The dreaded word culling cut the delicate cat ears, the tips of which had already begun to turn gray, as Siamese are supposed to do, because they are born white. But in this litter of one cat-girl they were becoming feathery, and the breeder of club cats got nervous. And the further, the more angry he got at the "purebred" cat with a certified pedigree and championship. He once again took the fat cat to the light and aghast, the kitten clearly had a vertical stripe, dividing the muzzle along the nose into red and ordinary gray.
- A cull! - He exclaimed again in anger.
And the nursing cat-mommy got excited, with a cry of meow-meow, ran after him into the kitchen.
The owners there were scrutinizing the little girl and calling her all sorts of names! They called her a pestrel and a hen.
How could you do that?!
After all, this crossing was to bring them snow-show kittens, which were sharply coming into fashion, pushing purebred Siamese to the background. And what to do, out of five one rippled redhead succeeded and a kitten with white splashes on his paws and gray muzzle. That's the only kitty and will be in the price.
Today we were waiting for the vet for vaccinations and passports, then we can put it up for sale... Well, Pestrushka should be hidden.
Margo the cat worried a lot on such days and shouted urgently, gathering the kittens to herself, as if she understood the word "culling" and the soon disappearance of the kittens from the crib. Petrushka was silent and did not give herself away in any way, sitting in a dark box in a dusty pantry. But an incomprehensible fear came over her again and again to the point of trembling. In the evening she was returned to her mother, her siblings squeaked after vaccinations and did not fight for the milk tit.
The kitten, having pumped at will, looked very carefully and seriously at the table lamp, the owner's back at the computer, the owner noticed the look and said to the man:
- Look... she's a little slanty too. Oh, trouble, you can't sell it, you can't show it as your own, we'll immediately tarnish our reputation, someone at the club will find out that it's our Margo's...
Then they spent the whole evening photographing the kittens, putting up for sale purebreds from parents with great pedigrees. Margo felt the closeness of parting with the babies and even at night she cried out restlessly.
In the morning they started to give fodder, to teach the baby to eat on its own, Pestrushka felt new smells, tasty, but the owners did not let her near. Mama cat yielded her bowl to her unusual daughter, and she quite coped with adult dry food, it was pleasant to chew it.
- Wow, such a big girl, strong, and so color failed, - sighed the owner, not continuing the thought.
The host shook his head, making a decision, then offered:
- Well, not to drown... A neighbor boasted that they have a whole flock of nobles feeding in the shop, not freezing... sort of.
***
The kitten, once again in the dark box, was so frightened that she didn't even squeak or rejoice at the mound of delicious-smelling dry food. Suddenly the whole dark world shook, and the peas began to roll with a slight rustle. These sounds were replaced by a terrifying rumble, a stench, and a coldness she had never known before. She huddled in a corner, not knowing what to expect.
What else could be scarier for a two-month-old reject kitten?
Eventually the owner opened the top, crossed himself and left. She didn't even think to meow or run after him - home to mom....
Soon she was surrounded by a gang of unfamiliar cats at the smell of food, the little girl only just managed to skulk into some crevice between cold boxes, everything was rumbling around her, banging until her ears hurt. By nightfall she was hungry and cold, and when she got out, she couldn't find her cardboard box or the gang of cats. And the nasty odor, the sticky floor, everything frightened her. She climbed onto the long wooden table and found some rags in the iron box, in which she burrowed.
The morning started at the factory after dark, someone pulled a rag and found it, informing his buddies:
- Wow! We got another baby.
Someone's stinky fingers picked her up by the scruff of her neck and passed her from hand to hand.
It was the first time she had tasted sausage, it was good, but the stench was too much to bear. She was taken to the "safe place", where it looked like those savages had been fed on cardboard, there was no wind, but no heat. She sipped cold water from a bowl and began to look around. She couldn't see the ceiling, there was something clanking back and forth, the walls were covered with machines in rows, only a dirty window overhead, but it was impossible to get a grip on the brick walls to see the light. But she decided to get closer to the wall anyway.
Eh, if they'd thrown some of those stinking rags between the crates, maybe life would have been warmer.
But her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a one-eyed, once ginger cat with black smeared paws. He noticed the newcomer in his territory and glared menacingly with one eye, but did not rush in. Soon kittens, teenage kittens and young males began to arrive. They leisurely sat down, licked themselves and caught fleas, sometimes squinting into the corner where the cull was hidden. By some sniff they realized that she was not like them, because she still smelled of milk, of home, which these factory workers had never known....
Then it's your own fault, you don't belong among the wild...
The cat pack didn't yell, didn't threaten in any way, but from the slanted stares, the cull knew it was better not to approach, they'd beat her to death.
She didn't come up when the aunt with the bags showed up, started to look and talk to everyone. The little girl knew the friendly voice from home.
Everyone seemed to have eaten, but the cull was afraid to come out of the narrow gap. The men were smoking and talking to the aunt, she was fidgeting, looking around, but she never saw Pestrushka.
When everything went dark and quiet, the little one barely got out, almost got stuck, quickly grabbed the food scattered on the ground, took a sip of water and rushed to a familiar place to warm up. It was not possible to jump in the first time, and its paws clung badly to the leg of the workbench. But the wild fear gave her speed, and she found her place after all.
In the morning she was not to be touched, plucked off the sausages again, promising something kindly.
- How long have you had her? - The aunt asked, gently took her warm hands and grumbled unhappily: "A thoroughbred, a cull. They're so evil, as if they couldn't find a home for her themselves. Already covered in fuel oil...
- I think it's the third one... No, take it away, Maryvanna, it's going to die here, take it away before it gets sick. It's obviously a stray, ours don't carry feathers.
- Where am I going?! Where can I go... I have to quarantine her, and I'm all booked up.
- We'll make you a box, take it.
***
Once in Maryvannah's kitchen, in a plastic cage by the radiator, the Siamese cull cat fell asleep sweetly and warmly. Through her sleep she heard that her name would now be Fiona, the name given to depressed kitties. She kept silent, even when she was vaccinated, she was afraid to eat together with everyone, though in this kitchen it was forbidden to fight, everyone had his own bowl and place, but Fiona was still afraid, there were a lot of cats and cats, some of them went home to their mother. But Fiona didn't trust anyone, she would never go home to her mom.
There were also photo shoots in this house, everyone was photographed against a beautiful background, in a favorable angle. And Fiona, no matter how much they put her in front of the camera, her ears would go down in a propeller. Yes, it was called overstaying, cats, cats, kittens sooner or later were adopted, new ones appeared, even that one-eyed bandit, ginger, from the factory was caught, treated and adopted. Fiona felt inferior, despite her impressive size, she did not dare to leave the cage, except at night when she snuck to the litter box, water and food.
But that wasn't the worst of it; when her hormones kicked in, she rolled unabashedly on the floor, it was noticed, and soon after the injection, she fell into a complete void, whence she emerged in an unfamiliar place and crawled shakily under the bed. A complete stranger pulled her out into the light, even petted her, put food and water, but Fiona did not know where to hide from the cutting pain all over her abdomen....
Of course, the blanket was finally removed, and they let her out of the cage, but she persisted in crawling away to hide. The place smelled of house cats, warmth, comfort, kindness, but there were a lot of them. Not as many as at the foster home, but... Tatiana was their mom, and she was still at the photo shoot with drooping ears.
In the second year, Fiona sometimes at night even came to Tatiana to warm herself at her feet, no one chased her away, but also did not love her, did not lick her the way others took care of each other....
The day came, Fiona was put in the carrier, it was frosty and white outside, and the city was making a terrible noise. Tatiana threw her into the back seat of her car and drove her away... Then the door opened, Tatiana put Fiona into the soft carrier with an imperious hand, and they never met again. The house bounced slightly as the woman walked, and she held it against her and blocked the net with her open palm, saying, "Mommy's with you".
Then something terrible rumbling and whistling deafened Fiona, then she saw the snow again, the street, and heard the voice of Mama-toboy. That must have been the aunt's name.
Finally the traffic stopped, the carrier was placed on a soft dais. Through the netting Fiona could see the man, the boy, smell the delicious odors and the presence of "her" cats. Mama-toboy opened the door, but Fiona only squeezed herself tighter into the bedding, then the two-legged unzipped the carrier, and Mama took Fiona in a masterly way, pressed her chest with the words: "Show yourself to us, beautiful.
In a flash, Fiona assessed the situation, rear thrusting paws with claws dug into Mama-toba's belly, and the cat scrambled under the low bed. Laughter erupted instead of scolding.
- Oh, you're strong, Mother Fiona....
This is where the bipeds got into an argument, and the depressed two-year-old was named Nyasha.
- Nyash-Nyash-Nyash, you're home, Nyashulya, Mommy's with you," the biped cooed.
Her son lay on the floor, shining a flashlight, but soon the two-legged decided not to touch the new cat, sliding the delicious pate, water and dry food under the bed.
No one from the home pride attacked, they were all fat and lazy. Nyasha looked out a few times, but was afraid to run to the litter box. She really had too much to eat and had to shit where you sleep. I've never done that before, but I had to....
The next day was completely devoted to Nyasha, of course, the bed was moved away from the wall, the parquet was cleaned, and that was it. Nyasha never came out, and was not going to come out, only watched how the black long-legged kitten with broken ears ran after the broom, rolled on the terrible weapon - a mop and even a wet rag. Then the broom with a jingle rustled under the bed, barely reaching his paws. Nyasha hissed, then poked her paw, and then a small cat, a lop-eared cat, crawled up to her and began to pull the feather broom under the bed. He paid no attention to her hissing.
What's the big deal?
All big aunt-cats hiss at varmints, that's what Busyonka's bipedal mom explained to him. Millie, the owner of the Pride parade, even tries to bring up her mother, and nothing, no one is afraid or offended.
Having snatched the toy under the bed, Busyonysh nibbled and nibbled the feathers and fell asleep. Nyasha hissed, then sniffed the feathers, sniffed the baby and calmed down, and then went to sleep herself.
Each day the saucers moved away from the wall a little at a time, to the toilet Nyasha used to sneak in at night, when there was a thorough snoring in the house.
Yes, yes, the king cat snored louder than the owners, whose feet and hands Nyasha sniffed carefully and liked the smell.
Nyasha was flirted with every day, and the mother or her offspring had to lie down on the floor, a hand under the cheek and chase the broom with a jingle bell until Busik threw up, then Nyasha was still timidly playing tug a feather with the kitten. That one growled funny, grasping with teeth that he had lost his milk teeth that way. If Nyasha could laugh, she would have laughed, but as it was, she just licked. The kitten suddenly nuzzled into her with such childlike directness, as she had once nuzzled her mother's belly.
He was lucky, he did not lose his trustworthiness, he was picked up as a baby, and there is no one better than mom... Bussyonok purred a lot of things in his sleep, Nyashka took pity on him and licked him.
Busyonok shared his horrors that he had experienced until he was on his mother's breast. He was born in the village under the house, his cat was this time more cunning, because in the village kittens were drowned, that's why she hid, and showed herself to the old woman, when they could already run, and it was time to feed them not only with milk. But then the old woman died, and the grandfather did not care about such troubles. And the three kittens tried to catch mice and birds, but only the kittens succeeded, they ran around the yard from both dogs and people, and drank from a puddle.
And then the old lady's daughter came, grabbed him and brought him back to his real mom. Auntie-cat Millie hissed all the time, though she slept on a pillow - she was treating the head of her bare-footed mother. But Busyonok was so cold outside that he still crawled under the blanket to her, and during the day he was warmed by his daddy on his chest under his sweater. Barely got used to how the dacha season closed, then a little more fear in the car, and here they all are.
And that's great!
Nyasha listened, marveled at how scary and big the world was, but did not hurry to obey the baby. So it turned out that Nyasha did not go out to people, and Busik disappeared under her bed, inviting her to play broomstick with bipeds.
The day came when the saucer half slid out from under the bed. Big Nyasha, of course, liked to eat, respected food in any form, and did not immediately notice that her mother was watching her with a smile and squinting her eyes, saying, "I love you, Nyasha. She wanted to back up, but there Busik was playing with her tail, and the pate was excellent, and breadcrumbs, and even further away - behind the bed, there were saucers with milk and other goodies in full view, but no one was munching. The whole Pride lined up at different heights, throwing indifferent glances at Nyasha, who looked out of sight.
A couple of months passed, Milly, the tsar-cat, was waltzing from the litter box to her bed. She did not make any unnecessary movements at all, then from behind the cabinet jumped out Angora white with grayish-red spots on the back of the cat Udacha, natukala paw old lady. Milly, without interrupting the move, swung away so that Udacha flew under the chair. The king-cat lay down and snored.
Nyasha was shocked by this scene, but Busik explained that Luck had a bump on her head. She had fallen out of a window, and the son of a barefoot mom had picked her up with a broken face, and the owners hadn't responded. All summer she lived with her boyfriend alone in the apartment, and then parents with the Pride came from the country, but Ucha recognizes only her rescuer, and everyone considers invaders and invaders.
Marusya was giggling from above, she also wanted to be a leader and sleep on her mother's head when she was young, but she grew up and wised up. And there was also a tiny Siamese cat Fenya, rescued from cat hell, but it's better not to remember about it... And in general, it's time to show everyone what a beauty we have.
By the way, Fenya was Fiona too, and as you can see, came out of the depression.....
The next morning Nyasha poked her head out from under the bed and ate without looking at the family, yes, she heard that she was beautiful, saw that she was loved, but she did not dare to make a run for a broomstick or a mouse on a fishing rod, like Marusya or Fenya. They could not intercept the flying mouse, Millie was asleep as usual, in a split second she pinned the mouse under her without opening her eyes.
Aha! Fenya told how Marusya used to carry striped vole mice into the house at the dacha and lose them. Every evening the tsar-cat went around the veranda and picked up after her, because she is the mistress of the house, and in the house lives a bare-footed mother and is afraid of mice. And there must be order in the house.
At night Nyasha sat for the first time on the window, on a tall stack of books, and looked at the twinkling lights of the city. After six months she began to come to Daddy's feet, of course, I wanted to come to Mommy, but the king-cat Millie slept on Mommy's pillow, and what if she didn't like it. I also wanted to cuddle in a common pile with Fenechka, Marusya and even with Udacha, Busik called out every time, turning his muzzle to one or the other, and the girls diligently licked the baby. Luck grumbled, Marusya squeaked and reprimanded, and Fenya was silent, as was Nyasha. Only Busya would shake her head and do everything in her own way.
You can. You can't. Bullshit. He's a boy, the only one in the cat pride.
As Busyonok explained, Princess Zosya, a Siamese snow-show, died under the wheels in the village, so the owners have been looking for a cat with similar coloring ever since, and they took us, the poor things. That's what Fenya said when Busik appeared in the house, and they couldn't name the cat for almost a month. Two-legged too can be in stress, so they should not be left without attention, that's what cat care is. And to bury negativity in the litter box ....
The wind often howled outside the window and tore the balcony doors so that the panes shook, and there were draughts under the bed. Suddenly Fenya fell ill, refused to eat, drank only the tea her mother had forgotten on the table. Her bare-footed mother wrapped her in a hat, hid her behind her sinuses, took her to the drips, and one day came back without her....
She went to the rainbow, never regaining consciousness. The depressed state was transmitted to everyone, the kittens tried to lick their bare-legged owners, but they only sniffed their noses and sighed at night, suffering from insomnia. Even Nyasha tried to parade around the room to attract attention, but it didn't work very well. When they wanted to pet her, she still ran away under the bed for a long time.
On a cold evening, a strange girl appeared, smelling of cats, frost and car, put a carrier on the chair, from there a fragile Siamese came out, looked around at everyone and went around the perimeter to explore the space.
"I'm home at last!" - her whole gut was screaming, how could she not understand.
"We're all home," Bussy assured her.
And even Millie nodded favorably, the Siamese breed had arrived, not like these striped, black and shaggy ones.
Nyasha willy-nilly crawled out from under the bed, choosing a spot higher up and away from everyone.
The newcomer's name was Basya-Basenka, and having studied the house quite quickly, she jumped up on her mother's lap and put her neck to scratch and purr, then she ate and drank and climbed into her father's arms. Luck immediately occupied the son of the bare-footed, so that there were no misunderstandings, which she herself liked to arrange.
A stranger's aunt said that such a beauty had been warming on the opened pipes of the heating plant, sterilized, for about six years, perhaps. It was either lost or thrown out... it looked like it had recently left home.....
Listening to the bitter stories, Nyasha felt love for the bipeds, but she could not say meow. As she became numb with horror in the dark box, so her voice disappeared, her tongue would not turn. Because of shouty Marusya, eternally grumbling Luck and talkative Basya Nyasha invented a new complex of inferiority, timid in front of the grown up Busik, who began to take an active interest in what's under the cats' tails. Once or twice under himself unsterilized Udacha, after which she went to surgery. Busik was given a chance to grow up.
The character of Angora Luck gradually softened, the desire to fight and scold everyone did not arise, she even began to purr and sleep together with Busik. And Nyasha was getting lonely, she did not know how to make friends, to overcome her shyness, but had to, when Busik went under the knife. Basya, of course, was on duty near him, but Nyasha also stopped hiding.