Catscratch is copyright Doug Tennapel and Nickelodeon. Not much else to say.
She sat in her rocking chair, knitting
needle in hand. The fireplace was lit, and the room was silent except
for the ticking of the clock and the crackling of the fire. The old
lady stopped knitting and looked towards the front door as if she was
waiting for someone. A scratching sound started outside. "Hovis?"
the lady asked. "Hovis, could you please answer that? I would, but
I've become slow in my old age, and it's so cold out there... I don't
want her to have to wait longer than necessary to come inside..."
"Yes, Mrs. Cramdilly," the butler
responded. Hovis placed the newspaper he was reading on the floor,
rose from the lounge chair, and went to open the front door. A brown
cat walked in. The cat went directly for Mrs. Cramdilly, looked up at
her, and meowed.
"You want to sit in my lap, don't
you?" Mrs. Cramdilly guessed. The cat meowed again. Mrs. Cramdilly
placed her knitting on the coffee table, and the cat jumped onto her
lap. Mrs. Cramdilly chuckled. "Hello, Audrey."
"Hey, Edna," Audrey responded.
"Where have you been?" Edna asked
her, although she had a feeling she knew already.
"Out."
"I know that. Have you been with
that Daniel fellow again?"
"Yeah, I was."
"I assumed that... you've been with
that alley cat every night... not that I mind, but what do two do,
exactly?"
Audrey gave a quick shrug. "Not
much, usually. I just like being with him. Most nights we just roam
the streets, talking."
"Most nights?" Edna inquired.
"What do you mean, most nights?"
"Well, some nights we do something
else. Like tonight..." Audrey trailed off.
"Like tonight what?" Edna asked,
more out of curiosity than anything else.
"I'll spare you, the details..."
Audrey replied. She leaped off of Edna's lap and headed for the
kitchen. "But I'll say one thing..." She looked back at Edna, a
mischievous grin on her face. "There's a good chance that I'm
pregnant." Audrey disappeared into the kitchen before anyone could
respond.
"Mrs. Cramdilly..." Hovis said.
"Surely this can't be a good thing. We'll have to find homes for
the kittens, and goodness knows if whoever adopts them is fit to own
a pet. I suppose we could give them to a shelter, but can we really
leave a bunch of kittens to possibly languish in a cage?"
"Or we could keep them," Edna
responded. "Personally, the idea of finding them a new home never
crossed my mind. I can't just take Audrey's children away from her,
and besides, I like cats."
"Are you sure it's a good idea,
though?"
"Positive. Hovis, I know you aren't
too fond of cats, but I couldn't give them away without guilt.
They'll have plenty of room here in the mansion, and with my
millions, it's not like it will be too costly to raise them. It'll be
fine."
Hovis sighed in defeat. "If you're
sure, Mrs. Cramdilly..."
Over the next weeks, Audrey's pregnancy became more and more apparent. Her belly grew by the day, and she ate enough to feed four cats. A month after discovering her pregnancy, Audrey discovered that Daniel had succumbed to illness and died. As broken-hearted as she was, Audrey knew how harsh alley cat life could be, especially in the winter months. She had lost friends and partners to the cold before. She tried her hardest not to brood over it; Daniel wouldn't have wanted that... and soon, she'd have his children to raise...
Two months after her announcement, Audrey was curled up under the couch asleep. Her eyes slowly opened as she felt something... it was time...
Later that day, Edna was walking by
the laundry room when she heard small "mew"ing. She smiled;
Audrey's basket was in that room. She must have given birth! Edna
opened the door, and her thought was confirmed. Audrey was curled up,
smiling at the three baby kittens. Edna's eyes fell upon a white
kitten with an orange patch over his eye. "My, look at you, so
brave and proud..." She lifted the kitten and snuggled him to her
cheek. Audrey didn't seem to mind. Edna then noticed a black kitten,
attempting to make his way out of the clump. She chuckled, placed the
white kitten back with his mother, and picked up the black one.
"You're a little one, aren't you?" she cooed. The kitten growled
and swiped his paws at this strange being that dared to lift him. The
old lady then heard purring. She looked down and saw a gray kitten
with stripes on his tail. He had his paws on her foot and was looking
up at her, grinning. "Aren't you just adorable!" Still cradling
the slightly annoyed kitten, she knelt down to pat the gray one.
After enjoying the quick pat, the kitten went to his mother for a
meal. The black kitten managed to squirm from Edna's arms and also
went to eat. "When were the little ones born?" Edna asked.
"Few hours ago," Audrey replied.
"I was asleep under the sofa when the time came. I carried them
down here where it's more comfortable."
"Have you come up with any names?"
Audrey nodded, and nudged each kitten
with her paw as she said their names. "This one's Gordon, he's
Waffle, and this little guy here is Mr. Blik."
"Gordon, Waffle, and Mr. Blik,"
Edna repeated. She smiled down at them. Waffle was still eating, Mr.
Blik had fallen asleep, and Audrey was holding Gordon between her
paws and washing him. "Welcome to the Cramdilly house..."