“Tami: When I was Lost”
An illustration of Tami when she was lost.
Photographs © CatsHope™
Simba: When The Ground Shifted Page 3
Mother Didn’t Come Home
Mother often disappeared into the garden during the day. At first, we thought nothing of it. She always came back.
Sometimes she returned quickly. Sometimes she stayed away a little longer. Whenever we heard her footsteps, we ran to greet her. Even though she no longer welcomed us as she once had, she was still our mother, and we wanted to be close to her.
Then one day she left……and never came back. Morning became afternoon. Afternoon became evening. The light slowly faded from the garden until darkness settled over the house.
We waited.
Rockie walked to the back door again and again, peering into the garden as though Mother might suddenly appear. Cougar stayed close beside me, growing quieter as the hours passed. I listened for Mother’s footsteps, but all I heard were unfamiliar sounds drifting in from outside.
That night felt very different from our first night in the house. Mother wasn’t there to gather us together.
She wasn’t there to wash our faces. She wasn’t there to curl around us while we slept. For the first time since we were born……we were alone.
We didn’t know where she had gone. We didn’t know why she hadn’t returned. We only knew that our family was no longer together. The next morning we searched everywhere we could reach. We wandered from room to room.
We waited by the glass doors where Mother usually came and went. There was a litter tray just outside, and that little area became the edge of our world. Every sound beyond the doors made us lift our heads. We peered through the glass, hoping to see Mother walking back towards us.
We wandered between the front entrance and the side glass doors, looking into the garden but never venturing very far. Everything beyond the doorstep felt unfamiliar. We waited where we thought Mother would find us if she came home.
We looked behind the bushes and around the little building that smelled of cats and birds.
Each time we heard a sound, we lifted our heads, hoping it was Mother.
It never was.
We kept waiting.
“An Afternoon Nap Together, 2026”
(Left to Right: Simba and Cougar, Rockie at the top.)
Photographs © CatsHope™
Someone Came Back For Us
After Mother disappeared, the house became very quiet.
We stayed together.
There were many rooms on the ground floor, filled with furniture, curtains and all sorts of things. Whenever we heard unfamiliar footsteps or voices, we slipped behind the clutter or beneath furniture and watched from our hiding places. Sometimes we hid among the drapes where no one could easily see us.
The house was large, but it never felt like home.
There was another cat living there too. We kept our distance. We did not know her, and we did not know whether she would welcome us or chase us away. The food was left outside near the back of the house, but we were often nervous about going there. It meant leaving the places where we felt safest.
Most of the time, we stayed indoors, moving quietly from one hiding place to another. We waited together, hoping Mother would somehow find us again.
She never did.
Then one day, we heard a familiar voice.
Before I saw her, I recognised her.
Rockie recognised her too.
So did Cougar.
The three of us came out from our hiding places and hurried towards her as fast as we could.
We rubbed against her legs and crowded around her, trying to stay as close as possible. It felt as though we were telling her everything that had happened while she had been away.
She knelt down beside us and gently stroked each of us.
For the first time in many days, I felt safe again.
