"Hold still, kitten!" Laughed the grey-furred queen as she groomed her sole female kitten's fur flat. "But Mo-om!" Protested the little black and white bundle, pushing her tiny white paws at her mother's muzzle in futility. "I'm already clean!" The adult cat blinked fondly at her daughter, all the while keeping one ear on the tiny mews and mock-ferocious hisses coming from a few feet away. That was her two male kittens, both grey like her, but with white markings. They got that from their father, a handsome black and white tom who lived down the road. The mother cat finished grooming her restless daughter. "Okay - now you can go and play." she smiled as the black and white kitten, smallest of the litter of three, raced to join her brothers.
"Well Misty - what's going on here?" Hearing the small squeaking moews, Misty's owner peered into the roomy closet. "Kittens! Well, they certainly are cute... but I can't keep them, sweetheart. I'll take 'em to the city shelter when they're old enough to eat on their own. Better get you some milk, huh girl?"
Misty was immediately filled with worry for her three children as her owner retreated to bring her a bowl of milk. Of course, she knew that her kittens wouldn't be able to stay with her forever, but how she had hoped her owner would give them to neighbors so they'd stay nearby. When her milk was brought, Misty lapped up a few mouthfuls. But she was too worried to eat very much. What would befall her young family in a few weeks time?
"Mom?" Her black and white daughter, though still much smaller than her two rambunctious brothers, had grown quite a bit. She was very pretty, with her soft fur patterned black and white. Misty licked her between the ears. "Listen to me, darling. I think my owner is going to take you to the shelter today."
"What's a shelter?" Asked the kitten curiously, ignoring her brothers as they rolled by in a flash of blue-grey, locked together and growling playfully at one another. They did nothing but wrestle - whereas she liked to learn about the world. For instance, she knew they lived on a 'street' and had been outside several times by wriggling through the bottom gap of the window. Her mother had taught her not to venture onto the hard black road because the people's cars were dangerous to cats, and that dogs often barked, sometimes bit, and could be avoided by climbing trees, a skill dogs could not master. Strangely enough, sometimes she saw the two dangers, dogs and cars, together - her mother said that people kept dogs at pets, just like they did cats. It amazed the black and white kitten to see the cars zooming by, with dogs hanging their heads out the window. She wondered what the attraction was.
"A shelter is a place where humans go animal shopping." Explained Misty, gently picking up one of her sons who was upside down, and putting him down the right way where he was immediately tackled by his brother. The black and white kitten looked a little scared. "But Mom, what if nobody wants me?" She asked plaintively. Misty nuzzled her daughter and purred reassuringly. "Don't worry, darling. Humans always pick the cute kittens, the one that look like you, and your brothers. You'll be fine - you'll get a wonderful new home to explore and play in. I love you very much, dear. I'll never forget you."
Mother and daughter purred and nuzzled together. It was the last time they would ever be together.