Chapter Two #3
He sighed. Fall was quickly approaching, and the nights were cooling down but with his little guy in his arms, Hudson didn’t feel the temperature dropping. He cuddled and crooned to Bas until his arms began to ache.
It was late and he’d worked a long couple of days, but he didn’t want to leave his new friend.
“Hud?”
Damn it! Hudson turned toward the back door where Carter was standing with the screen propped open.
“What are you doing out here?” Carter asked. “I was starting to get worried. Is that a cat?”
“This is Bas,” Hudson told him as he strode forward so Carter could meet his new furry friend.
“Bas?” Carter scowled down at the animal. “Where did he come from?”
Hudson shrugged. “I think he might have followed me home.” Except Hudson had seen Noah heading back into the bakery with Bas on his shoulder when Hudson had climbed into EJ’s truck. “Or found my scent somehow? I don’t know.”
“So, you met this little guy before?” Carter tried to run a hand down Bas’s back, but the cat swiped his paw at Carter’s attempt before moving up to sit on Hudson’s shoulder. His long tail wrapped around Hudson’s neck to trail down his chest.
“No!” Hudson admonished Bas. “Don’t be mean to my brother.”
Bas gave a massive huff.
“It appears he just likes you,” Carter said. He was still staring at Bas. “I’ve never seen a domestic cat with those marking before.”
“Yeah,” Hudson agreed. “He was up in a tree at the park. I thought he might be stuck.”
Carter chuckled. “Rescuing a cat from the tree. Every firefighters dream.”
Hudson’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment.
From his shoulder Bas growled deep and low.
“Damn,” Carter said with a grin. “Protective little shit.”
“Don’t be mean either,” Hudson told his brother. Even as the growl had made something in his stomach clench. Like Bas thought Hudson was important. “Anyway, I was considering taking him to the vet since he didn’t have a collar.”
“You were thinking about bringing him home.”
His brother knew him well. “He’s just a little guy! What if he got hurt?”
Bas sneezed like he was insulted.
Hudson patted the tail still wrapped around him as Bas continued to perch on Hudson’s shoulder.
“What happened? You obviously didn’t just leave him in the yard.”
“One of the guys from the bakery came and collected him,” Hudson explained. “He didn’t seem concerned that Bas was out on his own.”
“Maybe he’s one of those feral cats that just roam around,” Carter suggested.
“Look at him!” Hudson exclaimed. “He’s way too well taken care of to be feral. Plus, he’s a big sweetie.”
Bas leaned more into Hudson’s neck then rubbed his chin across the top of Hudson’s head, ruffling his hair.
Carter rocked back on his heels. “Now what are you going to do with him?”
Hudson shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t have stuff to take care of him.”
Bas licked Hudson’s cheek before he leapt down from his shoulder.
Hudson tried to catch his furry friend, but Bas was already racing into the darkness.
“Guess he doesn’t need you to take care of him,” Carter commented.
“What if he gets lost?”
“I think he’s going to be fine.” Carter patted his shoulder before urging Hudson toward the back door. “He found you once. I’m sure if he needs something, we’ll see him again.”
He couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder to see if he could spot Bas, but the cat was gone.
They entered their house and Carter locked up for the night.
“I’m going to track down Bas’s owner tomorrow,” Hudson shared with his brother.
Carter smiled at him. “You have a good heart. Just don’t get into any trouble. We haven’t been around here long.”
“This is important,” Hudson insisted. “This person is a bad pet parent!”
His brother crossed the kitchen and kissed Hudson’s forehead. “I’m on day shift tomorrow. Call me if you need help.”
“Okay.” Hudson turned to head to his bedroom. “Night.”
“Good night, bro.”
He had to pass Carter’s room to get to his own. Carter had insisted on Hudson’s taking the master bedroom at the back of the house. With his curtains open, Hudson could see the tree that Bas had been sitting in. Hudson strode to the window and peered out.
One of the branches nearly touched the windowpane.
That would need to be cut back before winter.
Maybe the entire tree should be trimmed so any weak branches were removed.
Not that Hudson was thinking about having a nightly visitor or anything.
Okay, he totally was. How had Bas found him in the first place?
While he normally walked home, he’d let EJ drive him earlier that day. Hudson needed to learn more about cats.
Turning from the window, Hudson left the curtain just in case his little stalker returned. He grabbed his laptop from the desk and set it on the mattress before heading to the attached bathroom to get ready for bed.
Hudson washed his face, then brushed his teeth before changing into his comfortable lounge pants and tank. He returned to his bedroom, picking up the laptop before he settled under the blankets.
Starting his research, Hudson typed in everything he could remember about Bas.
He scrolled through the information collected until he reached the section on margays. The picture matched perfectly. Hudson read through the article slowly.
The margay is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central, and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.
Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease.
Hudson’s heart ached for his furry friend. Had Bas been rescued? He kept reading.
The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer.
Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the center.
Yep, Hudson was sure he’d found Bas’s breed. All the pictures associated with a margay showed such gorgeous creatures. Although having had Bas in his arms, the photos didn’t really do the little guy justice or mention how soft his sleek fur was.
The margay is a skillful climber, and colloquially it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability.
It spends most of the time in trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops.
It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 feet horizontally.
Now they were getting to the good stuff! No wonder Bas kept climbing the dang trees.
They also utilize their long tails to maintain balance while climbing.
Morphological adaptation such as these is a strong indication that the margay is well equipped to thrive in ecosystems such as rainforests in which vegetation provides the wild with protection from possible threats.
Additionally, scientists who have conducted behavioral studies on margays found that population density was higher in environments with a substantial amount of trees and minimal human disturbance.
Okay, now that Hudson felt like he had a better understanding of Bas, he was growing even more angry at the careless owner who wasn’t keeping a proper eye on him.
Closing the laptop, Hudson set the computer to the side. He was tracking down Bas’s owner and they were going to talk. Bas was more special and unique than Hudson had first thought. The poor creature should be pampered and protected.
He reached over and shut off the light as he set a plan into motion.
Hudson was a man on a mission.