The Mostly True Story About How Scout Came to Live with Us

(Note: I wrote this and published it on another page several years ago; however, someone reported it as spam and Facebook now refuses to post it under the original link. I can’t imagine why anyone considered it as spam.)

When the tiny black kitten came into the world her mother licked her clean and gathered her close for warmth. Another kitten soon followed. This one was a boy, grey with black stripes, and the mother cat cleaned her newborn son and snuggled him next to his sister.

Outside the box in which the mother cat had taken shelter a storm raged. Thanks to good instincts or perhaps just good luck the mother had found a place untouched by the heavy winds and rain that humans would call a hurricane.

Inside the box the mother and her two babies were safe and snug. She wrapped her tail around both of them and sighed as they began to nurse. Soon she would need to find food for herself, but for the moment everything in her world was just right. So she slept.

The mother cat was not sure how much time had passed when she awoke, but she knew she was hungry. Gently she pressed her nose to each of her kittens and licked their fur with her rough tongue. With great care she eased herself away from the squirming infants and stepped out into the wet and windy world. It seemed to her that the storm was not as strong as it had been on the night her kittens were born.

While the mother was an excellent hunter the storm had forced all of the animals to seek shelter, so she had to search for a long time before finding her prey. Once her hunger was satisfied she began her journey back to her babies.

On their own in the box the kittens stirred restlessly. They were hungry and cold. Outside the box the wind had died down. With their little eyes still tightly shut they could do nothing but wait for their mother to return. Finally, meowing her special meow the mother came hurrying back to her little ones. She was still hungry but knew that after her meal she would be able to take care of her kittens for awhile before leaving them again.

As the days passed the kittens grew stronger. Now their little legs were able to hold them up, and their eyes had begun to open. Mother cat was able to leave them alone for longer periods of time while she looked for food. It seemed to their mother that her babies were always hungry. “Mew! Mew! Mew!” They both cried when they were not busy eating or sleeping snugly next to her.

One day while mother cat was out hunting the kittens grew especially anxious. They were old enough now to see dim shapes, and they could see bits of the world outside their box. Poking their little heads outside they blinked at the bright sunshine that had replaced the clouds. The little black kitten was very brave and she put one paw outside the box to pat playfully at a droplet of water. Her brother scampered backward afraid to get his paw wet. The sister braved a full step into the world when strange sounds came to her ears, and she retreated, as well.

“Look! There’s one! No, two!” cried a voice.

“Oh, you’re tiny little ones,” said another.

The kittens had never heard the voices of humans, and they were more frightened than they had ever been. They both backed up against the back of the box.

“I’ll bet these babies were born during the hurricane,” said the first voice. “It looks like they’re doing ok, though.”

“Mother must be out searching for food. She won’t come back while we’re here, though. Let’s back away so we can take all three.”

The kittens shivered in the box, but at least the voices had gone away. “Mew! Mew!” they called. Maybe their mother would hurry back and move them to safety. Finally they heard their mother’s special meow. They ran to the front of their box and reached their tiny paws up to pat her face. Their mother was so eager to feed her babies that she didn’t sense the humans nearby until it was too late.

“Here you are!” crooned the first human, as he reached to hold the mother cat by the scruff of her neck. She hissed and clawed, but the man had gloves on his hands, and he held her very firmly, but gently.

“Just pick up the box with the little ones in it,” he said to the other man.”

“Good idea. This will work until we get the little fellas back to the shelter.”

The cats did not realize they were in caring hands, so they fought and cried all the way back to the rescue shelter. Once there they were bathed by volunteers. A veterinarian looked in their ears and noses and made sure they were well. All three were pronounced healthy, and the little family was reunited in a comfortable crate.

After two weeks of love and affection the mother and her babies had become accustomed to the touch of human hands. The time had come for all three to find homes. On a bright Saturday morning one of the humans loaded up his van with crates carrying cats and kittens of all ages. He drove his special cargo to a shopping mall where people could adopt a shelter pet.

Throughout the day many strange people came to the adoption area. The little black kitten watched as her mother was adopted by a woman who said, “You look just like the cat I had as a little girl.”

Then her brother was adopted by a little girl who exclaimed, “Oh, Daddy, he is the cutest thing in the whole world! I promise I will take very good care of him!”

The little black kitten was confused. She did not like all of the people talking, and she did not like it when her mother and brother were taken away from her.

“Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart,” said a woman. The little kitten looked up and cocked her head. “May I pick this one up?” asked the woman.

“Sure. This one is special. We found her along with her brother and mother living in a box in an area devastated by the hurricane. It’s a miracle any of them survived. She was scouting out the territory on the day she was found, or we wouldn’t have seen her or her brother.”

“Scouting, you say?” smiled the woman. The little black kitten touched her nose to the woman’s nose and purred loudly. “What a brave little cat you are. I think I’ll call you Scout.”

Happily, Scout snuggled against her friend. She had a very good feeling about this new adventure.