Chapter 25
After she’d made the call to Noah, Bella spent the afternoon settling in a very nervous, pregnant female tabby who’d been found in a cardboard box at Observatory Field, the new housing development that had been recently built on the outskirts of the village.
Although the bulk of the development was now complete, there was still a small patch of land with a couple of shipping containers, a wooden shed and various skips that Flowerdew Homes, the developer, had yet to remove.
Between the containers a local resident had discovered the cat, seemingly abandoned and looking for somewhere to have her kittens.
‘Why do people do this?’ Bella said in frustration as she prepared an enclosure for the mother-to-be. ‘Some people treat animals like they’re disposable, and when they get inconvenient, they dump them. It makes me so bloody angry!’
‘I know, love,’ Mollie said. ‘And I wish I could wave a magic wand and make people more thoughtful, but that’s why we have to do the best we can.
’ She gently towelled dry the cat, who’d not been best pleased at being subjected to an anti-parasite and flea bath, but it was unavoidable given the state they’d found her in.
‘By my reckoning, there are at least four kittens in there, so more mouths to feed.’
Bella noticed how tired Mollie looked. ‘I’ll finish up here, Moll,’ she said gently. ‘You get off and put your feet up.’
Mollie smiled at her. ‘Thanks, love. It’s been a bit of a day, hasn’t it?’
‘Do you mind if I check in on Monty before I go?’ Bella asked as Mollie made to leave the newly cleaned enclosure.
‘Not at all,’ Mollie replied. ‘He’s been a bit sleepy all day, but it should have worn off by now.
It’s worth seeing if he’s alert enough to eat any food.
’ She shook her head. ‘Noah’s lucky that it was only a mild sedative Ellie gave Monty.
Any stronger, in a cat that age, and that might have finished him off. ’
‘I don’t get it. He was dead set on having Monty put to sleep the last time we spoke. Why, all of a sudden, has he changed his mind? And talk about a close call!’
‘Ours is not to reason why,’ said Mollie. ‘But I can’t say I’m not relieved.’
‘Me neither. Although I guess that rules out me moving into his enclosure when Gerard moves into Marieke’s place!’
‘You know I’d offer you a place if I could,’ sighed Mollie.
‘I know,’ Bella smiled. ‘And I’m a big girl.
Something’ll come up.’ She wished she felt as optimistic as she sounded, but the last thing she wanted to do was add to Mollie’s worries.
She must get onto the internet tonight and find something.
Marieke had suggested the start of next month as a possible date to move Gerard in, and Bella didn’t want to delay too long.
‘Well, I’ll be off then.’ Mollie gave her a parting smile. ‘See you on Monday.’
‘Cheers, Moll,’ Bella smiled back, and then turned her attention to the cat.
Poor thing, she thought. The kittens, once weaned, were likely to go to good homes, but the mother would be left for longer, if past cases were anything to go by.
Barely more than a kitten herself, she didn’t look even a year old.
‘It’s all right, lovely,’ Bella murmured as she gently placed the tabby down on the floor.
In the corner were two bowls, one with a gentle wet cat food that hopefully shouldn’t upset her stomach, which might well be delicate after such an ordeal, and one with clean fresh water.
Bella and Mollie would monitor her over the next few days, see how much she ate and drank, and adjust these accordingly.
Then, when she’d had her kittens, as soon as she’d weaned them, she could be spayed.
This was a cost that Purrfect Paws would incur and hopefully recoup once she was adopted. If she was adopted.
But what to call her? Bella was often the person who gave the rescue cats their names – she enjoyed thinking of the perfect moniker that summed up the character of each cat that came into their care.
She liked to consider their circumstances, their markings, and the little things that, as she got to know them, gave them their personality.
Over the time she’d worked at Mollie’s, she’d riffed on the idea of wanderers.
Ari – full name Ariadne – had been a particular favourite, or the amusingly named Roly, a play on the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, when a particularly large Russian Blue came in, who’d obviously been feasting on leftovers from the takeaway shop in Everscombe and had the girth to prove it, but as she looked at the tabby female, for the moment, nothing came to mind.
‘How about we sleep on it?’ she said softly. Making sure, with one last sweep of the enclosure, that everything was safe, clean and secure for the very expectant mother, she carefully locked the door and headed out on the final checks for the night.
Her last visit was, of course, to Monty.
‘I hope you know how close you came today,’ she said as she topped up his water bowl and checked his litter tray.
In answer, Monty opened one eye a crack but managed to glare back at her all the same. Bella rather got the feeling he knew exactly what she was saying.
‘For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re still here.
’ She reached out a hand, mistakenly assuming that Monty would be too sleepy to lash out.
As she felt the lacerating swipe of his claws on her wrist, yet again, she realised, belatedly, she was wrong.
But tonight, she didn’t mind. She was just glad he was still around to have a go.