A Family of Four Plus One
As told by Cougar
Angel Mum calls me Pretty Cougar.
When I was small, I had a worried little face. She thought I looked as though I needed to hear that I was pretty. I was the youngest of Mother’s five kittens. The smallest, too. I had to learn to move in when there was food, because having four siblings does not make dinner wait for you.
By the time we went away, Tigger and Kopi had already been adopted. There were four of us left together. Mother. Simba. Rockie. Me.
Away in April
We were about four months old when we left in April.
My brothers Simba and Rockie have told you about that journey. We went with Mother to a place with lots of hiding places and a different set of people. We didn’t know what was happening then and we still don’t know why we were brought there. But it was a scary time of our lives. We scuttled in the shadows, and eventually I found the room with Granny and kept her company sometimes.
In June, when we were about six months old, we came back to the place where we were born. First Simba, Rockie and me came home, then Mother came later.
This was a place we were familiar with. The place we understood as home. The old four-tier cage was still there, the three whities were still there, and then there was a new sister there too.
Home, but Afraid to Stay
We hid beneath the furniture and tucked ourselves into corners, coming out mostly for meals. We tried not to make a noise or annoy anyone. All three of us wanted to be wanted, and we were afraid of being given away again.
Angel Mum could see the hurt and betrayal in our eyes. We knew she had tried to give us away. We were not sure why. We did not want to give her too much trouble.
For several months, we kept ourselves mostly out of sight. We wanted to be close to her, but we no longer trusted that we would be allowed to stay.
“Kimi Means Gold”
Photograph © CatsHope™
Our New Sister
The new sister was Kimi, a little ginger about our age—and a spitfire.
While we were away, Angel Mum had found her and her brother stuck in a drain. Another fosterer took the boy. Angel Mum brought Kimi home, believing we had found another home with Mother.
Instead, she now had all of us.
We liked Kimi. We groomed her, played with her and took her into our care. She had lost the company of her own brother, but now she had Simba, Rockie and me.
Then Mother Came Home
When Mother returned, we tried to get close to her. We wanted to be with her again, but she rejected us, growling and snarling. That hurt. We were her kittens, and we did not understand why she no longer wanted us beside her.
Mother had her own fears and concerns. She had also undergone surgery that Angel Mum had not known about. Whatever had happened while we were apart, she came home troubled too.
We could not settle back into the family we had been before April. But the four of us youngsters stayed together. We carried on playing with Kimi and grooming her. Mother’s return did not change her place among us.
Four Plus One
We had gone away as Mother and her three remaining kittens. Now there were four youngsters and Mother.
A family of four plus one.
The little ginger from the drain was our sister.
Article by Tiffany Argent, CatsHope™ Ambassador.
Reading order: Read Rockie’s The Journey → first, then A Family of Four Plus One, as told by Cougar.
Meet Cougar — Miss Congeniality →
View all Cougar’s stories →
