The Kitten; A Short Story.

Updated (with photos) 1/31/15

Several weeks ago, a fall nor'easter made its way up the coast of New England.  Several inches of rain fell from New Jersey to Massachusetts and snow covered northern New Hampshire and Maine.  The high temperature that day was only 44 degrees in Manchester, New Hampshire; not far from where our story takes place.  Needless to say, it was a raw, cold and windy day.  The kind of day we like to hunker down with a good book in front of a cozy fireplace.  Perhaps a quilt on our lap and a cup of tea on the side table.  Not a good day to be out.

So when her husband answered the phone that blustery afternoon, he didn't expect to hear the neighbor on the other end explaining what he had just found in the middle of the road.  "A kitten" the neighbor said.  Cold, wet and quiet enough to make him wonder if it was still alive.  "I thought you might like it.  It would make a wonderful house cat.  Maybe three or four weeks old."  Moments later, her husband hiked across the field in the cold teeming rain. As she waited with anticipation, rain continued to pelt the kitchen window.  The furnace rumbled on in the basement, like a train leaving the station.  Where in the world did this tiny creature come from, she wondered.  Her excitement got the best of her and she ran upstairs to grab the old fuzzy pink blanket for the visitor.  She waited expectantly at the kitchen door for the two of them to return.

As the old door creaked open, he stepped into the warm kitchen and opened his brown corduroy shirt.  Out popped her head...."I'd like you to meet Autumn" he said.

That's how Autumn Snow found her new home.  Yes, it was a girl.  Sopping wet like a wet rag, this sweet little kitten looked at her and blinked.  A tiger, she thought.  Memories flooded back to her of the tiger she had has a child.  He followed her everywhere and was even, on occasion, dressed up and put in the doll carriage.  She bundled the fury wet mass in the blanket.  The sweet little kitty seemed to smile as she opened her beautiful green eyes wider upon entering the warm house.  There was no question....Autumn Snow was here to stay.

Although it was a happy ending for Autumn, the story doesn't always end that way.  Please have your pets spayed or neutered!

I've received an update on Autumn Snow....

"Autumn has quickly adjusted to our little farmhouse and her big fluffy orange brother! He actually gives her a face bath every morning. Maybe he's trying to lick off her beautiful spots as she matures into a wild tiger ;-) That leads to her wrapping both her "arms" around his neck.  He puts up with that for about two minutes, then, it turns into a chase around the house game.  He better watch out, she might end up larger than he is.  She has her first vet appointment in a few weeks. Wonder what she'll be like in the car en route?  I think she'll be all tuckered out when she gets home."