Charlie the Kitten Who Saved a Life

I was asleep in a kind of cage thing in a back room of the vet’s when I heard Julian’s voice. I wasn’t very happy about being put in the cage, just when I’d made up my mind to trust Mr Caswell and Ginny the nurse, and thought they liked me. But I’d been well fed, and after all the trauma I’d been through, I was exhausted, so I gave in, let them shut the cage door and settled down on the mat inside the cage. I was just in the middle of a very satisfying dream where I was playing with a fat frog at the edge of the big pond at home, when I heard Julian calling me.

‘OK,’ I meowed in my dream, ‘I’ll just make this frog jump one more time, then I’ll come in …’, and then I woke up with a start, looked around me, and remembered where I was. Julian was smiling at me through the door of the cage.

I jumped up, purring at the top of my lungs. I’d never been so happy to see anyone! I put my front paws up to the cage door, trying to get out, trying to lick him through the bars, meowing and purring for all I was worth.

‘Hello, boy. What a welcome!’ Julian said. His voice sounded wobbly.

Ginny reached around him to unlock the cage and he took hold of me, hugging me close.

‘Look at the state of you,’ he murmured. ‘You poor little fellow.’

‘Mr Caswell says he must have been living rough, and he’s definitely got into a fight or two,’ Ginny said. ‘He was half wild with fear when the two ladies brought him in.’

‘Where are they?’ Julian looked around him as he carried me through to the vet’s room. ‘I wanted to thank them. I offered a reward.’

‘They said they wouldn’t accept anything,’ Mr Caswell said, turning round from wiping down the table. ‘They were just thrilled to bits to have found Charlie and that he would be going home safely.’

‘But I must thank them, at least! And if they won’t accept the reward, I’ll send the money to a cat charity.’

‘Well, I’m sure Jean and Shirley would really appreciate that. They’re both cat lovers.’

‘Oh, you know them? They live locally?’

‘Yes. They both have pets registered here, and bring them in for their regular check-ups and so on.’

‘Would you be able to give me their phone numbers, then, or is that against your data protection?’

Mr Caswell was smiling. ‘It’s fine, Mr Smythe. They actually asked me to give you their contact details. They asked if you’d be kind enough to update them on Charlie’s recovery.’

‘Of course I will,’ Julian said, taking a piece of paper from the vet and putting it in his wallet. ‘Now, what do I owe you?’

‘Nothing yet, because I haven’t actually started Charlie on any treatment. I was waiting to consult you about it. I’m sure you’re keen to take him straight home, but he’s going to need that abscess on his leg lanced as soon as possible. I could do it right now, but he’ll need to wear an Elizabethan collar afterwards to stop him licking and chewing at the wound.’

‘One of those big protective collars? Animals hate wearing them, don’t they?’

‘At first, yes, until they get used to them. But as you’ve got such a long journey it might not be a good idea to upset him any further today. What I’d suggest is, I’ll give Charlie a quick shot of intravenous antibiotic now, and after you get him home, see your own vet about getting the abscess treated. I’ll give you some antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops for that poor eye, too. And he also needs a flea treatment. Would you like me to do that now?’

And so I was put back on the shiny table and subjected to a needle after all, as well as a dose of flea stuff on the back of my neck. Then I had something dripped into my sore eye, which made me shake my head and twitch my ears madly. But this time I wasn’t screaming or quaking with fear, because my own human was holding me, whispering words of comfort in my ear and stroking me all the while it was happening.

‘He’s going to need some feeding up, poor little chap,’ Mr Caswell commented, feeling my ribs again. ‘And his coat’s going to need some attention.’

‘We’ll see to that ourselves,’ Julian said firmly.

‘Yes, I think that’s best. With a bit of grooming he’ll be back to his old self, and it’ll help him settle back at home and bond with the family again. Although,’ he added, watching as I climbed up Julian’s chest and tried to bury myself inside his shirt, ‘from what I can see, I suspect that’s not going to be a problem.’

Julian laughed, but Mr Caswell lowered his voice and added, ‘Just a word of warning. Keep a close eye on him. There’s just a chance he might have picked up something more serious, if he was involved in any fights with feral cats. They can carry disease in their saliva, which can be transferred in a bite. I’m sure your own vet will advise you. He might want to check him over from time to time while he recovers.’

‘Thank you for the warning. We’ll take great care of him.’

‘I’m sure you will.’ He smiled at me. ‘He’s missed you, that’s obvious!’

‘And we’ve missed him. I know one little girl who’s going to be very happy tonight.’