On the Wrong Side of the Paw by Patricia Fry

Author:Patricia Fry [Fry, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780998036779
Publisher: Matilija Press
Published: 2019-05-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Thursday afternoon after telling Janet good-bye, Savannah and Margaret drove to the cat colony with Rags. Savannah stepped out of the car and looked around. “By my calculations we’ve caught eight, right?”

“Yes, plus the three nursing kittens. We have another five or so to go. At least all the kittens and pending kittens are safe. We caught the pregnant mothers and…Vannie, what are you doing?” she asked when she saw Savannah tilting her head in contemplation.

“I hear something. Listen,” she said, “I think it’s coming from that tunnel-burrow-hidey place. See, Rags hears it too.”

Margaret moved closer and slumped. “Oh no. Sure sounds like kittens.”

“How in the world did we miss them? I thought we caught all the pregnant females.”

“Well, sometimes these feral mother cats don’t put on a lot of weight, making it hard—even impossible—to diagnose a pregnancy from a distance. As you know,” Margaret continued, “the younger mothers may only have two kittens, so they don’t get very big. Darn it, anyway.” She took a deep breath and gazed at Rags, who was sniffing in the weeds near Savannah. “Why don’t you put his long leash on him? Maybe he’ll bring them out of there. Do you think he’ll do that?”

“Well, he did it last time. We can sure give it a try.”

“Yes, but these could be newborns. Will he be gentle enough?”

“I’m sure he will.” Just then something caught Savannah’s eye. “Michael,” she called, as he drove up and parked.

“Hi,” he said, climbing out of his veterinary truck.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“Barney wanted me to look at one of his horses—she needed a few stitches. She’ll be okay. I finished early and thought I’d come back here and see how the cat wrangling is going. Are you just about finished bringing me patients?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Savannah said.

Margaret chimed in. “Yeah, it appears we have a new family.”

Savannah nodded. “It sounds like they’re in that tunnel there.”

Michael squatted and studied the hole Savannah referred to. “Looks like maybe a badger den. Surely the cats didn’t dig it out.”

Margaret shook her head. “I doubt it. I think you’re right, Michael; some other animal dug this burrow and the cats are using it. Smart.”

Without acknowledging her, Michael said, “Or it was created by nature—you know, by disintegrating tree roots or some other natural occurrence. But yeah, it makes for a nice shelter for the cats.” He looked at the women. “So you think one of the cats had a litter down there?”

Savannah nodded. “Yes. We’re getting ready to send Rags in to see if he’ll bring them out.” She handed Rags’s leash to Margaret. “Here, hold onto him. I’ll be right back.”

Before Savannah made it to the car to retrieve the long leash, she heard her aunt yell, “No, Rags! Darn it.”

Savannah quickly joined the others. “What happened? Did you let go of him?”

“Not on purpose,” Margaret cranked. “He’s so dang sneaky.”

“No worries,” Michael said. “He’ll come out in a minute, and probably with a kitten,” he predicted. It wasn’t long before he smiled and pointed.

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