‘I will,’ she promised, not feeling the conviction of her words. ‘But right now I need to feed these kittens.’ Lisa glanced over at the house to see Kit and Kaboodle, or Kit and Boo as she liked to call them when their ownersweren’t around, looking at her expectantly from the lounge windowsill.
As Lisa opened the front door, the kittens, who hadn’t yet grown into their long legs and big ears, ran from the living room to greet her. Lisa smiled and put her phone and keys down in readiness to say a proper hello, but before she could speak, the pungent and distinctive smell of cat poo hit the back of her throat. Shegagged and put her hand over her nose and mouth. For two such innocent-looking kittens, they could create an incredible stench. Glancing towards the kitchen, Lisa spotted the offending aimed at and missed litter-tray disaster.
She retched, grabbed a scarf she saw hanging on the banister, and wrapped it round her nose and mouth so as to free her hand. Encouraging the kittens into the livingroom with the aid of a feather-covered ball on the end of a string, Lisa shut the door; the clean-up operation would be easier without their help. ‘Right!’ Once in the kitchen, she opened the window and back door before sourcing appropriate cleaning products. Finally, snapping on the Marigold gloves she’d found next to the sink, she was ready. Catching a glimpse of herself in the reflection of thewindow, she rolled her eyes and hoped nobody would come home to find her looking like a cat-poo-cleaning ninja.
When she finished, Lisa placed the black sack in the outside bin and lowered the scarf from her face before taking a few much-needed cleansing breaths. As she did so, she made a mental note to get together a tool kit of disposable gloves, pet-friendly disinfectant, bin bags, kitchenroll, air freshener and disposable face masks. She had been lucky this time the house had been well stocked, but what if it hadn’t? As it was, she was going to have to explain the missing Marigold gloves from the kitchen sink.
Locking the back door, Lisa called to the kittens and went to free them from the lounge. They bolted excitedly to the kitchen. Thankfully, they hadn’t caused any devastationin the time she had left them, and for a moment at least they were still – both in one place crunching their way through their kibble. She hoped that by the time they needed their litter tray again, it wouldn’t be on her watch.
Deciding now would be a good time to write a note for their owners, Lisa took out her Purrfect Pet Sitter notebook from her bag and rummaged for her pen. With her handslipping into all the corners of her rucksack, she remembered taking the pen out and using it in the van to note down a new contact. She scanned the kitchen side but couldn’t find one. ‘Ah ha!’ She had more luck in the living room and sat to write a note explaining about the clear-up and the now missing Marigolds – which she offered to pay for.
Leaving the note next to the kettle, she spottedKit steadily munching his way through Kaboodle’s bowl of food. ‘Hey, pickle, that’s your sister’s. How come she’s letting you get away with that?’
Lisa called Boo and looked around for her. She checked behind the fridge – a previous hiding place from which she had been recovered – but couldn’t find her. Spotting the still-open window, her heart thudded and she swore. ‘Oh no, no, no, no, Boo,you wouldn’t.’ As she went to look into the garden, Lisa hoped, truly hoped, that Boo hadn’t somehow managed to clamber out. The kittens were twelve weeks old, they’d recently had their second injections, but their owner had given strict instructions that they were to be kept in until fourteen weeks. And then, quite rightly, she wanted to be the one to take them out.
Lisa swallowed as shelooked across the lawn to see Boo almost grinning back at her. Not wanting Kit to follow suit, Lisa scooped him up. His slender frame and soft fur made him feel vulnerable in her hands and caused Lisa’s fear for his sister to increase. Popping him into the living room, Lisa gave him a quick reassuring stroke before taking a breath and heading back to the kitchen.
Opening the back door, Lisashook the box of kibble and called Kaboodle. Perhaps if she hadn’t just eaten all she wanted of her food, it would have been harder to resist. But as it was, the lure of the great outdoors and the taste of freedom were more appealing. Stuffing a handful of the kibble in her pocket and leaving the box on the floor, Lisa walked slowly towards the escapee, keeping her voice calm and even despite thepanic she could feel growing inside.
Boo was edging stealthily through the grass, her movements slow and precise. With her legs bent and her tail held straight and low, she looked every bit the lioness ready to strike. Boo was feisty and determined to have her fun, but unlike her formidable feline cousin, she was small and unaware of the dangers of the big wide world; Lisa knew she couldn’tlet anything happen to her. The object of her prey, as far as Lisa could see, was the long grass at the base of an old sycamore tree. Caught every now and then by the breeze, the movement of the grass seemed to fascinate the inquisitive cat.
As Lisa wondered if she could just make a grab for Boo while her attention was elsewhere, the kitten pounced; taking a leap into the air, she landed onthe grass, but as she did so, a squirrel darted out of hiding and began scampering up the tree, spiralling the trunk as it went. Kaboodle, at first startled, recovered all too quickly for a kitten on her first outdoor adventure and began to give chase.
‘Oh no! Kaboodle, don’t you do that.’ Lisa dashed for the tree, but it was no good; the spritely kitten was out of reach. Even if she jumped,Lisa couldn’t reach her. And still Boo was climbing higher, lured by the squirrel, who was now leaping from branch to branch in an acrobatic display Lisa truly hoped Boo wouldn’t attempt to copy. Trying again to get the kitten’s attention, Lisa called her and held out the food. But still, the determined kitten ignored her. Lisa looked around the garden for a ladder and peered in the shed window,but couldn’t see one.
Returning to the tree, she could see Boo teetering on a branch. The squirrel was nowhere to be seen and had probably made an escape into the trees behind the garden. Lisa was grateful Boo hadn’t followed there; it led to fields and a train line beyond.
With the object of Kaboodle’s focus gone, she seemed to notice for the first time that she was about fifteen feetoff the ground. As if to tell Lisa about her predicament, the kitten started meowing loudly. Lisa spoke to her, reassuring her, as she attempted to encourage her down, but instead of making a move to return to the ground, the kitten’s calls became more desperate. Lisa really didn’t want Boo to fall and injure herself.
Testing the lowest branch with a tug, Lisa decided there was only one thingfor it; she’d have to climb the tree and help Kaboodle down. Deciding the branch might just be strong enough, she looked for a sturdy foothold in the bark. Her jeans were a bit tighter than she’d have chosen if she’d known she was going to be scaling a tree, but needs must. At least she was grateful to be wearing her trainers instead of her walking boots.
Grabbing the lower branch with onehand, she put her left arm around the trunk. With one foot on a gnarly piece of bark, she pushed up. ‘Here goes!’ Lisa had climbed trees when she was younger. It had seemed easy then, when she had been desperate to get higher than her brother, Luke, and to prove that she was the best. Looking up at the tree, its branches reaching into the sky overhead, Lisa reminded herself that being at least fifteenyears older should simply mean she was stronger –not more of a coward, more aware of the dangers and oh so much less supple. The fear she could feel inside was, she told herself, unnecessary; she just wasn’t sure how to convince her shaking legs of that fact.Come on, Lisa, you can do this!
Spurred on by the desperation in Kaboodle’s meowing, Lisa hauled herself upwards, staying as closeas she could to the trunk. ‘Look for the branches about the size of your wrist,’ she remembered her dad saying. Wise words, sound advice that had stayed with her, locked in her sub-conscious, for a tree-climbing occasion to occur; now that occasion was here, and she was balancing on a branch half the size of her wrist, six feet off the ground, she wished the wise words had stayed locked away.
Lisa attempted to keep her voice even and to keep reassuring Kaboodle as she pulled herself ever closer to her. Determined not to look down, she focused on the next branch, the next foothold and the sorry-for-herself kitten, whose first outdoor adventure had gone so very wrong. ‘Nearly there, Boo. One more branch and I’ll be with you.’ As Lisa, still remaining close to the trunk, pulled herselfup level with the kitten, she realised she hadn’t thought this through. How could she get Kaboodle off her branch and safely down? If she still had the scarf on, she could have wrapped her in it or made a sling to carry her down. But she didn’t. Lisa knew she would definitely need both hands free to make the descent.
Pondering how else she could make a sling, Lisa wondered if her T-shirt wouldwork. As she tried to decide if she would be able to take it off safely and if she wanted to risk being arrested for being up a tree in her bra and jeans, in what was a quite nice neighbourhood not far from her mum’s house, Kaboodle began to walk towards her. Dismissing all plans to fashion a sling, Lisa wedged her back against the tree and opened her arms for the kitten, who ran the final stretchwith wide eyes. Lisa scooped her into her hands, welcoming the feel of her soft sable fur and feeling the vulnerability of her slight body. In order to keep a safe hold of her, Lisa moved Kaboodle closer and wrapped her in her arms. Despite the fact they were still in a tree and a long way from the ground, Lisa felt relieved that Kaboodle was safe. But with no way to get the kitten down andtelephoning for help being out of the question, as she had left her phone in the house, Lisa realised she would have to sit it out in the tree until the kittens’ owner returned home. A glance at her watch and the stiffness creeping into her limbs made her question how feasible a plan that was. Building her voice up slowly so as not to frighten the kitten, Lisa decided to call for help. Once her voicereached a reasonable level, she watched the windows of the surrounding houses. Nothing. Not a single curtain twitched.
About to give up and accept her fate, Lisa saw the garden gate swing open. While she couldn’t believe who was standing there, she knew at least a rescue was about to be co-ordinated and that it would be carried out with military precision.
‘Harold. Mr Martin. It’s goodto see you.’ While Lisa didn’t always find it good to see her mum’s ex-military, elderly neighbour, there was no doubt she was relieved to see him now.
Walking purposefully towards the tree, Harold looked at Lisa and called, ‘Spotted you from the fields. I’ve telephoned for reinforcements.’
‘The fields? But …’ Lisa paused, deciding to leave the many questions in her head for when she andKaboodle were safely back on the ground. After a long career in the army, Harold Martin had found his calling in retirement as head of the neighbourhood watch. He was also a keen observer of nature and a birdwatcher. Lisa hoped the latter explained the binoculars hanging round his neck, as opposed to him taking his neighbourhood-watch duties a tad too far.
‘Should be here any minute. We’llsoon have you down.’
The words were reassuring. ‘Not long now, Boo, did you hear? Help is on its way.’ About to ask what Harold’s plan was, Lisa became aware of a siren drawing closer; from her vantage point in the tree she could also see flashing blue lights, flashing blue lights that had turned into the street and come to a halt outside the house. She hadn’t met the members of Nathan’s watch,but she had more than a suspicion she was about to.Thank goodness I kept my top on!Her cheeks turned red and she looked down at Kaboodle.
‘Oh, Boo, I think you’re about to become a cliché.’
