Homeless

Author Laurie Halse Anderson
Originally Published © 2000 Laurie Halse Anderson
ISBN 1101176679
 

Chapter One

Zoe still thinks that Sunita needs a cat. The kids are all heading home on the bus, going to Dr. Mac’s Place, the veterinary clinic where they all volunteer. The perfect way to start the weekend. Sunita says it’s useless, her Mother won’t let her.

Sunita always loved cats. Long-haired, short-haired, tabby, Siamese, or stray. She adores them all. She can watch them for hours. They fascinate her. But Sunita’s mother feels differently. Sunita thinks they scare her, even if she won’t admit it. She gives excuses like their shedding or ruining the furniture instead.

Zoe’s cousin, Maggie, leans across the aisle and says no matter what, Sunita is great with cats and deserves a pet. David turns around from the seat in front of them and says a cat would eat all the mice in the basement. Brenna suggests writing a list of all the reasons Sunita wants a cat.

Sunita, shaking her head, says that won’t help. Mother wants a cat that doesn’t have fur, claws, or teeth, or need a litter box or food. Maggie points out that her mom did let her volunteer at the clinic, and that surprised her. Maggie’s right. Sunita didn’t expect Mother to let her volunteer wtih the others. At first, Sunita thought volunteering would make her not want one of her own. But being around them made her want one even more.

The clinic is run by Dr. J.J. MacKenzie, Maggie and Zoe’s grandmother. Dr. Mac recruited Brenna, David, and Sunita to begin volunteering a month ago, and it’s been the most spectacular thing to happen to Sunita. They see all kinds of animals: cats, canaries, puppies, pigs, and more! The veterinarians let the volunteers help them during examinations and they learn all about things like X-rays and blood tests.

But some of the work is boring and smelly, like cleaning cages and mopping floors. But every job is important. Sunita wants to be a vet when she grows up, so she does whatever Dr. Mac asks. Sunita wants to learn everything she can about animals, especially cats.

All the research Sunita does probably explains why Socrates, Dr. Mac’s cat, loves her. Socrates is huge, almost twenty pounds. His fur is a blend of orange, rust, and yellow, with faint stripes on his tail. Sometimes he acts a bit aloof, and Maggie says that he doesn’t let her pet him or pick him up. But he willingly hops on Sunita’s lap and walks up to Sunita when she enters the clinic to let her pet him. Dr. Mac says he cuddles her because she’s a calm and quiet person.

Sunita has a different idea. She thinks Socrates can tell how much she wants a cat of her own, so he’s adopted her. Sunita’s adopted him, too. He’s become her pet away from home.

Dr. Mac’s Place comes into sight. Dr. Mac’s is a two-story brick building with dark green shutters and a matching green door. The clinic pokes out the left side of the house, a one-story addition. It has a separate door and two windows that face the street. Socrates pokes his head out of the flowers to come to Sunita for some petting. Zoe points to a corner of the yard and says there’s another cat.

The new cat delicately steps onto the grass. It’s a tuxedo cat, mostly black with white paws and patch of white on her chest. She’s very pregnant, with a heavy belly that almost touches the ground. Socrates stiffens and growls. He doesn’t want her here, and he’s telling her to leave. His tail whips back and forth as his ears lay flat on his head. He hisses.

 

Chapter Two

Sunita asks why he’s acting like this. Maggie explains that Socrates knows other cats come into the clinic, but the yard is his alone. She’ll run off in a second. The black cat takes two more steps toward Socrates, arching her back to make herself look bigger. Socrates isn’t scared though. His coat is puffed up, too, making him look monstrously huge. He lets out another hiss.

Maggie frowns. This isn’t good. And in a flash, the two cats jump on each other. Socrates lashes out with claws, and chases the female behind the azalea bushes. The bushes shake as the cats growl, hiss, and howl in pain.

Maggie runs to get the hose to stop the fighting. The cats bolt out of the bushes, still chasing each other and fighting. Sunita has never seen Socrates act like this before. The two cats finally separate themselves and stare each other down. Socrates has blood dripping from his cheek and a gash on his hind leg. The female won’t put down her front right paw, and she has a bite on her shoulder. Socrates prepares to pounce again.

Maggie returns with the hose, and she presses the nozzle to spray the angry cats. They both take off down the street like they were shot out of a cannon. Sunita, Maggie, Brenna, and David take off chasing the cats. Zoe stays behind to tell Dr. Mac what happened.

The kids run down the the block, and then around the corner, and through a long alley. Maggie sprints ahead. They race down another alley and come to a gas station. There’s no sign of the cats. A man by a car says the cats ran across the street. Across the gas station is an old, abandoned button factory.

Maggie says Socrates couldn’t have gotten inside, so he probably went home another way. Sunita shakes her head and says she thinks he’s here. They should check behind the building. Behind the building is a loading area that’s overgrown with trees, bushes, and weeds. Sunita is sure Socrates is in there.

It’s slow going. They stay bent over because of the heavy vines and branches that pull at their hair and clothes. It’s like a big maze. Sunita trips over a piece of rusted machinery. It’s like a jungle. David points a slim black tail slipping through the wall of green ahead of them. The tuxedo cat! Socrates must be nearby. They push through faster.

They come across a weathered, broken-down red boxcar on rusted wheels. Sunita says the cats could be inside. Ten feet of broken concrete stretches from the boxcar to the railroad tracks, and the clearing is covered with cats!

The kids crouch down in the weeds to look. There must be thirty of them, chasing each other, sunbathing, sleeping, scratching at fleas, and tiptoeing around broken glass. A few look sleek and powerful, but most are thin, flea-bitten, and desperately need a brushing. But there’s no sign of Socrates.

Maggie says it’s a colony of stray cats. Sunita slowly steps out of the weeks and the cats turn their heads to look at her. Most of them ignore her, but two cats with black-and-white patches come up to her. They’re hungry. Sunita bends down to scratch under their chins. Brenna says they probably don’t have any owners. Sunita wishes she could take them all home.

Suddenly, a loud horn sounds, and the train to Philadelphia whizzes toward them. The cats dash into the tall weeds. It’s so loud as the train passes that nobody can hear what Brenna is trying to say, as she gestures frantically. Leaves and dust swirl into the air. The last train car whooshes by, and it’s quiet again.

Brenna says someone is coming. On the other side of the tracks is a block of small houses, each with a tiny yard surrounded by a low fence. A boy wearing a green backpack walks across one of the yards toward the kids, followed by a little girl carrying a plastic bowl with water. The boy and girl look maybe like a third-grader and first-grader or kindergartener, respectively.

As the little kids cross the tracks and step in to the clearing, the cats reappear like magic, meowing loudly. The kids are regulars. As Sunita comes out to say hello, they startle the kids.

 

Chapter Three

Sunita explains they’re looking for a lost cat named Socrates. He was in a fight and ran off. He was chasing a black, tuxedo cat female. Socrates is hurt. The boy asks if they’re going to take the cats away, and Brenna says no. They just want to find Socrates and go home.

The boy walks to the boxcar and reaches into the open doorway and pulls out two chipped ceramic bowls. He takes a small bag of cat food out of his backpack and empties it into the bowls. The cats run to the boxcar to eat their food. The girl sets the bowl of water on the ground.

Sunita gives the kids her name, and says that if they like the cats, then hopefully they understand why she’s worried. Socrates needs a veterinarian to look at his wounds. The boy says his name is Jamie, and he’ll help them look. But if he’s back in the bushes, they won’t have any luck. He pauses, and then asks if they know how to take care of a hurt cat.

Sunita nods her head, and Jamie looks at the girl. He tells Sunita and the others to follow him, as he leads them to an injured cat lying on a doll’s blanket behind a rusted barrel. The cat’s hind leg is swollen and there’s blood on the fur. Jamie says he was hit by a car. He won’t eat or drink anything. But they can’t get too close because he’s a wild cat. They bite and scratch. Jamie only could move him because the car knocked him out.

Sunita says he has to be taken to the clinic. Jamie says they can use the phone in the house to call for help. Katie will show them the way. Katie and Maggie carefully cross the tracks and head for the house.

Jamie explains that the cats aren’t theirs. They just help take care of them. They use their allowance money to buy food for them. They play with the tame cats out here. But the wild cats bite. Brenna speaks up to say they need to keep looking for Socrates. Brenna and David will start knocking on doors and come back in fifteen minutes.

Jamie asks Sunita to describe the tuxedo cat again. After she does, he says he’s seen her before. They call her Mittens. Then, Katie and Maggie return, followed by a short, angry woman. She says the cats are dangerous, and she told Katie and Jamie to stay away from them. As the woman gets closer, Sunita can see she’s not angry, but afraid. The look on her face reminds Sunita of her own mother.

The woman tells Jamie to take Katie back to the house. Sunita doesn’t understand why they’re sent home. They’re just trying to help the injured cat. The woman checks to make sure her kids are out of hearing range before saying that the neighborhood is upset about the cats. The cats use their gardens as a bathroom and dig in the garbage. There was an old man who used to live a few houses down. He left out food for the cats. After he moved, the cats stayed. And one cat is cute, and two are fun. But suddenly, there’s a jungle of cats around, howling all night. And that’s trouble.

The woman explains she tried calling everyone. The mayor, the city council, the county commissioners. Nobody seems to care. Meanwhile, the cats keep having kittens. Sunita says she can help get them all adopted. The woman smiles sympathetically. Nobody is going to want these cats. They’re wild. They bite, scratch, and have fleas. They’re as bad as the raccoons that live back here. They probably have rabies and other diseases, too. That’s why they need to be gone. And finally, the county is coming tomorrow to take the cats away.

But before the woman can explain more, Jamie calls out there’s a phone call for his mom. She turns to leave, saying that she hopes they find their cat fast. Animal Control comes tomorrow morning.

 

Chapter Four

Dr. Mac crosses the railroad tracks carrying a big first aid kit and an empty cage. Maggie calls her over. As she walks, Sunita explains that they can’t find Socrates. And there’s a huge colony of stray cats living here. Some of the neighborhood kids have been feeding them and the parents are upset and think the cats are bad and Animal Control is going to take them away and—

Dr. Mac patiently says that they need to take care of one thing at a time. Sunita can tell her the rest on the way back to the clinic. Sunita isn’t sure how old Dr. Mac is. Fifty-five, or maybe sixty. She has white hair, but that is the only thing that identifies her age. She runs marathons and wears blue jeans and t-shirts from The Gap. She writes a newspaper column about pets and travels all over the world giving lectures. She has lots of energy, she’s smart, and she’s great with animals and kids.

Dr. Mac kneels in the dirt, a foot away from the injured cat. Sunita says he was hit by a car. The cat won’t eat or drink anything. Dr. Mac evaluates the cat from head to paws. She doesn’t even bother trying to touch him. Sunita offers to hold him, but Dr. Mac says that Sunita can’t help with this one. In fact, she wants the kids to back up a little. This isn’t a stray cat. This is a feral cat. Strays are cats raised by humans, so there used to being touched. But feral cats are born and raised in the wild. They hate being touched by people. They think of humans as predators, something that will hurt them. Maggie and Sunita exchange surprised looks. Sunita can’t imagine a cat that wouldn’t like Dr. Mac or her. Dr. Mac opens the equipment box and takes out a giant pair of oven mitts. She says the guy could be infected with diseases. He’ll for sure try to scratch and bite her. She’s going to need the oven mitts just to get him in the cage.

Dr. Mac is right. As she picks up the blanket the cat’s on, he jerks his neck and sinks his teeth into the nearest mitt. Dr. Mac says the best thing to do is to get him to the clinic as soon as possible. Once he’s there, he can be given a sedative to calm down. She puts the feral cat in the cage, closes the door, and drapes a big towel over it. Dr. Mac says the cover will make him feel more secure. Dr. Mac asks if they found Socrates. Sunita sadly shakes her head. She emphasizes that he’s hurt.

Dr. Mac sighs. Zoe told her about the fight. She’s seen Socrates chase cats out of the yard before, but he always comes right back. She’s probably thinking about all the dangerous things a cat can run into: cars, dogs, poisonous plants. Sunita can’t even think about it. They just have to find him.

Dr. Mac looks at her watch. If he doesn’t show up by tomorrow, the kids can make flyers with his picture and hand them out. But now they, they have to go back to the clinic. Dr. Mac picks up the cage, and the cat meows. Sunita asks about the other cats. Jamie’s mom said that Animal Control is going to come by tomorrow to pick them all up. What if they capture Socrates, too? Dr. Mac promises that they will talk at the clinic.

When they arrive back to the clinic, the kids head to the kitchen for a snack, but Sunita follows Dr. Mac into the exam room. Dr. Mac sets the cage with the feral cat in it on the metal examination table, and prepares the sedative. She takes a syringe out of the drawer, and sticks it through the rubber cap of a vial to draw out the liquid sedative. She explains that this will relax the cat and take the edge off the pain. Then they’ll be able to see what’s going on.

Dr. Mac walks behind the table, until she’s standing behind the cage. Dr. Mac says she wants Sunita to stand where the cat can see her, but stay far away. She tells Sunita to distract him. Sunita makes squeaking noise, trying to get the cat to look at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Dr. Mac ready to stick the needle through the bars of the cat carrier. The cat watches Sunita, right as Dr. Mac sticks the needle into the cat’s rump. The cat turns fast as lightning and shoots a paw through the bars.

Dr. Mac yelps. The cat got her. A thick line of blood oozes from the long scratch on her hand. She turns on the hot water and squeezes soap on the cut. The scratch is pretty deep, and this is why she gets shots every other year. Even if he has a disease like rabies, her vaccinations will keep her safe. Sunita asks if she’ll need antibiotics. Dr. Mac answers if it were a bite, she would. She’ll put some antibiotic cream on the scratch and it should be fine.

Dr. Mac explains that this is how cats are. Dogs usually give signs that they’re irritated and might bite, but a cat can turn and attack before a human knows what’s happening. Perhaps they should call this cat Tiger. She tells Sunita to be careful. Feral cats are not predictable.

Sunita says he just needs to feel better. Then they can find him a good home. But Dr. Mac shakes her head. He might look like a house cat, but he’s not. He was born in the wild, probably to an abandoned or runaway pet. Cats raised in the wild won’t have any interest in being a pet.

Sunita knows she can’t say anything, but she thinks that Dr. Mac is wrong. Tiger has had a hard life so far, and he just needs some tender, loving care. Sunita can teach him and show him that humans aren’t bad. So that’s what she’ll do. Sunita will take care of Tiger while he’s recuperating and help get him used to people. Sunita can tame him. But that won’t happen overnight, and Animal Control is coming to get the cats by the train tracks tomorrow. They have to find a way to stop them.

The sedative relaxed Tiger so much that Dr. Mac can take him out of the cage to start the examination. She listens to his heart and lungs with a stethoscope. His heartbeat is strong and his respiratory rate is fast. There’s no wheezing or whistling. There’s no broken ribs, which is good. The leg might be fractured, so they’ll need an X-ray. He’ll need to stay confined for a while as it heals. They’ll have to neuter him as well, so that he won’t make any kittens.

Dr. Mac takes out an I.V. from the cupboard and hangs it on a metal stand. It’s a mixture of sterile water and nutrients to help injured animals. She connects the thin, plastic needle into a vein in Tiger’s leg. The I.V. will rehydrate him and make him feel better.

Sunita tells Dr. Mac about the conversation with Jamie’s mom. Dr. Mac explains that the woman can get the county to put all of the cats to sleep. The law in every state allows officials to remove animals that pose a danger to the health of people. The woman is probably most concerned about rabies. It’s usually seen in foxes, raccoons, skunks, and bats, but domestic animals can get it, too. Rabies, is a disease that is passed in saliva, when an infected animal bites another animal or person, it attacks the nervous system and the brain. Infected animals can become very aggressive. An infected animal drools and attacks anything that comes close. Rabies can be prevented if a bite victim receives treatment quickly, but without treatment, the victim will die. Animal care workers get vaccinated preemptively because they’re around animals everyday, but it doesn’t make sense for an average person to do that. Instead, the law requires pets like dogs, cats, and ferrets to be vaccinated. This keeps the animals and their owners safe.

 

Chapter Five

The recovery room is where a couple different things happen. Animals who have just had surgery are taken there to monitored. It also has hospital beds. Rows of cages are built into the far wall where patients who are too sick to go home can stay. Dr. Mac walks over to the cupboard on the far wall and rummages through the top shelf. She pulls up a sign that says DANGEROUS ANIMAL. STAY AWAY! She hangs it on Tiger’s cage.

Tiger blinks his green eyes at Sunita and meows. He looks so sad. Dr. Mac assures Sunita that he will be fine. He just needs a couple days of rest and recovery. Sunita turns to ask Dr. Mac a question. How does she phrase it? She says she’s worried about Socrates and all the other cats. The woman says that Animal Control will take them away, and they all know what that means.

Dr. Mac nods. She hates it when animals are put to sleep for no good reason. Sunita asks if maybe they can help the cats. They can set up an adoption program like they did for the puppies a month ago. Dr. Mac pulls up a stool and sits down. After a long silence, finally, she speaks. Dr. Mac says that the woman has a good point. The size of the colony will continue to grow and grow unless something is done. A pair of breeding cats can have a litter of five or six kittens a year. By the time the kittens are seven months old, they can have kittens of their own. That means that one pair of cats could wind up with eighty kittens in a single year. And the life of a stray or feral cat is short and harsh. And it’s a huge problem. An article she read estimated that there are sixty million feral cats in the U.S., which is as many as there are pet cats. The number of feral cats grows every day.

While Sunita’s intentions are great, Sunita isn’t looking at the facts. There may be a few strays who are used to being around people, but most are feral. You can’t turn a feral cat into a house cat. Sunita’s heart starts to race. If they don’t do something soon, they won’t have any chance of being any kind of cat. And if they don’t find Socrates, he could be put to sleep with the others.

Dr. Mac slowly says there might be another option. There are a few communities that have been trying TVSR programs. TVSR stands for treat, vaccinate, spay, and release. They trap cats in a colony, bring them back to a veterinary clinic to be sedated and checked over for diseases and injuries. They vaccinate the cats against rabies and other diseases, and spay the female cats and neuter the males. Once all of the cats are recovered from surgery, they’re released. They put a notch in the cats’ ears so everyone knows they’ve been treated. They won’t reproduce, they won’t spread disease, and they get to live out their short lives in peace. It might be worth giving it a shot.

Dr. Mac stands up. She says she’ll go down to the colony in the morning to talk to the Animal Control officers. She’ll see if they will let her try a TVSR program. They can look for Socrates as well.

 

Chapter Six

That evening, all of the kids head over to Brenna’s house for dinner. They pull up to a roomy log cabin. It has flowers of every size and color blooming, bird feeders hanging from branches, and a smell of pine in the air. It’s surrounded on three sides by a nature preserve. It’s hard to believe they’re still in the middle of the suburbs. Sunita says it reminds her of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. David points out it reminds him of the “Angry Beavers.” They live in the forest, too. Brenna’s mom speaks up from the driver’s seat, saying she calls it the Hundred-Acre Wood. Apparently, Brenna used to think that Pooh Bear and Tigger lived next door.

Sunita likes Mrs. Lake. Her chestnut brown hair has silver strands in it. She works at the retirement community where Sunita’s grandfather lives. Brenna jumps out of the car and says she’ll show all the other kids around. There are two other small cabins set a short distance from the house. One of them is Brenna’s dad’s workshop. He’s a carpenter. The walls of the workshop are lined with tools, neatly hung and organized by size. There’s a couple of woodworking machines in the middle of the floor, and some beautiful chairs under the window. The air smells like sawdust.

Then, Brenna shows them the barn. The barn is where the Lakes keep injured wild animals and nurse them back to health. The Lakes are licensed wildlife rehabilitators. Sick or injured animals are brought to them to be nursed back to health. Brenna is really proud that her family does this. Brenna says they can’t stay in the barn long. Mom and Dad don’t want the animals to get too used to humans. And they have to be quiet. Only a woodchuck and a baby fox are in there right now. The fox still hasn’t settled in yet. He was hit by a cart on a golf course.

The kids file silently into the barn, passing a few empty pens until they get to a hollow log in one pen. Brenna whispers it’s the woodchuck. Sunita can’t even see it. The woodchuck must be hiding inside the lock. The next pen holds the baby fox. When he sees them, he skidders into a corner and hides his head. His back left leg is bandaged. Sunita wishes that she could pick him up and stroke his red fur and tell him not to worry. But Brenna whispers that it’s already time to leave.

The Lakes’ kitchen table is small, but they’ve set up a card table at the end so they can all sit it together. Brenna introduces the kids to her father, who has a cheerful bushy beard and one pierced ear. Her older brother, Sage, and younger brother, Jayvee, look like their dad, minus the beard.

Brenda calls for Poe, and a large black crow hops into the kitchen. She introduces him as Edgar Allan Poe Crow. He’s her buddy. She tosses him the corner of a hamburger roll, and he snaps it with his beak and gulps it down. Poe’s wing was badly damaged by a gunshot last year that he can’t fly any kind of distance. He’s the only critter that the Lakes have let stay with them permanently.

They all feast on hamburgers and homemade potato salad. Brenna tells her parents about Socrates’ disappearance and what they found by the railroad tracks. Mrs. Lake reassures them the Dr. MacKenzie’s cat will come home in a day or two. He seems like an independent and smart animal. Maggie points out that if his wounds get infected, he won’t have the energy to come home. Mr. Lake says they shouldn’t be worried yet. It’s only been a few hours. Besides, Mrs. Lake says that the size of the colony of strays proves that it’s a good area to live in. Mrs. Lake says she heard there were only a few cats there; she didn’t know the colony was so big. Sunita says she wishes that they could rescue them all. She’d love to take one home. Sage says that they probably don’t need rescuing. The strays have survived without much help up until now.

They all continue talking about the colony of cats. Sunita feels it’s not fair for them to have to live like that. Mr. Lake says that it’s hard to tell when it’s right for people to interfere in the life of a wild animal. It’s possible that some of the cats aren’t really wild, they’re dependent on humans for food. Sage says that maybe they’re just taking the easiest meal they can find. If the food disappeared, the cats would go back to normal eating habits and hunting for themselves. Zoe thinks Sunita’s right. The cats deserve something better. Brenna’s father says that he has heard of people that brought feral cats into their homes and domesticated them. But they’re still nervous around people, and they still won’t sit in anybody’s lap or let anyone pet them. Zoe says that maybe Socrates is actually feral. The only people he lets near him are Gran and Sunita.

When Maggie asks about the tuxedo cat’s kittens, Brenna’s mother says if the black cats kittens are raised outside, they will be feral. That’s the big issue. Cats reproduce, and they’re not socialized as pets. There’s not much that can be done about them. Brenna’s father says it’s the way the world works. When there’s too many of one species in a place, nature takes care of it. They run out of food, and the weak die. Putting animals to sleep is actually more humane.

Then, Sunita speaks up. She explains the TVSR program that Dr. Mac explained to her. Mrs. Lake says TVSR makes sense. The animals are released back to where they were found. Sunita says she hates the idea of forcing them to live on their own again. She wants to find people to adopt them, but Sage says it wouldn’t work. A wild animal is a wild animal.

They all keep talking, but Sunita’s thoughts start to drift. She can start with Tiger tomorrow. She just has to be patient. Cats that are raised in the wild need extra love and understanding. Maybe Socrates was once a feral kitten. Dr. Mac told Sunita that she found him wandering around the yard when he was tiny. She can do the same with Tiger and the others. She is sure of it.

 

Chapter Seven

The next morning, as Sunita approaches the clinic, she feels as if something is wrong. What is it? The clinic looks normal. What’s missing? Then, Sunita realizes. It’s Socrates. A lump grows in her throat, and she tries to swallow it. They’ll find him that day. They have to.

Once Sunita walks in, she the others are clustered around the reception counter. Dr. Mac is trying to listen to the person on the other end of the telephone. She loudly says that yes, they are missing a cat. Maggie jumps up and down and says that someone found Socrates. Dr. Mac asks what the cat looks like. She nods once, twice. She asks if they’re sure? She’s not smiling anymore. She thanks them for checking, and says it’s not theirs. She hangs up the phone, and Sunita’s heart sinks.

Dr. Mac explains the cat they found is orange, but it’s small, only seven or eight pounds. It has white ears, and it’s female. Dr. Mac says it’s not time to worry yet. They have to get in the van to go.

It’s a quick drive to Dorset Street, the closest road to the railroad tracks. Dr. Mac fills the silence in her car by telling them about the Animal Control officer they’ll be meeting. When they park, they see a tall, slim man wearing a dark green shirt and matching pants leaning over some papers. Dr. Mac gets out of the car to go shake his hand, and the five of them trail behind Dr. Mac. Dr. Mac introduces the officer, named Gary, to Maggie, Zoe, Sunita, Brenna, and David. Gary looks puzzled at the presence of a veterinarian and five sixth-graders.

Gary explains that he didn’t have a chance to check his messages yesterday, so he doesn’t know why Dr. Mac is there. Dr. Mac says that they’re probably there for the same reason: the feral cats. Gary frowns. He says the neighbors are in an uproar. He has to take them out. Dr. Mac calmly explains the TVSR program to Gary. Sunita keeps her fingers crossed behind her back. Hopefully he agrees to it. Dr. Mac said that if he says no, there’s nothing more to be done. As an Animal Control officer, it’s his job to make decisions about the safety of people and animals.

As Dr. Mac finishes her explanation, Gary glances up and down the street. No kids are outside playing. He asks who’s paying for it. The cost of the vaccines, surgery, and medicine will add up. There’s no extra money in his budget. Dr. Mac looks at the kids behind her, and says she won’t charge the county. She’ll do it for free and consider it a contribution to the community. Dr. Mac pulls out a thick binder, and hands it to Gary. She says she put together some information for him. He can read up on it for himself. The studies say that in areas where TVSR is being used, the cat population has slowly decreased and is steady. Towns have reduced their feral cat population by half after running TVSR programs for a few years.

Gary says that if they release the cats back here, the neighborhood association will have his head. Dr. Mac says that if the colony is removed, other feral cats will just take it over. TVSR will work better. The statistics are convincing, but Gary will have to do some educating and have a meeting with the neighborhood. Dr. Mac would be happy to speak to them. Gary flips through the pages of the notebook with a frown. Sunita yelps out that he has to let them try this. The cats need their help. This will save their lives.

Sunita swallows hard. She’s not used to speaking out like this. Gary takes a deep breath, and says that he’s always hated putting these guys to sleep. It’s not their fault. He says they’ll try the program this time, to see if it works. He’ll set up a meeting to explain it to the neighbors. But if it doesn’t work, they have to do it another way.

Gary says that they can use his humane traps. The trap looks like a big cat carrier, but it slides back and forth to hold the caged animal still, squeezing it gently when the vet is trying to give it a shot. He says they’ll have to give the wild animals a sedative before treatment. They can put up a big fuss. Maybe, after they get these cats taken care of, Sunita will design a better trap. She wouldn’t be like being trapped in a metal box and squeezed either.

Gary asks how many they want to trap right now. Dr. Mac says she can handle about six at a time. She brought some smelly tuna to stick inside the traps, too. Maggie says that she’ll start passing out flyers about the meeting with Gary. Sunita says she’ll stay to watch. Maybe she’ll see Socrates.

They cross over to the railroad tracks to get to the colony. It’s deserted, but Sunita can feel the eyes of the cats watching from the tall grass. Sunita can see a curtain move in Jamie’s house, but she can’t see who’s watching. Hopefully, Jamie’s mom goes to Gary’s meeting. Gary and Dr. Mac set up all of the traps. They walk to the opposite side of the clearing and crouch down out of sight. Sunita sits as still as a mouse.

In a few minutes, the cats appear, slinking out of the weeds and out of the boxcar. They can smell the tuna. Sunita recognizes a lot of the cats that appear, but no Socrates. They see the gray cat with a broken tail, and the black-and-white young cats. They circle the traps warily. Sunita thinks they suspect something is wrong. Something brushes by Sunita’s hand. She flicks it to make it go away, and then looks down. And there she is. Mittens, the soon-to-be mom cat that fought with Socrates. Sunita glances around quickly, but there’s no sign of their feisty orange clinic cat. But maybe Socrates will come out if he smells the tuna.

Mittens tilts her black head back and looks Sunita in the eye. It’s as if she knew that Sunita was going to come. Sunita squints. Under her fur is a black flea collar. This means that Mittens isn’t a feral cat after all! She was abandoned. Mittens used to have people who loved her, but now she’s all alone. She’s not wild, she’s domesticated. She wants to live inside and sleep on bedspreads. She’s safe.

Sunita knows Dr. Mac told her not to touch any of the cats, but she can’t help herself. Mittens is probably used to people. Will she let Sunita touch her? Sunita reaches out her fingers slowly until Mittens bumps against her hand. Slowly, Sunita scratches between her ears, and Mittens starts to purr. She rubs the edge of her mouth against her knuckles. Suddenly, there’s a bang. A trap in the clearing swings shut, locking a cat inside. Bang, bang, bang! Three more traps close. Mittens looks around, not sure what to do. The trapped cats howl in outrage, and Mittens runs off before Sunita can stop her.

 

Chapter Eight

When they get back to the clinic, Dr. Mac warns Sunita to stand at the far end of the room before she starts to treat the first cat. Sunita thinks she’s being too careful. The cat is in a cage, after all. Dr. Mac sedates the cat, just like with Tiger, but it’s easier to do with the special Animal Control cage. The cat protests with a meow, but quickly relaxes it’s the medicine takes effect.

Dr. Mac opens the cage, and lifts out the patient. The cat is crawling with fleas. The first patient is a scrawny, light gray male cat. Dr. Mac checks his heart, lungs, and temperature, and feels his body for bumps or bone problems. She comments that he has bad breath. He probably has an infection in his mouth somewhere. They’ll need anesthetic for that. Dr. Mac squeezes antiseptic cream onto the gauze pad and wipes it on an infected swollen paw. Then, Dr. Mac draws blood for tests and vaccinates the cat for rabies and other cat diseases. She adds a long-acting antibiotic injection to fight off infection. Then she sprays on a flea killer. Once he’s hydrated, she can operate on him. Dr. Mac says after three days living at the clinic, he’ll be ready to leave.

As Sunita puts the sedated cat in a cage in the recovery room, she peeks on Tiger. He’s wide awake, his ears twitching as he watches Sunita. Dr. Gabe, the clinic’s associate vet, walks in holding an injured parrot. He comments that Tiger has quite a reach. Sunita shouldn’t get too close. Sunita asks what’s wrong with the parrot, and Dr. Gabe says that he keeps flying into the window in his family’s living room whenever the mailman walks up the sidewalk. The X-ray shows that he doesn’t have a broken wing, so his folks will be picking him up soon. Dr. Gabe’s prescription is to either move his cage or close the curtains.

Sunita peeks again through the metal bars of Tiger’s cage. His front paws are tucked under him, and his I.V. is gone. He looks much better than he did yesterday. Dr. Mac must have bathed and groomed him while he was under anesthetic for surgery. He looks like a different cat. Sunita can almost imagine what he would look like stretched out on her bed.

After Dr. Gabe leaves, Tiger wails at Sunita. She can’t help but try to touch him. She reaches her hand a little toward cage. Tiger sniffs the air, then pulls himself forward until his head is against the bars. He presses his nose against them so he can smell Sunita’s fingers. Sunita thinks that’s a good sign; he wants to be friends. He meows again. Sunita knows it’s wrong, but she can’t help it. Tiger needs some love. Besides, he is still recovering from his injury. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t hurt her.

Sunita unlocks the latch and opens the cage door a tiny bit. Tiger doesn’t move. Sunita opens it farther and slips her hand inside. Tiger leans forward so that Sunita can scratch his head. Sunita moves her fingertips down the back of his head. Socrates loves to be scratched like that. Suddenly, Tiger stops mid-purr, whips his head around, and locks his teeth on Sunita’s hands between her thumb and first finger. It is a very hard bite.

Sunita yelps, and shakes her hand to get him to release. Tiger pulls back and Sunita slams the door closed and hooks the latch. She’s never been bitten before. The bite is deep and bloody and it really hurts. Tears fill her eyes. In his cage, Tiger licks his front paw as if nothing happened.

Dr. Gabe runs up the hall. He heard Sunita’s shout. Sunita hides her hand, but Dr. Gabe knows something happened. Sunita knows she has to show him, so she holds out her hand. Dr. Gabe grabs some paper towels to clean up the blood. Her hand is throbbing and it feels hot. Dr. Gabe slips on a pair of latex blood gloves and washes the wound over the sink. He says they’ll have to call her parents. He knows it hurts, but they have to kill the germs.

Sunita asks him to not call her parents. All she needs is a bandaid. If her mother sees the cat bite, she’ll never let Sunita near a cat again. Gabe turns off the water and dries her hand. He says she doesn’t understand. Animal bites have to be checked out by a doctor. A people doctor. Sunita has to go to the hospital.

 

Chapter Nine

Sunita’s parents rush through the door of the County General Hospital’s emergency room. They look around frantically before they spot Dr. Mac and Sunita at the reception desk. Mother throws her arms around Sunita and asks to see her hand. Sunita slowly lifts her arm to show her red, swollen hand. She stammers that it’s not that bad. Daddy looks at it, commenting that it’s deep.

Sunita’s parents are usually calm during medical emergencies. Daddy is a cardiologist, a heart doctor, and Mother is an orthopedist. They’re both used to being around injured and sick people. But now, they look pale and worried. Sunita guesses that when the injured patient is your own kid, you feel a little different.

Mother turns to Dr. Mac and asks her how this happened. Sunita interrupts that it was her fault. She was warned to stay away from the wild cats, and she didn’t. Mother’s voice rises. Was it a cougar? Sunita shakes her head and says that it was Tiger. Mother loudly confirms that Sunita was bitten by a tiger.

Dr. Mac interjects. It was a feral cat, called Tiger. This cat is the same as a domestic cat, but raised without any human contact, so it reverted to a state of wildness. They just started a program to vaccinate and spay a colony of feral cats, and they have a few in the clinic. One of them bit Sunita.

Sunita reiterates again that the fault is only her own. She knows that Mother can tell her not to go to the clinic anymore, and that’s the last thing she wants. Dr. Mac explains that along with an antibiotic, Sunita should be treated for rabies exposure. Just then, the receptionist calls Sunita’s name from the end of the room.

Dr. Mac says that she will wait for Sunita out here. Gary will be here soon, too. Sunita isn’t sure why Gary is coming, but she’ll have to ask later.

They walk down a long hallway to a big room that has a lot of curtains separating beds. Sunita has seen emergency rooms on television, but she’s never been in one before. Everything is bright and clean. A nurse comes out and explains to Sunita’s parents some boring hospital things as he takes her blood pressure and temperature. He writes down Sunita’s vital statistics on a chart, and takes out disinfectant soap in a small base and out of a cupboard. Dr. Gabe already cleaned the bite, and Dr. Mac did, too. Sunita’s hand has never been so clean.

Despite the previous washings, the nurse washes the bite again, and lays gauze over it. Sunita’s hand feels hot and itchy. After the nurse leaves, Mother strokes Sunita’s hair. She says it was all her fault. Mother should have never agreed to let Sunita work around animals at the clinic. They’re dangerous. Daddy tries to calm her down. He says that things always happen to children. They get broken bones and bumps all the time. In fact, she’d be out of a job if they didn’t!

Mother smiles a little. She has to agree with him. But this proves what she has been saying about cats the whole time. They’re dangerous and can’t be trusted. They’re sneaky. Sunita knows that she’s not going to be getting a cat anytime soon.

When the doctor pokes his head in, he addresses Sunita’s parents by first name. They all know each other. This is good. Maybe having one of their friends treat Sunita will make her parents relax.

The doctor puts on a fresh pair of gloves and wheels over a stool to sit on. He lifts the gauze from the bite and studies the holes made by Tiger’s teeth. He says she was truly chomped. He asks Sunita to open and close her fingers, which Sunita does easily. The doctor comments that he doesn’t see any evidence of damage to nerves or the bones of her hand. Sometimes dog bites can break a finger, but that rarely happens with cats. Their jaws just aren’t strong enough, and puncture wounds don’t need stitches.

However, the doctor talked to Dr. MacKenzie and Gary Snyder outside. The cat was vaccinated only yesterday, so they don’t know whether or not it has rabies. Assuming Sunita had her last tetanus vaccination when she was six, she’ll need a booster today as well as an antibiotic injection. Cat bites are very deep, so the doctor is sure that Sunita has some nasty germs in her wound.

Furthermore, they have to think about rabies. Dr. MacKenzie says the cat was vaccinated before Sunita was bitten, but the shot may not have had time to take effect. The cat must be tested immediately. Mother gasps. The doctor says that over 70% of rabies cases are transmitted through raccoons and skunks, and another large percentage comes from bats. The chance of this cat having rabies is very small.

Sunita asks how they’re going to test Tiger for rabies. The doctor hesitates and looks down. Very quietly, he says the only way to test for rabies is by testing brain tissue. And the only way to do that is to kill the animal. It will be done very kindly. He’ll get an injection and won’t feel a thing.

Hot tears spring to Sunita’s eyes. She says that it’s not fair. It was all her fault. She never should have tried to open the cage to pet him. She’s very sorry.

Daddy asks if she would rather have rabies shots than have the cat put to sleep? Sunita says she can’t let him be killed because she was stupid. Dr. Mac put a sign on his cage and everything to warn people not to get close. It’s wrong to kill him.

The doctor says that there’s another way to proceed. The animal can stay in quarantine under observation. If he doesn’t show signs of rabies after ten days, then he’s not infected. But, Sunita will still need to receive two rabies shots tonight, and one more next week. If he is infected, she would need to receive three more shots after that.

Sunita says that’s a lot of shots. Why don’t they wait until the ten days are up? If Tiger has rabies, then she can start the shots. The doctor explains that that’s too late for Sunita. They need to start treatment immediately. If Sunita is infected, the shots will prevent rabies from developing. Thousands of people every year get these shots.

Sunita goes back and forth with her parents for a while. Her parents want them to kill Tiger to test the brain tissue, but in the end, Sunita wins. Tiger will get to live.

The doctor cleans the skin on her right arm near the shoulder and gives her the first injection. It hurts, but not as much as it hurt when Tiger bit her. The doctor gives her three more shots: one in the right arm, and two in the left. She feels like a pincushion.

When Sunita comes out of the examination room, Dr. Mac and Gary are waiting in the waiting room. Sunita’s parents explain what happened. Sunita says she decided to get the shots. She didn’t want to see Tiger killed. Gary says that he’s filling out the report right now. They have to follow up on every suspected rabies case. Sunita may get some calls from reporters. Rabies stories are big news, even if they turn out to be nothing.

Mother simply presses her lips together tightly. Sunita knows it’s not a good time to ask if they can adopt one of the stray cats. It might never be time to ask. The day has turned out so horribly.

Suddenly, the automatic door opens at the other end of the room, and an intense-looking woman rushes in with a pencil and a notebook. She strides over to them and says that she got a call from Animal Control about a rabies victim. She turns to Sunita. Is this the little girl who was attacked by a vicious, wild cat?

 

Chapter Ten

Vicious, wild cat… vicious, wild cat. The words of the reporter keep echoing through Sunita’s head. In her nightmare, she’s trapped, surrounded by angry cats, all six feet tall, with shaggy fur, sharp claws, and pointed teeth. Sunita tries to run, but no matter where she goes, she’s trapped. Suddenly the nightmare shifts and she’s the cat. She stretches her front paws, trying to run faster than ever before. Then ahead, a small, dark cave. She swerves and puts on a burst of speed, running right into the small hole. Then, bang! The trap door closes. They got her. She mews as loud as she can, calling for anybody to come and rescue her.

The sound of meowing wakes her up. Sunita sits straight up in bed. It’s her. She’s the one making the noise. What a strange dream.

Mother taps lightly on Sunita’s door. She walks in, saying it’s nearly lunchtime. She can bring in some soup. Sunita responds that she’s finally had enough sleep. She can go downstairs to eat. The dream still feels vivid. Mother plops a kiss on her forehead, and says she’ll have food ready downstairs.

Her shoulders are aching from the injections. Her hand is killing her. She wishes she could get dressed with her eyes closed. She sees cats all over her room. On posters, covers of books, and on the screensaver of her computer. Every time she sees one, it reminds her of the dream and feeling locked up. Is that how it feels to cats when they are trapped and taken away? Is that how Tiger felt? Is that why he bit her? It gives her shivers.

Sunita’s friends from Dr. Mac’s Place visit after lunch. David bursts through the hallway, saying it’s so cool that she made it into the newspaper. Sunita mutes the ice skating competition she was watching. Sunita says that she read it. The headline read “RABIES SCARE.” When Sunita saw it at the kitchen table, she didn’t feel like eating anything at all. The girls walk in, talking to Mother. Sunita’s five-year-old brother and sister are hiding in the kitchen, watching everything.

Sunita asks if anyone else called about Socrates. Brenna responds no. They went back to look for him again in the morning, but no luck. He’ll turn up. He probably found a nice person who’s feeding him caviar or something. Maggie says Gran is starting to get worried. He’s never been gone this long. Someone could have taken him in, or he could be sick, or he could have been hit by a—

Sunita says not to even say it. She agrees with Brenna. Socrates is coming back. Zoe asks about the trip to the hospital.

Sunita tells them all about her trip to the emergency room, trying to make it seem like the shots were no big deal. Mother contradicts what Sunita says, saying it was very serious. They’re keeping Sunita home from school for a few days. Sunita thinks it’s silly. She doesn’t need to recover from anything. But Mother and Daddy decided this during their car ride home from the hospital. Mother isn’t sure if Sunita will be going back to the clinic either.

Sunita asks how Tiger and the other cats from the railroad tracks are doing. Maggie grins. They’re loud. Gran and Dr. Gabe operated on all of them last night, and by breakfast time they were feeling well enough to howl. And Sherlock Holmes feels like he has to compete. No one can make louder noises than him. Sunita smiles, thinking of Maggie’s basset hound surrounded by a room full of howling cats. Apparently, the cats will be going back to the railroad tracks on Wednesday, and they’ll pick up the next batch of cats. Gran really likes doing this.

Sunita mentions to her Mother that some of the cats are strays. Abandoned. They’d really like to find good homes for them. Mother comments that it’s a very nice thought. Then, with a look at her watch, Mother says it’s time for her to go. She promised to take the little ones to the playground. Brenna says they should go, too. They all promised Dr. Mac they wouldn’t bug Sunita. Mother says that none of them are bothering Sunita. It’s very nice of them to come over.

Sunita watches her friends file out of the door, waving and calling goodbye, followed by Mother and the twins. Sunita moves the living room couch so she can look out her front windows and watch them leave. Maggie and the others walk in the direction of the clinic, while Mother and the twins get smaller and smaller as they walk toward Main Street. Sunita lies on the soft cushions. She’s tired. Maybe she should take a nap. She tries to sleep, but she can’t. Every time she closes her eyes, she remembers what it felt like to be trapped—the look in Tiger’s eyes, the look in the baby fox’s eyes. She hates this feeling.

Just then, Sunita realizes that she was wrong. There’s no way that she could turn a feral cat into a pet. If a cat has been raised in the wild, then it’s a wild animal. We can do our best to make wild cats safe and prevent them from having kittens, but we can’t make them into friendly pets. The worst thing about this situation is that her hope of convincing Mother to let her have a cat was totally ruined the second Tiger bit her. She doesn’t know how she’s going to get Mother to change her mind now.

Sunita remembers the book of information on TVSR that Dr. Mac gave to Gary. That book of information made a huge difference in Gary’s mindset. That’s it! Sunita doesn’t need Dr. Mac to gather any information for Mother. Sunita will write the book herself.

 

Chapter Eleven

Even though Sunita feels perfectly fine on Monday morning, Mother and Daddy insist she stays home. She spent two hours convincing them to let her keep volunteering at the clinic, so she’s not going to argue about staying home another day. They’re all tired of arguing.

After breakfast, Sunita begins her research. She looks for articles about why cats make great pets. She searches for feral cats, wild cats, and anything else she can find to help her case. She finds more information about rabies as well. It takes two days of typing, but by bedtime on Tuesday, her report is ready. It’s thirty-two pages long, complete with a table of contents, bibliography, and a cover page with fancy graphics. It’s titled “Why Cats Are Great.”

As Sunita kisses her Mother goodnight, she sets the report on the couch next to her. Mother opens it and scans the table of contents. She tells Sunita it’s not the time to ask for a cat again. Sunita asks her to just read it. Even after being bitten, Sunita wants a cat more than anything. They understand her, and she understands them. This means a lot to her, and it would mean a lot to her if Mother just reads it.

On Wednesday, Sunita is allowed to go back to school. Sunita loves school. People might think that’s strange, but she doesn’t care. She loves science experiments, doing math problems, learning history, and checking out big piles of books from the library. Gym isn’t her favorite class in the world, but you can’t have everything.

Wednesday flies by. Sunita has to repeat the story of what happened with Tiger about fifty million times to her classmates and teachers. It doesn’t help that Sunita’s parents made her wear a bandage.

After school, Sunita goes to the clinic. Maggie tells Sunita to go see what they’re doing in the recovery room. The others all head for their normal chores: cleaning, organizing, and making sure cupboards are stocked with supplies. Sunita sets her backpack behind the counter and walks down the hall to the recovery room. As Sunita opens the door, both Dr. Mac and Dr. Gabe are removing the thick mitts they use for handling the feral cats.

Dr. Mac says Sunita is just in time to say goodbye to their first TVSR graduates. Gary will be there soon to pick them up. Sunita asks if there’s any further news on Socrates. Dr. Mac shakes her head. It’s like he boarded a bus and left town. But they’re all keeping their hopes up. Tiger is being quarantined upstairs in Dr. Mac’s bathroom. Dr. Mac is the only person allowed near him. Dr. Mac says that his leg is healing quickly, and there are no signs of rabies. He’ll be ready for release as soon as the quarantine is over. In fact, given all of this hubbub about rabies, maybe the volunteers should go through Dr. Mac’s existing clients and look for any pets that are falling behind on their own vaccinations.

The kitchen is the best part of Dr. Mac’s house. It’s so big there’s a couch in it. There’s a giant fireplace at the far end of the table. Sunita hopes the fire will be lit in the winter because that would be really cozy. The five volunteers sit around the kitchen table with Sherlock dozing under, and Sneakers, Zoe’s puppy, trying to wake him. It’s almost perfect. They’re only missing one very important cat. The room feels cold without Socrates. Maggie says that Sherlock keeps sniffing all over the house looking for Socrates, but even he can’t find him.

The volunteers sit in glum silence staring at the pile of folders on the table. They can’t give up yet. Sunita is sure that Socrates can make it a few blocks to come home. In her research, she read about cats that traveled across the country to go back home. They have to be positive.

Sunita explains about the convincing that she had to do to let her parents let her come back to the clinic. Sunita says she got her Mother reading all the stuff to prove cats aren’t the horrible beasts she imagines. Believe it or not, Sunita is still trying to get a cat of her own. Anyway, Sunita really wants to see the release of all of the cats with the rest of the volunteers. The feral cats will be happy to be outside again.

Brenna is confused. Sunita was the person who said all cats need a home. A blush creeps up to meet Sunita’s neck. Sunita explains that she wasn’t thinking about what the cats felt like when she said that. Dr. Mac is right. The ferals belong outside, where they’re used to living.

Maggie says they hope they can capture Mittens this time. It’d be great if they can find a home for her kittens. The volunteers sort through all the files in silence, making lists of clients to contact about their overdue vaccinations. Suddenly, Sherlock lets out a deep bark. David peeks through the blinds, and announces that it’s Gary. It’s time to release the cats.

 

Chapter Twelve

The colony of cats is quiet and peaceful when they arrive. The volunteers follow Gary and Dr. Mac to the clearing. When Gary opens the doors of the first two cages, the cats race out and disappear into the weeds. Gary watches where the cats disappeared into the underbrush, and explains that when he became an Animal Control officer, it was because he wanted to help animals. He likes the way the TVSR is working out.

Maggie says that someone is coming. They turn around to see Jamie’s mom heading toward them, punching numbers on a cell phone. She looks even angrier than the first time they met. She asks what they’re doing. They’re supposed to be taking the cats out, not bringing more in. Why is this taking so long?

Gary asks for an opportunity to explain. He says the cats that were just released are vaccinated and spayed. They present no danger to anyone. Jamie’s mom reaches someone on her phone. Apparently, she’s calling Animal Control and wants to talk to the supervisors.

She yells into the phone that she will not have her kids put in danger in their own backyard. She’s going to have this place crawling with people. She already called the police and TV stations.

Gary’s face turns red. He forgot to have the meeting with the residents to explain the TVSR program. Gary may be a great Animal Control officer, but he’s unfortunately an absent-minded one.

Gary says the only thing to do is to do what they came to do. The cats are safe, so they should release the cats, trap the next batch, and go home. He’ll schedule an emergency meeting with the neighbors tonight. Dr. Mac says that they can’t ignore Jamie’s mother. She’s furious. They should take the cats back to the clinic and keep them there a few more days. They’ll release them after the meeting. The four caged cats still in the back of the pickup truck start to yowl. Sunita can tell they know they’re close to home.

Gary says it’s not fair. The cats have been through a lot of stress by being captured and treated. They should be released now. Dr. Mac looks back at the truck, and then nods. As Gary goes back to the truck to get more cages, Sunita points down the road. Dr. Mac might need to have that emergency meeting now.

A crowd has gathered around Gary’s truck. It’s not a welcoming committee. Angry men and women tell him that he should get rid of the cats. A man says he’ll do it himself. A woman asks who’s protecting the children and who’s protecting them. Gary ignores all of their questions and carries the cages down to the clearing.

Dr. Mac walks into the middle of the crowd and asks them all to listen to her. Then, a police car pulls up, followed by a TV news van and another Animal Control truck. This is all getting very out of hand.

Gary’s boss waves him over. Sunita can’t hear what they’re saying, but it looks like a tense conversation. Gary might be in trouble.

Dr. Mac tries to answer everybody’s questions and ease their concerns. She assures them that nobody understands the risks of unvaccinated animals better than she does. Dr. Mac explains that the cats are being treated until they’re certain that there are no diseases that could be passed on to people.

Gary turns away from his boss and starts to load the empty traps into the truck. He won’t look at them or say anything. Sunita hears a whisper coming from a bush. The bush rattles, and the face of Jamie briefly appears with Katie next to him. Sunita glances at the crowd, and sees all the grown-ups are busy yelling at each other. Nobody else heard Jamie’s whisper.

Sunita scurries over to Jamie and asks what he’s doing. Jamie says he needs help. The black cat that they were looking for, Mittens, is having her babies. Jamie said she started having the kittens yesterday, but he thinks it’s taking too long. She doesn’t look good.

The police officers are talking to Dr. Mac. The crowd seems a little calmer, but people are still frowning. The other volunteers are watching the crowd. The television crew is pointing its cameras at the crowd. Sunita asks to be taken to Mittens first. Keeping one eye on the crowd, they quickly cross the railroad tracks and dash across the clearing. Sunita crouches down to see Mittens under the boxcar. There’s one kitten on the ground near her, but it’s dead. Mittens is pushing hard, trying to make the next kitten come out. She meows in pain. Sunita can’t tell what’s wrong, but she knows they have to get her to the clinic.

Sunita tells Jamie to take Katie home. Sunita will get Dr. Mac. Sunita turns around to leave, and she sees a raccoon trapping them in the boxcar. The raccoon’s teeth are bared, and saliva is dripping from its mouth. Sunita’s heart starts to pound. Raccoons are nocturnal animals. They rarely come out during the day unless they have rabies.

 

Chapter Thirteen

Katie screams for her mom. The crowd around Gary’s truck stops yelling and arguing and turns to look across the tracks. Sunita tells them to stay back. She grabs their shirts and pulls them behind her. Jamie’s mom starts to run toward them, but two men stop her. The police officer orders everyone to stay where they are, walking slowly toward the rail bed. He puts a hand on his gun.

The raccoon steps closer and glares at Sunita with poisonous yellow eyes. This is what full-blown rabies looks like. The disease infected the raccoon’s brain, and it’s not afraid of anything. All it wants to do is attack. Jamie starts to struggle to get free, but Sunita tells him not to move. Sunita says the raccoon is too close. If they try to run, it’ll catch them. The train whistle blows in the distance. In a minute it’s going to cut them off from their escape route. Sunita has to think fast.

Sunita reaches behind her to the open door to the boxcar and fumbles for something—anything—she can use to protect them. She feels small bits of something that feels like cat food. Maybe she can throw it at the raccoon and they can run.

Underneath the boxcar, Mittens meows in pain. The raccoon’s eyes dart around, then stops. He sees Mittens lying just beneath Sunita’s ankles. He takes another step toward them. Just then, the long train to Philadelphia roars past. Dust swirls everywhere. Sunita squints and blinks her eyes.

Sunita throws the cat food at the raccoon and it lands behind him. Three stray cats rush out from the weeds. They’re hungry and think Sunita is feeding them. The raccoon turns to look at the cats. It’s the gray cat with the crooked tail, one of the black-and-white strays, and Socrates.

Socrates and the other cats stand with their back arched ready to defend their territory and food. They stare down the intruding raccoon. Socrates hisses. The crooked-tailed cat lowers his ears. Just as the last train car whooshes past, Socrates and the other cats leap and pounce on the raccoon. The animals are a blur of fur and flashing teeth.

In a single movement, Sunita swings Katie up into her arms and grabs Jamie’s hand, then they run across the train tracks to safety. Sunita screams at the police officer not to shoot the orange cat. He’s a pet.

The fighting animals spring apart. Socrates and his companions flee into the weeds. The rapid raccoon snarls and bites the air. The police officer aims his gun. Two loud shots ring out, and a man gives the all clear. The raccoon is dead.

When Sunita opens her eyes again, she sees Dr. Mac fighting her way into the underbrush with the rest of the volunteers behind her. Sunita makes sure Jamie and Katie are safe with their mom, and then goes to join the search party. They’re not going to let Socrates get away this time.

 

Chapter Fourteen

The volunteers find Socrates in the weeds behind the boxcar. He’s bleeding heavily. Sunita wraps him in a towel and carries him to the van. He’s nearly unconscious. Mittens isn’t doing much better. Dr. Mac says she needs an emergency Caesarean to save the kittens.

Mittens is settled into a box at Sunita’s feet, and Socrates is riding in her lap. His blood has soaked through the towel and his eyes are closed.

Dr. Mac drives to the clinic as fast as she can. Sunita wishes Dr. Mac had a siren and flashing lights like ambulances do for people. She parks in the driveway and jumps out. Dr. Gabe lays Socrates on the operating table while Dr. Mac wheels in a portable table and sets Mittens on that. There’s no time to waste. Both animals need surgery.

Dr. Mac looks at Sunita, and says if she’s staying, she needs to scrub up. She and Dr. Gabe prepare to operate. She also adds that they might not make it. Sunita swallows and nods. She needs to help.

Sunita washes and slips an extra large glove over her bandaged hand and puts a rubber band around her wrist to hold the glove in place. She thought it’d be cool to wear a surgical cap and gown like the vets do when they operate, but Sunita is too worried. Dr. Gabe’s scrubs are already spattered with Socrates’ blood and Mittens heart rate is dangerously high.

Dr. Mac calls Sunita over. She briskly rubs Mittens’ shaved belly with a soapy sponge, then washes off the soap with alcohol and paints the skin an iodine disinfectant. She tells Sunita to pass her the package with the tube. Sunita tears the package, and Dr. Mac moves a slender, curved tube from it. She opens Mittens’ jaw with the fingers on left hand and slips the tube down her throat. The sedative makes Mittens completely limp. It’s called a trach tube. It goes down the trachea, the windpipe, and gives her an open pathway to Mittens’ lungs.

The anesthesia machine is the size of a large microwave oven on wheels, but it has a lot more dials and buttons. Dr. Mac pulls a clear plastic hose from the machine and hooks it to the trach tube. The anesthesia puts Mittens into a very deep sleep so she doesn’t feel anything during the operation.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gabe is pressing a clean piece of gauze over Socrates’ wound. Sunita has never seen him look so serious. Dr. Mac lays pieces of surgical drapes over Mittens, so that only the clipped area of her belly is showing. She’s almost ready for the Caesarean.

Dr. Mac attaches a little clip with a wire to Mittens’ foreleg. The wire leads to a heart monitor, which will measure Mittens’ vital signs, like how fast she’s breathing and how often her heart beats. Dr. Mac reaches for the scalpel.

Dr. Gabe called Sunita over. Sunita dashes to Dr. Gabe to see Socrates lying on a bloody sheet. Dr. Gabe has an I.V. bag going to help keep Socrates’ fluid levels up, but he needs blood. They called the blood bank from the cell phone in the van, and they said they’d send someone over right away. They should have been here by now. Dr. Gabe frowns. He thought he had the bleeding under control, but Socrates must be bleeding internally as well. They need to find where that courier is.

Sunita focuses on the telephone, dialing quickly and asking how long until the courier arrives. They say it’ll be five more minutes. Dr. Gabe says he’ll do everything he can. He needs another I.V. bag and more gauze.

Sunita lays the supplies he needs at the end of the table. Socrates doesn’t look like himself. He’s lost some weight, and there are bites and cuts all over his body. He was so brave fighting that raccoon. He can’t die, not now. Not when he’s just come home. Sunita reaches out to pet his tail, but he doesn’t move at all. He doesn’t even know she’s there.

Dr. Mac says that Mittens has stabilized. One of her kittens was blocking the birth canal. Sunita knows Mittens could’ve died, but now she won’t. Dr. Mac holds up the first kitten. Dr. Mac lays the black-and-white kitten on a towel next to Mittens. And then, Dr. Mac takes out the second kitten. She snips the umbilical cord and lays it next to the first. Dr. Mac asks Sunita to clean the kittens. Normally the mother will lick the kittens clean, but since Mittens is knocked out, Sunita needs to do it for her. As she cleans, Sunita watches in awe as the first kitten stretches open and opens its pink mouth.

Dr. Mac smiles as she sets down kittens three and four. Then, she lifts the last kitten, snips the cord, and lays him with his brothers and sisters.

Sunita glances over at Socrates. He’s still limp. Dr. Gabe is frowning, still trying to stop the bleeding. The bell on the front door jangles. The blood is here.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Sunita runs down the hall of the reception room. The other volunteers are waiting there with the courier from the blood bank. Dr. Mac said that only one of them could be in the operating room, and everyone decided it should be Sunita. The courier looks surprised to see an eleven-year-old wearing surgical scrubs. Sunita grabs the small ice chest of blood and runs back to the operating room.

Sunita thrusts the chest into Dr. Gabe’s hands. He takes a bag of dark red blood from the chest and connects the tubing from it to a catheter already inserted into Socrates’ foreleg. In less than a minute, the blood starts flowing from the bag into Socrates.

Sunita asks how they know it’s the right kind of blood. Aren’t there a lot of different blood types? Dr. Gabe answers most cats have type A blood. If Socrates were Persian or Cornish rex, then they’d have to type and match. In that case, he could have type B or AB. He checks the flow of the blood and the tubing. This will buy them some time.

Dr. Mac comes over. Mittens has been stitched up and taken off anesthesia, but she’s still connected to the heart monitor. Sunita is tasked with keeping an eye on Mittens’ vital signs and watching the kittens closely.

Sunita watches the kittens in wonder. She never imagined anything this small could be so alive. Newborn kittens don’t open their eyes for a few days, and their ears are still flat like along their heads. They don’t look a whole lot like kittens, but she’s sure Mittens will think they’re beautiful. Sunita thinks they’re beautiful. They are all snug and warm against their mother.

Suddenly, Sunita’s mother bursts through the door. The vets working on Socrates look up in surprise. Sunita’s Mother says that one of the nurses heard it on the news. Sunita was attacked by a rabid raccoon? Dr. Mac turns her attention back to Socrates, and says that she’ll let Sunita tell her.

Sunita tells her mother to be quiet; they’re operating on a cat. The raccoon got him, not Sunita. Her mother asks if it’s true that Sunita saved two small children. Sunita explains that she had to. They were trapped. But the raccoon was distracted by the cats, so Sunita was able to get the kids to safety.

Sunita glances at the heart monitor, and asks her mother if she would like to see the newborn kittens. The kittens are making quiet mewing sounds as they huddle against their mom. Sunita tells her mother that they were born just a few minutes ago. And the mother is starting to wake up.

Mittens blinks her eyes, looks at each of them, and closes her eyes again. She’s exhausted. The kittens are lined up next to each other along her stomach. Their fur is fluffy. Sunita wishes she could pick one up, but she knows they need to be with their mother.

Dr. Mac walks over, and says Socrates will be fine. He needed two units of blood, and both of them to sew him back together, but he’ll be his old self again in a few weeks. They boosted his rabies vaccine, so they’re predicting total recovery.

Sunita’s heart thumps in her chest. All the emotions of the day and the last week, come crashing down around her. She presses her lips together tightly, but she can’t stop her chin from quivering. Dr. Mac asks her what’s wrong. She shakes her head wordlessly, and turns to her mother. Now that she knows everyone will survive, Sunita can really cry.

 

Chapter Sixteen

A week and a half later, Tiger’s quarantine was over. He never developed any rabies symptoms. And selfishly, Sunita’s very happy about that. She didn’t want any more shots.

Brenna’s parents agreed to let Tiger and a few other ferals be released into their woods. Brenna says that when Gary released Tiger, the cat dashed into the woods like he was born there. Half the colony went to the woods, the other half back to the railroad tracks. This was the compromise Gary and Dr. Mac worked out with the neighborhood. Once they understood that the TVSR program would prevent rabies, they were willing to try it.

Now, Dr. Mac and all of the volunteers are gathered around the table, finishing the vaccination reminder list. Socrates is sitting in Sunita’s lap, purring happily. And that evening, all the volunteers will be going over to Sunita’s house for Indian food.

Sunita was a bit surprised when Mother agreed to let Sunita have her friends over for dinner, and with a full Indian menu, too. Her mother only does that for really important people or on holidays. She’s been more interested in listening to Sunita’s stories from the clinic recently, and has come to check in on how the patients are doing. Sunita never thought she’d see her mother acting this way, but she won’t complain.

When Mother comes to pick all the kids up, she says she’d love to come check on Mittens and her family with the volunteers. Mittens and her kittens are resting in a roomy cage in the recovery room. Mittens looks at Mother and Sunita and purrs like a queen receiving her visitors. Her kittens are just starting to open their eyes. Three are white, and two are tuxedos. Sunita opens the cage and scratches behind Mittens’ ears. She purrs louder and stretches her neck out, trying to smell Mother’s hand. Mother looks nervous, but she extends her hands a few inches. Mittens bumps her head against Mother’s fingertips and she smiles.

Sunita reminds her mother that cats aren’t scary. Sunita was bit because she made a mistake. Cats that are raised around people are the best pets in the world. They’re smart and loving.

Dr. Mac comes into the room. She says that tomorrow, she’s going to contact some regular clients to try to find someone who can take Mittens and her brood until the kittens are old enough to leave her. It will be better for them to be in a house than back here in recovery. They’ll socialize better and be friendlier cats. Suddenly, Mother says that there’s no need for that. They’ll be taking them home with them.

Sunita is speechless. She can’t believe what she just heard. Mother says that it’s not permanent. But if Sunita wants, they can be Mittens’ foster family for a while. She recently read a report about what good pets cats make. Mother winks at Sunita. And, the cats will need a lot of human contact. Between Sunita and the twins, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Sunita grins. She’s so happy. And she knows that Mittens and her kittens will be happy, too.

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