Bad Cat, Good Cat by Lynne Reid Banks

Author:Lynne Reid Banks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2011-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

“Turk was just visiting, like I visit you! What would happen if you started biting and scratching me?”

“Well, I might, if you came in the night without being asked!”

David thought this was an awful thing to say.

“I’m glad I’ve got a tom! Toms are much better than queens!” David was showing off by using the right words for male and female cats, but things were getting out of hand.

The next thing would have been, “Boys are better than girls!” and “Girls are better than boys!” But before they could get into that, Paloma’s mum suggested going out for a pizza, so the rowing had to stop. But it wasn’t much of a play-date. They ended up (despite the pizzas) not speaking to each other.

“This is too silly,” Paloma’s mum scolded, when she found out about it. “Well, you’ll have to get over it, because we’re all going on holiday together.”

“With the cats,” said Paloma. It wasn’t a question. It was an of-course-we’ll-take-them. But her mum said, “I’m afraid not.”

Paloma stared at her. “We’re not taking them?” Her mum shook her head. “But – but – but – what’ll happen to them? We can’t just leave them here alone!”

“No, of course not. We’re putting them in a cattery.”

This was one cat word Paloma hadn’t heard. “A what-ery?”

“It’s a special place where cats can be looked after while their families go away.”

“Will she be in a cage?”

“Er – well… she might.”

“You mean – a cat prison?”

“No, no! It’s – it’s just a nice friendly place. She’ll be perfectly happy there.”

“Without us? In a strange place? In a cage? She’ll hate it!”

“Of course she won’t! Anyway, she’ll have to go. We can’t take her with us.”

Paloma forgot all about not speaking to David. She was round at his house in a flash. She rang their special ring. David came slowly. He was still not speaking.

“I’ve got a new cat-word,” said Paloma grimly. “‘Cat-tery.’ It’s a prison for cats.”

David scowled. “What do you mean?”

“We’re supposed to be going on holiday together, you and us, and the grown-ups are putting our cats in some horrible place while we’re away!”

After a moment, David said, “Well, I’m not going.”

“Me neither! I won’t go without Peony!”

Their row forgotten, they did spit-in-your-hand-and-do-high-fives. That was their way of promising. Unless they could take the cats, they wouldn’t go anywhere. And nobody could make them.

Well, of course that turned out to be just empty words. Because, when grown-ups say something is going to happen, the kids can make all the fuss they like. It’s going to happen.

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