lily.
Phhh, I’m a Tiger, I thought as I began to prowl around the house in search of my prey. My tail, fluffier than it had been in a long time, twitched back and forth in anticipation. I can handle anything.
I crouched, then slowly slunk to the corner that separated the kitchen from the living room. I gave one last quick glance at Lily in her fish bowl to make sure she was still safe, then leapt around the corner, ready to confront the other cat.
Nothing.
I kept low and continued to silently walk, looking this way and that. I could smell it. Where is it?
Now that I was no longer in the kitchen, it was getting darker and darker. There were no lights on in the living room, and the voices from the kitchen seemed to be getting slightly quieter the further I moved away. I glanced to the right, and suddenly froze like a statue. Right there, barely three feet away, were eyes.
Big, yellow eyes.
I jumped in shock, then arched my back, feeling every single piece of fur on my body stand up straight. It was definitely a pair of eyes I was looking at, but I couldn’t see the rest of the cat. Oh no, I thought. I’m dealing with an invisible cat!
But no… maybe it was just a black cat, like the one I imagined before starting on this journey. A black cat, camouflaged by the dark.
The eyes blinked and disappeared.
What? I crouched down, eyeing the spot where the eyes had vanished. Did the cat actually close its eyes? Sure, it made it harder to see, but made it really vulnerable too. Wow, not a very smart cat!
I had just finished thinking this when I detected a quick motion to my left. What? How had the cat moved so fast? Was this some sort of ninja kitty?
SMASH.
MREWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOOOOO!
The Other Cat and I tumbled in a heap on the floor, with fur flying everywhere. I couldn’t tell if the Other Cat was trying to get away from me or get close enough to bite me. We rolled and tussled. One second I was on top. Then the bottom. Then I felt the Other Cat’s hind legs kicking off of me.
MREMEMEHEEOW!!!!!
Heavy footsteps. Running.
The light to the living room turned on, and I felt a large hand reach down and grab the scruff of my neck, pulling me away from Other Cat. I saw the Other Cat being picked up as well, but the man who lived in the house.
“Tiger, no!” Dad chided.
“Other Cat started it!” I said, which came out as a growl.
“You started it!” the Other Cat spat back in a hiss. “You trespassed on MY house.”
“I didn’t trespass. My little Abigail is here and it is my duty to protect her. Therefore, this is MY HOUSE!! So you are trespassing. Beat it, Cat!”
Other Cat hissed again, and I responded with my loudest yowl.
“Stop it!” Dad yelled.
They held us there, dangling by the scruffs of our necks, just like how my cat mom used to pick me up when I was a tiny kitten. Then, slowly, very slowly, Other Dad set Other Cat down on the floor.
“See?” Other Cat said, patting the floor. “My house.”
“It’s okay, Tiger,” Dad said calmly, now holding me in his arms, stroking me. I began to squirm to try to get down. Not fair. I wanted to be on the ground too.
“Tiger…” Dad raised his eyebrows and began to protest, but then set me carefully down on the floor, gently holding on to my midsection.
I stared at Other Cat, my fur still fluffing up ferociously.
“Tiger. No.”
Other Cat also fluffed her fur.
“Boots, no.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’re named after a boot?”
Boots’s fur relaxed ever so slightly as she rolled her eyes. “Boots is the best name. Ever heard of the movie Puss in Boots?”
I thought back. Actually, Abigail had watched that once before, I remembered. “Yeah..." I said. "But that’s a cat wearing boots. Not a cat NAMED Boot!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Boots said. “Yes, my name is Boots. And boots are really cool because they protect people’s feet. Nice to meet you… Fluff?”
“My name is not Fluff! It’s Tiger!" I protested. “And tigers are really cool because they protect people’s feet and the rest of them.”
“Or eat them.”
“You are a disgusting cat!”
Boots just stared me down. “Well Tiger, are you moving in?” she finally asked. “Why are you here? Looks like we’re going to have to learn how to get along…”
Moving in? “I – I don’t know. I hope not. No offense. We just flooded our house a little, so…”
Boots’s eyes widened. “Impressive. I love being pampered but sometimes I just want to do some more stuff… Like, something crazy!”
“Thank you,” I said uncertainly.
“So can we agree to try to get along?” Boots asked.
I eyed Boots. Now that the lights were on and we’d been talking for a while, she didn’t seem quite as threatening. She was a little smaller than me, and I could tell by her fast breathing that she was probably just as freaked out as I was.
Did it seem like Boots would eat Lily? ...No, not really.
“Just one last question,” I said. “What do you eat?”
“What do I eat?” Boots asked, looking puzzled. “Kibble.”
“Kibble?” I thought about that word. I’d never heard my family mention it before; I hoped Kibble wasn’t a fish. “And what’s kibble?”
“It’s this really tasty dry crunchy stuff. Kind of like cereal for cats.”
“Hmm… Okay, I’m willing to try to make this work, Boots.”
Boots walked toward me, looking a little timid, but determined all the same. “Handshake?”
I walked up too, and we eyed each other, each lifting a paw to handshake.
“Boots, Tiger, no.” Dad walked between us. “No fighting…”
I put my paw down. Boots did too.
“Ah, well.” I said, “I guess we'll shake another time.”
“Now that you’re here…” Boots said slowly. “Want to come see something? I’m not used to having another cat in the house - I think you’ll like it as long as you promise not to take it.”
“I am a noble Tiger. I don’t take things that don’t belong to me.”
Boots’s tail flicked. “I like noble. Come on; follow me.”
Next > Episode Ten: Special Things
