Linus & Schroeder - A Kitty Kind of Love

 

A long time ago, I used to belong to someone else, but something happened and I found myself scared and alone, hiding under a bush surrounded by a hot, flat surface that human's zooming things roll on. I didn't know where to go, so I stayed under the bush, meowing every once in a while in the hopes that, somehow, meowing would help. 

I had just about given up hope. I meowed one more time when I heard human voices. There was silence then I heard the girl human say, "Listen dad, did you hear that?" 

The next thing I knew, two faces were peering earnestly at me. 

"Oh, dad! Can we please take him home? He's so cute! Please?" the girl begged. I liked her. A lot. I cried again and slowly made my way toward them. 

"Hmm, I'm not sure. We've already got Charlie. We'll have two to take care of if we take this one home. Besides, he might belong to someone." the tall man replied, thoughtfully.

"Can we at least take him to a vet and see if he has a chip?" the girl asked the tall man. 

After lots of back-and-forth, the tall man finally agreed and the girl picked me up. She got inside the zooming thing and I hunkered down into her lap, a thumping in my chest thumping loudly. 

I didn't like where they took me. I had been to one before. It smelled like fear, dogs and humans. I wanted to escape but instead, I snuggled deeper into the girl's arms while the human who lived at that place poked and prodded me. 

After a while we were done and we, once again, got into the zooming thing. I was tired and just wanted to go home. Maybe that's where we're going, I thought to myself. The thumping in my chest slowed down and I settled into the girl's lap to take a nap. 

But as soon as I started dozing, I felt the zooming thing come to a stop. I raised my fuzzy head and stared out the mysterious invisible thing to the trees beyond. The trees didn't look like the trees at home. Where was I?

As soon as the girl got out of the zooming thing with me in her arms, I began sniffing the air. It was all so strange and different. I didn't pick up the scent of Rascal the black cat who lived next to me and Brownie the dog's scent was no where to be found either. Instead, there were new scents of strange cats and several dogs. My chest thumped wildly and I tried to push against the girl because I wanted to explore and let the strange cats and dogs know I was here, but she hugged me tightly against her body. 

We were headed for a place where humans sleep. The tall man opened the door and immediately scents bombarded my nose. Human food, the tall man and the girl's smell along with two other strange human scents and...oh, no! Could it be? I sniffed frantically. Another cat! Where was he? I had to find him! 

I struggled in the girl's arms but she held me tight and didn't let me go until she had set me on a soft thing that humans lay on when all is dark. She closed the door. I was trapped in this small space. I paced and cried. I was sad, scared, curious and upset. Everything in my world had turned upside-down and now I was being confined like a bad kitty. 

Sometimes the girl opened the door and when she did, I tried my best to escape but she always closed the door before I could. The only thing good about all this was that when it got dark outside and the girl humans laid down on their soft things (for there were two girl humans),  I got to lay down next to one of them and sleep. Only then did I feel like maybe everything was going to be okay. 

Eventually, they let me out of the room. The first day they did, I was so happy! I ran from one corner to another, sniffing and peering to see what I could find. I crawled under things, jumped up on things and never stopped sniffing. 

I was happily exploring when something caught my eye. It was movement in the corner of a room filled with those mysterious invisible things that aren't, yet they are. There were two birds in a strange cage. I couldn't believe my luck. I jumped up on a large wood slab, hunkered down and wiggled my backside. I watched as the birds sang and hopped around inside the strange cage. This was going to be an easy catch. Never had I been able to get this close to birds. I was now only two feet away and yet the birds still chirped and seemed to not care that I was there. 

I wiggled my backside once more and then pushed off with my back legs, springing into the air and landing beautifully on the cage. But instead of an easy meal, all I caught was chaos. 

The birds weren't just chirping now, they were screaming as they fluttered around inside their cage, which excited me more. I clung to the cage, trying to find a way to get to them but before I could, I felt the hands of a human grabbing me and pulling me off the cage. It was the tall man. 

No, no, no! I thought to myself as I wriggled in his arms and looked back longingly at the tempting birds that were still flapping around in their cage. Much to my dismay I was, once again, imprisoned in the human girl's room. I cried and cried, but no one had pity on me. I had never even had the chance to meet the other cat who apparently had been hiding from me. 

I thought I was going to be in that room forever, but one day the human girl who had brought me here put a strange black thing around my neck. At first I was scared, but after a few minutes I decided it was going to be okay because right after she put it on me, she opened the door and left it open. I was free again! 

I took off running as fast as I could, straight for the large room with the mysterious invisible things that aren't, yet are. I jumped up onto the wooden slab and headed straight for the spot I ambushed the birds from before. I couldn't believe my luck. The birds were still there, singing and hopping from perch to perch. 

I inched closer and closer to the edge of the wooden slab. I could almost taste the warm blood of the birds. I wiggled in anticipation and inched forward just a little bit more. In a split second, pain shot into my neck and I leaped into the air and bolted in the opposite direction of the birds. I didn't know what had happened, but I ran as far away as I could, accidently bumping into the strange kitty as I did so, who looked at me in horror and hissed. I didn't care though. All I cared about was getting away from whatever had attacked me. 

I hid under the bed for a long time, my chest thumping wildly. All was quiet, so after an hour or so, I slowly crept out from under the soft thing that humans sleep on. I slowly headed toward the large room where the birds were. All looked fine. It was as if nothing had happened. I blinked, trying to clear my head. The birds were still in their cage and looking as delicious as ever. I slowly crept forward. This time I stayed on the floor. Maybe it was the giant wood slab that had attacked me. 

Inch by inch I moved forward. Nothing happened. Emboldened, I picked up the pace until I was under the giant wood slab and looking up at the birds. So far, so good. I inched forward one more time. 

Buzz!

I yowled and zoomed out of the room. I hid under the soft thing humans sleep on for a long time. No amount of coaxing from the tall man and human girls could get me out. I fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of birds and being zapped. 

Eventually, I came back out. I learned that I could go most anywhere except near the birds. In fact, I became sort of used to the buzz. It didn't scare me as bad when it happened. Trust me, I know. I tried to push past the buzz because I really wanted the birds but I never could. Instead, I would protest when my neck was buzzed and have to back away, much to my embarrassment. 

But there was one strange thing about all of it. The strange kitty, who I learned was named Charlie, was able to go where the birds were all the time. It annoyed me so bad! I couldn't understand why he wasn't being buzzed, but I was. I even tried to get him to catch them and bring one back to me, but he just looked at me with tired, old eyes and curled up on a soft blanket the human girls had put there for him that was sitting next to the bird's cage. He even had his food and poop box right next to the bird cage. 

I was so frustrated that he was able to be next to the birds and I wasn't and I was so desperate to catch something, I began tormenting Charlie. I would wait for him to walk by, then ambush him which always ended with him hissing and swatting at me. He was boring. 

But one day, Charlie was gone and he never came back. I was now king of the house and I took great pride in being king. Each day I patrolled the mysterious invisible things that aren't, yet are, watching the chipmunks, squirrels and birds as they nibbled on seeds. I got all the love and pettings I could want from the humans. I had finally hit the jackpot. 

Then they brought Him home. Schroeder was his name they said. They locked him up in the human girl's room for a few days, for which I was glad. 

One day though, they let him out. He ran from corner to corner, sniffing. He greeted me with a nose bump, but I hissed. Who was this young cat and why did he think he had any right to be here? I watched his every move as he explored. 

I watched as he headed for the large room with the mysterious invisible things that aren't, yet are. I saw his body twitch with anticipation as he jumped up on the large wooden slab. I noticed the black thing around his neck. I settled onto my haunches as he inched closer to the edge of the wooden slab. 

The show was about to begin. 

Schroeder inched forward a little bit more. Suddenly he did a back flip into the air, landed on the table and skidded across it as he bolted the length of it in the opposite direction of the birds and flew straight into the human girl's room. 

 

I stood, stretched and casually strolled to where he was hidden and said, "Welcome to the family, Schroeder. Welcome to the family." He meowed, his eyes pitiful, beseeching. He rubbed against me, purring. I felt a bit sorry for the poor kid, so I let him. 

Schroeder never again attempted to go near the birds. 

I got used to Schroeder, though he is a bit annoying and sometimes I have to put him in his place. But I guess he's alright. 

It sure beats being under a bush surrounded by human zooming things. And sometimes, it's nice having a friend to cuddle with. **

**Some liberties were taken in sharing this story since I wasn't present when Linus was brought home, but the gist of what happened has been captured.