Tux the Abandoned Kitten

A small kitten struggles to survive with no mom or a home to call his own. Just when things seem to turn for the worst, he gets help int he least likely of places.

Tux the Abandoned Kitten

by Omegax45

 

 

 

                        Once upon a time, there was a little kitten in a litter of four.  While the other three kittens looked the same, fluffy gray coats with dark stripes and white legs and chest, this little kitten was all black except for his lower legs, his front feet, his chest, and his lower jaw, for they were all white.  As such, the kitten's siblings didn't think much of him.  Whenever any human left food out for them, the little kitten was made to be a look out while the others ate first.  He ate last, if there was any food left to eat.  Many a times, he left hungry and raided a large metal bin for food when his mother wasn't looking.  When their mother left, the little kitten had to be careful to not let his siblings know of his secret.  It was cruel of him, he knew, but trying to sleep on an empty stomach was very painful.

                        One day, as the sky was dropping white and wet fluffy stuff, the little kitten sneaked to the large metal bin.  He smelled something good and the humans had not been leaving any food lately.  When he jumped inside, he heard a loud mew and turns around in shock.  His siblings had followed him.  One-by-one, they jumped in and the largest of them hissed at him.  The little kitten hissed back, tired of being treated so badly.  He and his sibling circled each other, ready to fight.  The other kittens prepared to protect the larger kitten, knowing who was going to win. 

                        Suddenly, the large metal bin shook and the little kitten fell out.  He quickly landed on his feet and looked up to see a frightening sight:  a large metal machine lifting the metal bin into the air.  His siblings jumped out of the metal bin and ran, not even bothering to see if he was okay.  The little kitten fled in the opposite direction, the large metal machine making such loud noises that it hurt his ears.  The fluffy stuff hit his eyes, making them hurt.  He stopped and used his paw to clean them, clearing his blurry vision in time to see another large metal machine rolling his way.  He couldn't get away in time.  He was so scared.

                        Just before the large metal machine ran him over, something large grabbed the little kitten and pulled him into the air.  The large metal machine passed by, not even stopping for a moment.  The little kitten shivered in both fright and cold, then looked up to see an human female holding him.  He recognized her smell:  she was one of the humans that used to feed him and his siblings, many a times trying to catch them and ended up failing.  She said something angrily, obviously mad at the large metal machine, then looked down and spoke to him.  The little kitten didn't understood and simply mewed.  He wanted down, afraid that the human would harm him, but she held him tight.  She walked up to one of the large metal machines that wasn't moving and he struggled in fright.  He didn't want to go to the bad place, the place all cats had heard about.  The bad place was where humans took cats living outside and they were never heard from again.  The human's outer fur was too tough to cut through with his tiny claws, and he found himself wrapped in a loose fur and placed down.  She sat down inside the large metal machine and closed the door, putting a metal thing in a strange hole before a loud noise rose from the large metal machine.  The little kitten curled up in the fur and trembles as the large metal machine moved, then notices something.  It was warm in the large metal machine. Very warm.  He never experienced warmth around that time of year.  He had to wait until summer.  The slightly shaking sensation felt kind of nice too.  No, he shouldn't be relaxing!  The bad place!  The bad place-

                        The little kitten's stomach began to hurt and he had no more energy to think of anything else.  He closed his eyes and began to doze.  Who knew how long he would be able to enjoy what kindness the human offered him?

 

* * * *

 

                        Samantha was furious.  Her neighbors from months ago had the nerve to let their cats loose and not even bother to take care of the kittens she had given birth to.  Instead, they left the kittens and took their mother after they moved to another state.  She had tried the best she could to try and catch the kittens in order to find them homes, but they were too fast for her.  She finally caught the runt of the litter, who was almost killed by another of her neighbors' carelessness.  She hadn't become a foster mom to clean up everyone else's mess.  She became a foster mom because she wanted to save stray cats and find them a good home. 

                        Samantha arrived at her favorite vet and carried the dozing kitten inside.  The secretary greeted her warmly and led her into the closest examination room.  He closed the door and she placed the kitten onto the table, rubbing the towel a bit to dry the wet fur faster.

                        "Good day Samantha," Doctor Thomas greeted her as he walked inside, "You finally caught those strays you were talking about?"

                        "Just one, and he almost got ran over.  The guy didn't even slowed down.  I swear, nobody learns until someone gets hurt."

                        "At least you were able to save this little guy," Doctor Thomas began to examine the kitten, "Little male tuxedo... definitely the runt of the litter.... a few pounds underweight.  Okay, I'm going to get the usual shots, plus a dewormer and the drops to treat ear mites.  While you wait, I'll tell the secretary to bring in a can of food for him to eat.  We will also need to talk about future appointments.  I'll be right back."

                        "Okay," Samantha replied and watched Doctor Thomas walked out of the room.  She scratched the kitten's ear, getting a purr from the small body.  The secretary comes in with an open can of cat food, and the kitten walked up to the can, eating happily.

                        "So what are we gonna name this little guy?"

                        "I decided to go simple this time.  Tux."

 

* * * *

 

                        Tux did not know what to think of the bad place.  It was not what the other cats said it was.  The humans had fed him delicious food, then poke and prod him with strange things before the human female took him back into the large metal machine and they return to his home territory.  Tux thought that he would be let go and he would try to return to his siblings, even if he was rejected by them.  Instead, the human carried him inside the large building nearby and into a large room that was warmer than the large metal machine outside.  Strange light filled the different rooms and the floors were a strange array of grays and black. There were three other cats laying about in strange plants that looked at him with curiosity.  Tux felt scared.  what was the human going to do to him?

                        The human opened a strange wall to a small room that was bright and full of strange trees, large holes in one wall that led outside.  She placed Tux down and said a few more words, scratching his head before leaving the room and closing the strange wall.  For a few minutes, Tux did not move.  He was too scared to.  Soon, his curiosity got the better of him and he took tentative steps off the loose fur.  He nearly jumped when he felt the ground below him, which felt very strange.  He looked down to see the ground and it looked like flat grass, but much softer.  What was that?  He dug his claws into the strange grass, but no dirt came out and the strange grass did not move.  This place was far too strange for his liking.  Even if it was warm in here, he needed to get out.  He would thank the human another day.

                        Tux walked to the holes in the wall, using the strange trees that felt the same as the strange grass to reach them.  He tried to walk out, but he hit his head on something and mewed a bit in surprise.  He looked up to see the outside, but he was up pretty high.  He lifted a paw and find it brushing against something he couldn't see.

                        "You won't be able to leave that way."

                        Tux turned his head quickly to see one of the large cats by the strange wall.  He had long fur that was a patchwork of black and white, thick tail wrapped snugly around his feet.

                        "That is a window," the large cat continued, "Humans made those with glass so they can see the outside world, but not allow bugs or the cold inside."

                        "How do you know that," Tux asked.

                        "When you live with humans long enough, you can understand a few of their words.  You'll learn in time.  Trust me."

                        "Where am I?"

                        "This is a foster home.  Samantha, the human that brought you in, runs this place.  She finds those like us without a home or our humans abandon us and she takes care of us.  She also finds us good homes with good humans to take care of us."

                        "So she.... won't take me to the bad place?"

                        "No.  She hates that place.  She even saves other cats from there."

                        "Do you think... she will save my siblings?"

                        "Do they want to be saved?"

                        "I..." Tux didn't have an answer.

                        "You don't need to answer.  Not every animal out there wants to be owned by a human.  I'm Kingie, by the way."

                        "How did you get a name like that," Tux tried not to laugh.

                        "Samantha named me.  She named you Tux."

                        "Tux?  What is a tux?"

                        "It's short for a tuxedo.  It's a black and white fur that male humans wear on formal occasions.  They call it a tux for short."

                        "Oh."

                        "Anyway, you'll be in this room for the next couple of weeks before Samantha lets you out.  The others will come to visit.  We are quite a curious bunch."

                        "Wait," Tux jumped down and runs up to the strange wall, "How do I get food?  And water?  And what about-"

                        "Don't you worry," Kingie laughed, "Samantha will be bringing you food and fresh water.  You won't go hungry here.  Also, do try the litter box over in that corner over there.  Samantha really hates to clean up our messes."

                        "Litter...box," Tux turned his head and saw a strange open box sitting innocently in a corner.

                        "It's not all that bad once you get used to it," Kingie said as he turned around, "I gotta head back now.  Welcome to the family, Tux."

                        Kingie walked away and Tux was left alone in the strange room.  He walked up to the litter box and looked inside to see gray pebbles inside with dark dots on them.  Tentatively, he touched the pebbles with a paw, finding them soft.  Were they really pebbles?  And what was he supposed to do with them?

 

* * * *

 

                        Time passed, and Tux was finally able to leave the room to explore the rest of the place.  He got acquainted with the other cats living there and learned the daily routine.  He stayed closely to Kingie, who was the most sociable of all the cats, while a large cat with no tail called Queenie desires to be a loner.  Esterman, a large cat with thick gray fur and a strange face, told everyone stories of his travels before his human, who was unable to care for him any longer, to Samantha.  Tux did not see any of his siblings whenever he looked outside the window and he hoped that they were okay.  They may have treated him poorly, but they were family.  He could not help but worry.

                        The white fluffy stuff vanished and the trees began to bloom again.  Tux had grown in size and gained weight.  He was very proud of himself.   He was no longer little and be considered an easy target. Kingie told him that once summer arrived, Samantha would find him a good home.  He wasn't sure if he wanted to leave, but he knew that Samantha could not take care of him forever.  After all, new cats would be coming in any day for her to take care of.

                        Tux was relaxing on a warm window sill when Samantha came home, a bundle in her arms.  Everyone looked up with interest as the sound of mewing reached their ears.  Kittens.  They walked up to the small room and Samantha placed the bundle on the soft bed with a few water bottles.  She stood and walked away to reveal three tiny kittens in the bundle, their eyes taking in the room with a sense of wonder.  Samantha closed the door behind her as she left, unaware that she locked Tux in with the kittens. 

                        Tux looked at each of the kittens, each too young to form words other than 'ma ma'.  They slowly walked away from the bed and began to explore their new home.  All but one, and Tux was painfully reminded of his sibling upon gazing on the lone kitten.  He was smaller than his other siblings, with wide eyes and a body of gray with black stripes.  He called for his siblings, but they were too busy finding the toys.  He looked up at Tux, who had climbed into the bed and settled down.

                        "Don't you worry," Tux told the kitten, "I'll keep you safe."

                        The kitten mewed in gratitude and curled up next to Tux, falling asleep in minutes.  Tux had decided:  so long as he lived in Samantha's home, he would protect all the little kittens.  He would make certain that they grew up happy and healthy.

 

 

The End

Author's Note

I tried my luck once again at a children's story. Short and sweet.