Chapter One
Light streamed through the window, stretching in a large rectangle across the hard, wooden floor. The house was cool, with a sweet scent that flowed all around it. The walls were pale, as was much of the furniture.
In the corner of the kitchen, near the doorway to the living room, was a cat bed. In it lay a plump Persian cat. She raised her head, looking around. With a flick of her tail, she stood up and stretched. Her belly hung as she leaped out of the bed and landed softly on the wood floor. She had long, beautiful, creamy fur. Where she had rested, there were six little kittens. Two of the kittens had creamy fur with the dark markings of a Siamese on their legs, tails, and heads; one had long fur, the other had short. The other four kittens were the plain cream-color of their mother, and all but one had her same long, silky fur.
The she-cat padded over to the bowl on the other side of the kitchen. She crouched beside it, munching on the hard, tasteless cat food. She shook herself, sitting upright. Her tongue ran down her fur, smoothing it to perfection. She stretched her legs again, looking around in boredom. Her cat door had been blocked since her kittens arrived 12 weeks ago. There were only kitten toys to play with inside the house. She sighed, flopping onto her side so the sunlight could hit her belly.
A shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight. The momma cat looked up to see what the obstruction was. A lithe Siamese tom-cat sat on the windowsill on the outside of the house. The momma got to her paws and jumped onto the counter. She rubbed against the window, purring loudly. The male flicked his tail, and she could tell by his face that he was purring too.
That was the father of her kittens. He was the cat that lived next door, and their humans had thought it a good idea to allow them to have kittens together. Now, the result, was six beautiful kittens. One boy, five girls.
"Sassy!" A human voice called from down the hall. Sassy flicked her tail at the tom and jumped down. He disappeared, racing through the yard and scaling the fence into his own territory.
"Hello, baby." The human leaned over and stroked its big, greasy hand along Sassy's spine. Sassy purred, rubbing her cheek against the human's leg to mark her scent on her. "Today, people are coming to pick up your babies."
Sassy froze, looking up at the human. "What?" She meowed. She knew the human couldn't understand her.
"I know, it's sad." The human picked Sassy up and hugged her. "Better say your good-byes." She sat him on the ground and walked away. Sassy watched her go, then raced to the cat bed.
"Wake up, my sweets." She mewed, prodding them in turn with her fore paw. The kittens shifted, grumbling as they woke up.
"What is it, Mommy?" The oldest girl whimpered.
"Is everything OK?" Another asked.
Sassy's only son looked up at her with wide, deep blue eyes. "What's happening, Momma?"
Sassy took a deep breath, looking at her paws. "Today, new humans are coming to get you." She whispered. "They're going to take you away to knew homes. I...I don't think I'll ever see you again, unless you are close and your humans allow you outside. And...you may never see each other again."
The kittens looked shocked, glancing between each other and their mother.
"But..I don't wanna leave!" The youngest girl cried out.
"I love you too much, Mommy!"
"I love you too, kittens." Sassy laid down, allowing the kittens to snuggle into her fur. She looked up, seeing her son was the only one not approaching her. "Are you OK?"
"Well...I love you, Momma." He whispered. "But...if we leave...we can make some other humans happy..right?" He looked at her with questioning eyes.
"That's right, my baby."
"So...then...if they have babies of their own...or other cats...we have someone else to play with."
"That is correct." Sassy flicked her tail on her son's back. "You are so smart."
The tom-kitten purred. He padded proudly to his mom's side, nuzzling her face. Then, he curled up under her chin and fell asleep.
The door bell rang, making Sassy and her kittens jump. Sassy raced away, tail sticking straight up in the air. The tom-kitten sat, blinking sleep from his eyes. His sisters all skittered after their mother, bouncing with excitement. The tom purred and bounded after them. The cats all stood in a line at the top of the stairs, looking down as the two humans opened the door.
The kittens raced off into the living room, waiting for the new humans to show up. One by one, humans walked in. They came minutes apart from each other, all examining the little kitties and picking the one they wanted to take home.
First to go was the oldest kitten, who was the short-haired, cream-colored kitten. After her, the long-haired kitten with the dark markings was taken by a couple of humans and their baby girl. A tall male human took the second and third oldest kittens, who were two of the fluffy cream-colored ones. The only two left was the male, who was the short-haired one with the dark markings, and the last of the long-furred, cream kittens.
Sassy was pacing back and forth at the top of the stairs. She occasionally ran down, getting on her hind paws to peek out the window beside the door. She would hiss in annoyance and jump back up the stairs, starting her pacing again.
"Are we not gonna be picked?" The tom-kitten mewed.
"You will, babies." Sassy assured them.
"When?" The she-kitten asked.
"Soon." Sassy meowed in a harsh voice that made her kittens flinch away. Not wanting to anger their mother any more, the two bounced away to play by the couches. They hit a stuffed, neon-green mouse back and forth. The tom pounced on it, digging his teeth and claws into it. Then, he raced off with it dangling in his mouth. His sister chased him, squealing with joy.
While they raced up and down the hall, the doorbell rang once again. The two kittens skidded to a halt, sliding half way down the hall do to it being made of hardwood flooring. They stood on either side of Sassy, who's tail was waving around excitedly. This distracted the tom-kitten, who started to jump and chase the tail instead of pay attention to who had just arrived at the house.
"Hello!" A sweet, bell-like voice said from downstairs. The kitten stopped, looking to see who made the noise. A pretty human girl with long, brown hair was climbing the stairs with his mother's humans.
"These are the last two. The one with markings is a boy, the fluffy one is a girl." His mother's female human said.
"They are both so cute!" The new girl smiled, getting on her knees so she could play with the kittens. The tom purred and rolled on his tummy when she scratched his chin. His sister rubbed her face on her arm, and climbed onto her thigh.
"Oh, I don't know... My dads said I could get one...but...Oh! I can't just leave on all alone."
"It'll be fine, Rachel." The male human said.
"No, no. My dads will understand!" Rachel picked a kitten in each hand. "How much?"
"They are free, for you." The female smiled. "You and your fathers are such close friends."
"Oh, thank you." Rachel gave them a big smile. "I'd hug you, but..." She looked at the kittens. "Thank you, again!"
"You are welcome, Rachel." The two humans led Rachel down the stairs and out onto the porch. "Have fun with them."
"I will take good care of them." Rachel hurried to her little red car. She tucked the girl kitten into her elbow, opening the door. She set them both onto the passenger seat. She gently closed the door, running to the other side.
"Time to go home, kittens!" Rachel was still smiling, and she was giggling with joy. As she pulled into the street and drove away from the kittens' birthplace, she looked over. "I think I will name you..." She got a thoughtful look on her face. "Gracey," She patted the she-kitten's head. "And Kurt." She said, stroking the tom-kitten.
"Gracey and Kurt." The tom purred. "I like those names."
"Me too!" Gracey squeaked.
"And I think we're gonna love Rachel!"