An original story by Faith. Copyright © 2007 faith4faith.org. All Rights Reserved.

The Many Adventures of Shelby Cat 

Introduction 

Shelby is a cute, sweet little cat who has an exciting story to tell about her life as a kitten.  My family adopted her from a pet shelter when she was about five months old.  The pet shelter had found her in a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) parking lot.  But nobody knows what happened to Shelby before the shelter found her.  Nobody, that is, except Shelby.   

Shelby has told me the exciting story of her life. I will now write it down for you to read in Shelby’s own words.  (Shelby can’t write because she is a cat.)  I hope you like the story of Shelby’s life. 

Chapter 1:  The First Adventure

My name is Shelby.  I am a cat who has had an exciting life.  The most exciting part of my life was before the pet shelter found me.  I had many adventures as a kitten- some with friends -some alone.  All of them were very exciting.  Here is my first adventure. 

One rainy day, I had nothing to do.  I decided to ask my sister, Reow, to play Mousetrap with me.  “No,” she said, “I have a report due in my pouncing class on ‘How to sneak up on a mouse’.”  (Reow was not born in the same litter as me.  She is my older sister.)  So I asked my twin brother, Re, to play.  “Maybe later, Sis,” he said.  “I don’t want to play Mousetrap right now.”  So I looked for something else to do.  “Mom, may I watch TV?” I asked.  “Sure,” she replied.  I turned on the TV and found an announcer saying, “Do you need something to do?”  I nodded my head.  “If so, be creative!  Get your art supplies and draw, draw, draw!”  I switched off the TV and rushed upstairs. 

In my room, I found a new pack of crayons my Mom had found at a garage sale. The crayon box looked different than regular crayon boxes.  This one had a drawing of a cat toy on the front that looked so realistic I almost pounced it.  The front of the box said, “Crayons that make your pictures look real!”   

I got some paper and started drawing.  I drew a picture of myself in a forest I had always imagined visiting. Suddenly, the drawing came right off the page and there I was in the exact forest I had always imagined! The grass was the greenest I had ever seen!  There was a river flowing through the forest.  It was so blue your eyes would hurt if you looked directly at it.  I couldn’t believe it. I was in the forest! Luckily, I knew how to get back to my home town, Kittyville.  I had some paper and crayons, so when I wanted to go back home I would draw a picture of myself in my room.  If my guess was right, I would go home the same way I got to the forest. 

I decided to explore the forest. Luckily it was not raining- cats do NOT like to get wet.   I had not gone far when I saw a strange creature in front of me.  “Hello,” I said to the creature.   

“Hello,” she replied.  “What is your name and if I may ask what kind of creature are you?” 

“My name is Shelby.  I’m a cat,” I replied, “You have a very long neck for a cat!  What is your name?” 

“My name is Sadie.  I am a giraffe not a cat!” She giggled. 

“Well then Sadie, you are a beautiful giraffe! Would you like to be friends?” I asked. 

“Yes!” she said enthusiastically. 

“I won’t be here for long,” I told her, “I live in Kittyville so I have to go home soon.” 

“Oh,” Sadie sighed.  “Well, let’s go play at my house while we can.” 

“Okay!” I said.  “Let’s go!”  And we did. 

At Sadie’s house we had a lot of fun.  We went outside to play in Sadie’s clubhouse.  Sadie’s clubhouse looked very different than kitty clubhouses.  For starters, the ceiling was much higher.  To Sadie, the ceiling didn’t seem high because she had a very long neck.  But to me they were very high.  There was a beautiful window on one of the walls.  Sadie suddenly opened it and stuck her head out the window!  I didn’t know what she doing until she pulled a branch with leaves into the club house and asked me if I wanted a snack.  I said “No thank you.  Cats don’t care for leaves.  Do you have any mouse muffins?”  Sadly, Sadie had none.  After Sadie munched a few leaves, we decided to paint my kitty claws and Sadie’s hooves with claw/hoof polish.  We also had a pretend tea party.  It was such a fun afternoon but soon I realized it was time to go home! 

“Sadie, thanks for the lovely afternoon!  I think I need to be getting back home now. ” I said. 

“Okay,” said Sadie, “Come back soon!” 

“I will!” 

Then I went outside and drew a picture of my room.  The clock in my room was at 3:15 when I left so I remember to draw it at the same time in the picture.  I also made sure I drew a picture of me without claw polish since I hadn’t been wearing any when I left.   Next thing I knew, I was back in my room.  I had the feeling these crayons would send me on many more adventures. 

Chapter 2: The Search for Queen Meow’s Shed Fur 

It was time for the Queen Meow, the Queen of Kittyville, to make a speech. 

She said, “Fellow cats, I always save my shed fur, but someone has stolen all of it.  You must all work together to find it and bring it to me.” 

It would be wonderful to find the missing fur for the Queen.  It actually sounded like a fun adventure to search for it.  I got my magnifying glass, paper and pen and asked Goldie, my best friend, to be my partner.  We got our detective hats and got busy.  First, we asked everyone in Kittyville if they had seen the missing shed fur.  No one seemed to have seen it.   

We decided to go and visit the Queen ourselves.  We arrived at the Kitty Castle and asked to see the Queen.  

“What business do you have with the Queen?” asked the guard cat. 

“We have come to help Queen Meow find her missing fur.  We have a few questions to ask her.” I said.  

The guard cat arched his back and walked away.  But he soon returned and said, “The Queen will see you. Please follow me.” 

Goldie and I were a little nervous but we were excited to meet the Queen.  We entered Queen’s throne room.  In the center of the room, there were two very large golden thrones.  Carved into the gold were pictures of small mice and birds.  Hanging from the top of each throne was a cat toy that could easily be batted at by the Queen or King.  It was so hard to resist batting at those toys!  We noticed the beautiful jewels lined across the top of the thrones.  There were so many pretty colors.  Any cat would love to sit in a throne like those. 

“Come forward,” the Queen said kindly. 

Cats cannot curtsy so instead we have a custom of showing respect by lying on the floor with our tummies showing.  It may seem strange to those who are not cats but to another cat this is a way of showing trust. 

“You may rise,” said the Queen. 

After we got up, Goldie said to the Queen, “Your majesty, we have come to help your find your fur.  My friend Shelby and I love to solve a good mystery.  If we may ask, where was the last place you saw the fur?”   

“We think it might be missing instead of stolen.” I said. 

The Queen thought for a moment.  “The last place I saw it was on my dresser,” the Queen said.  

“Would it be possible for us to look there for your fur?” Goldie asked.   

The Queen agreed and led us to her bed chamber.  The Queen’s bed chamber had the most amazing cat tree we had ever seen.  It had branches with comfortable places to sleep on each branch.  Kitty toys hung from string on almost every branch.  Jewels were placed up and down the entire structure.  One branch of the tree had a curved shelf with a cushion made from red velvet.  Clearly this was her favorite branch to sleep on because you could see the imprint where she had been sleeping on the cushion.  There was a hint of catnip in the air.  It was a perfect room for a queen. 

We saw the dresser on one side of the room.  It was made of pure gold and covered in jewels.  We asked the queen’s permission to look through the dresser.  She agreed so we looked though the drawers and behind objects on the dresser.  No fur! 

“Are you sure that was the last place you saw the fur?” I asked the queen. 

“Actually, there is another place it has been recently,” she said.  “There is a secret drawer on the main branch of my cat tree.” 

“Will you show it to us?”  Goldie asked the Queen.  “We could look there for the missing fur.” 

The Queen agreed but in a quiet whisper she made us promise not to tell anyone about the secret drawer. 

“We promise,” we said together. 

Queen Meow quietly padded over to the cat tree.  She began to jump and climb it.  On the top of the cat tree there was a ruby that was bigger than any of the other jewels.  She pawed at the jewel.  The jewel went in slightly and then she grabbed with her claws and pulled.  Suddenly, a drawer appeared with the jewel as the knob.  Goldie and I gasped.  We were amazed by the secret drawer!  But sadly, the fur was not in the drawer.  There was a box in the drawer but it was empty.  

“The box is where I kept my shed fur.  After a long brush of my silky fur, I would remove any shed fur from the brush and put it carefully into the box,” said the Queen in a sad voice.  “You see, someone must have stolen it.  Where else could it be?” 

“Let’s keep looking,” I said. 

Goldie said, “Someone could have stolen it and hidden it in the castle where you would never find it again.” 

“I supposed,” said the Queen, “How will be ever know if you are right?” 

“Let’s look around the room one more time.” I said.  “Goldie, you check the cat tree one more time.  Check every branch.  While you do that, I’ll check the closet.”

I opened the closet.  I saw an amazing sweater made from a beautiful, silky cat-like thread.  In fact, it looked very similar to Queen Meow’s fur color! 

“Queen Meow! Goldie! Come here!” I yelled.  They came rushing to the closet.   

“What? What?” they said together. 

“Look at this! Who would do such a thing?”  I asked. 

The Queen suddenly looked very embarrassed.  “Girls, I am so very sorry to have wasted your time.  But you have solved the mystery for me.  I remember now that two weeks ago I gave my fur to the court tailor and asked him to fashion a sweater for me from my own fur.  I completely forgot I had given him this assignment.  I see now that he did as I asked and had my kitty-in-waiting place the sweater in my closet.  Isn’t it lovely?  The buttons down the front are shaped perfectly as little mice and birds.  How elegant!” 

We all had to laugh.  The mystery was solved and the sweater was beautiful. 

“Don’t worry, your Highness. We are just glad the mystery is solved. We are sure everyone in the kingdom will be relieved to know your fur has been found.  Just wait till they see that beautifully sweater!” I said. 

“Thank you again girls,” said the Queen as she put on her new sweater. “I will never forget your kindness or thoughtfulness.  I will call on you again if ever I have need. 
 

Chapter 3: Locked in Jail- Part 1

The Queen was so happy to have found her lost fur she gave Goldie and I special recognition collars.   

“Now you can help me whenever you want,” she said, “Oh and I saw something on Kitty Mews saying there are some kittens locked in a dungeon.  One is named Stripy and one is named Duchess.” 

“Why are they in the dungeon?” I asked. 

“Because,” she said, “the jail keepers are mean.”   

“That’s horrible,” Goldie said.   

“Sure is,” said Silver.  Silver is a friend of mine and she had just walked into the room.   

“Oh, hi Silver!” I said, “I haven’t seen you in a long time!” 

“That’s because I almost got put in jail by two mean jail keepers!” she said.   

“How awful!” Goldie said. 

“Hey Silver, would you like to come with us?” I asked.  “We’re on a mission to save two cats who were put in jail by the same jail keepers that almost caught you!” 

“Okay,” Silver said, “but what if they catch us?” 

“How did you escape before?” I asked. 

“Well,” she replied, “it wasn’t easy.  I clawed them in the face then bit them on the ear.  Finally, they gave up and I escaped.”   

“Let’s talk about this somewhere else, “ Goldie said, “How about your house, Shelby?”   

So we went to my house.  We decided to talk in my room where nobody could hear us.   

“Okay, so where is the dungeon?” I asked Silver. 

“I don’t know,” she said, “I was lost when the jail keepers found me.”  

“Oh, no!” Goldie said, “How will we ever find the jail to save the cats?” 

We were stumped.  This would be hard if we didn’t even know where the jail was!  We thought maybe if we watched Kitty Mews we might find out where the jail was! 

“Mommy, may I watch TV?” I asked my mom. 

“Alright, honey.” She replied.  I turned on the TV.  

“Breaking news,” it said, “it has been noted that nobody knows the location of the tail.”   

I turned off the TV. 

“Well that was no help!” I said. 

“Oh well,” Silver said. 

“At least we tried,” said Goldie. 

“Maybe there is still a way,” I said, “Maybe, just maybe, we can still find the jail.” 

We decided to look in the attic for some maps.  We searched through many boxes.  Suddenly we found something.  It was a map!  On it blurred letters, was the word ‘house’.  Then, we saw the blurred letters J-A-I-L.  Jail!  The map would show us the way from our house (‘house’) to the jail (‘jail’).  

“How can we be sure,” Goldie said, “that ‘house’ means your house?” 

I pointed out the faint, blurred word ‘our’ above the word ‘house’.  

“Our house!” I said.   

“But,” Goldie said, “what about the ‘jail’?   How do we know it’s THE ‘jail’? 

“It is the only jail for miles,” said Silver, “it was to be!”   

“There’s no other jail on the map.” I added.   

Okay, that’s proof enough for me.” Goldie said, “But I’m still not sure how we will get back.” 

“Don’t worry,” I said, “A long time ago, I learned a trick to go places quickly.  Be sure to pack crayons and paper.  We’ll need them.” 

“Why can’t we do that trick for the jail?” Goldie asked. 

“Because I don’t know what it looks like.” I answered.  

“What is the trick?” Silver asked.  “You draw a picture of the place you want to go with crayons and suddenly you are there!” I replied, “And, when you want to go home, just draw your house.” 

“How did you find this out?” Silver asked.   

“Well,” I said, “one rainy day I drew a jungle and I was there!” 

“Cool!” said Goldie.  

“Awesome!” said Silver. 

“Let’s start the adventure!” I said. 
 
 

Chapter 4: Locked in Jail- Part 2 

“We’re on a mission!” Goldie said. 

“Nothing can stop us!” I said.   

“How will we get past the guards?” Silver asked. 

“Hmmmmmm,” I said, “I didn’t think of that.” 

Goldie, Silver, and I thought and thought.   

“Hey!” Goldie suddenly said, “Have any of you ever heard the saying ‘sneaky as a cat’?” 

“No,” Silver and I said together. 

“Cats are sneaky!  We can sneak past the guards and one of us can take the keys.”  Goldie said. 

“I’m the bravest.  I’ll take the keys.” I said. 

“You are brave. You are even braver than me.  I’d never jump at the chance to take keys from a mean guard.”  Silver said. 

“She’s right.  You are brave!” said Goldie. 

“Thanks you guys.”  I said, “I just wanted to help.” 

We looked at the map.  We told our moms where we were going. The map said to go right.  We went right.  We walked a little more and turned left, then right, then right again, then left and then we went straight ahead.  We were very close!  We went right, then left, then left again.  We were at the jail.  I had to take the keys.  I was nervous and even a little scared.  I walked up to the guard, hidden behind some bushes.  I reached out a paw and grabbed the keys right off his belt.  I ran to where Silver and Goldie were hiding.  

“Look, Look at what I got,” I whispered.  Now we can unlock the jail!” 

“You did it!”  Goldie said.  “Let’s save some cats!” 

We walked to the jail.  

Silver said, “I’m glad we weren’t caught!” 

“So am I,” I said, “so am I.” 

We snuck up to the jail.  Remember we are sneak cats!!  We saw the poor cats that had been thrown in jail for no reason.  We unlocked the jail with the keys and set the cats free. 

“Thank you for saving us! My name is Stripy and this is Duchess.” One of the cats said. 

“Nice to meet you,” I said.  “But we should get out of here!” 

So we drew my house.  We did not forget the clock.  It said 12:30, five minutes after we had left the house. 

Chapter 5: A Secret Revealed 

In this chapter, I want to reveal one of my secrets.  Ever since I arrived at my new home from the shelter, I have always hidden under the bed when someone new comes to the house.  My family has always wondered why I hide.  Here is the answer. 

After we got home from rescuing Stripy and Duchess, there was a loud knock at our door.  We could hear the jail keeper bellowing from the door.  He wanted his keys back.  I had forgotten to return the keys!  I wasn’t sure what to do but I sure was scared.  I didn’t want to be thrown in jail for stealing the keys.  I only meant to borrow them to release the captured cats.  I went out the back door of my house and snuck through the bushes.  I placed the keys on the porch and pushed hard with my front paw.  The keys slid across the porch and landed in front of the jail keeper.  I ran as fast as I could back through the back door and into the house.  I heard the jail keeper shout, “Don’t think you’ll get away with this.  I’ll be back for you just wait and see!”  I was so scared.  Quite honestly I still am! Even though I’m in a new home far away from that jail keeper I always get frightened when there is a knock at the door or the doorbell rings.  Just to be safe, I run and hide under the bed and stay there until the visitors leave.  I just never know when the jail keeper might keep his promise.   

Chapter 6: 1,000 Mice to Pounce: Part 1 

“495,” I said while pouncing mice, “496, 497, 498, 499, 500!”  

I had beaten my record! 

“Hmmmm, I thought, “maybe I should try to beat a world record of mouse pouncing!” 

I went to the library and check out the Guinness Book of World Records.  I began looking for the world record for mice pounded in a single day.  I flipped through the pages, Marshmallows eaten, Meatballs made, Mice…. Mice pounced… 999!  999?  How will I be able to pounce 1,000 mice in one day?  It’s a good thing I’ve already pounced 500 mice!”  I started looking for mice.  I found two mice in a corner. “502 down, 498 to go!” I said. 

Silver and Goldie came by the house. 

“What are you doing, Shelby?” Silver said. 

“Yes,” Goldie added, “You’ve been pouncing like crazy today.”   

“I’m trying to beat a world record of how many mice can be pounced in a day.  The current record is 999, so I’m trying to pounce 1,000 mice in a day.  So far I’m up to 502 mice.” I said. 

“Wow,” Goldie said.  “How can one cat pounce 1,000 mice in one day?” 

“I wish we could help,” Silver said, “but it is one cat that has to pounce all the mice.” 

She was right, I couldn’t have help.  I decided that I’d get back to pouncing.  Luckily, according to Kitty Mews, there had recently been a mouse invasion at the school gym.  I could find lots of mice there!  I went to the school.  I found the gym.  There were lots of mice!  I started pouncing and counting as I went.  “503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, …. 596, 597, 598, 599, 600!” I was breathing hard and needed a break.  About 50 minutes later, “629, 630, 631, 632, 633!”  I said as I pounced. 

I thought I should leave some mice for other cats to pounce, so I searched for mice in other places.  I checked the dump and found three more there.  “636 down,” I said, “374 to go!”  That was a lot of mice!  I decided to go to ‘You Want, You Pounce’ a local restaurant where I frequently eat.  At this restaurant you can pounce your own mice or birds!  I’d catch a few mice there!  When I got to ‘You Want, You Pounce’ I went straight to the pouncing room.  The pouncing room is like a giant cage with mice running around in it.  I pounced five mice for the meal, and then had a parrot for the side dish.  “641 down, 369 to go,” I said to myself, “Mmm, Mmm!” 

I left the restaurant when I was through eating to look for more mice. 

This seems like a good point to pause in the story.  Perhaps you would like to know what mice taste like.  They best mice taste very juicy.  They taste like cheese sometimes.  That must be because they eat so much cheese.  But now back to the story. 

After lunch at “You Want? You Pounce!”, I went to the grocery store. “Mmm! A sale on Mousey Crunch cereal!  My favorite!  I’ll get some.”  Next, I went to the deli part of the store.  I saw a sign that said: Chicken Scraps from Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I thought to myself that I would like to collect scraps there one day. I didn’t know it them but one day I would get scraps there.  But that’s another story. I kept on shopping.  “Wow!” I said, “It’s a mouse detector!  I’ll get it.  I need it!”  I paid for the cereal and the mouse detector, and then left the grocery store.  I took the cereal home.  Then I took my mouse detector and went to look for more mice.  “Beep,” went the machine.  “Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!” 

 
“More mice,” I said.  10 mice were right around the corner!  “651 down, 349 to go!”  I said.  I went to look for more mice.  There were two mice in an outdoor freezer.  (I made sure my mouse detector wasn’t part metal detector.)  That was 653 mice!  Wow!  I went to the nearest barn.  There were 8 mice there!  “661 mice pounced!”  I said, “Just 339 more!”   

I kept looking for mice.  I went to the sewer.  My mouse detector was beeping like crazy!  There were 20 mice.  I pounced them all!   

“681 mice down,” I said, “319 to go!” 

I decided to go back to the gym.  I pounced 200 mice! 

“881 down,” I said, “119 to go!” 

There were 3 mice on the street that made 884. 

It was time for dinner, so I went to You Want, You Pounce. 

“Mmmmmmmm!  Mice!” I said to myself.   

I pounced five mice in the “cage” room.  I only had 110 left to beat the world re cord.  But there was a problem.  It was getting dark, so I couldn’t see the mice very well and the day was coming to an end! 

Chapter 7: 1,000 mice pounced! (Part 2) 

Yes, the day was ending fast.  I only had until midnight to pounce all the mice.  I went home to tell my mom why I was out late.   

“You’re what?” she said surprised.   

“I’m trying to beat the world record of how many mice one cat can pounce in one day.” 

“Well dear, I heard there was a mouse invasion at the club house today.  Maybe you can check there.” 

“Thanks Mom!  I’ll go right away.” 

And off I went.  At the club house, there were no other cats.  Just mice.  Lots and lots and lots of mice.  I got to work. A few minutes later, “995, 996, 997, 998, 999….” I paused.  One more mouse and I would have beaten the world record.  1000!  I rushed home and told my Mom.  My friends were also there.  They were all very excited.   

“I’ll call the record company,” My mom said. 

She pawed the button on the phone and when someone answered on the other end she said, “Yes, my young kitten has pounced 100 mice today.” 

“Really?  We’ll be right there!”   

A minute later, they arrived.  So did the newspaper company. 

“We work for the Kitty Mews,” the reporter said.  “Could we take your picture?” 

He aimed the camera at Goldie. 

“Wait,” I said, “She isn’t the one who pounced the mice. I am!  Take my picture! And he did. 

Other cats had gathered at our house.  I heard comments like, “Truly marvelous” and “This is amazing!” 

One cat came in and said, “I need to take your picture for the Book of World Records.”  He took my picture. 

“Thank you all,” my mom said. 

Then all the cats left.  I was exhausted.  All I could think about was lying down in my bed and sleeping. 

The next morning was Sunday.  My picture was on the front page of the Sunday paper.  

“Mom, Come see this! I’m on the cover of Kitty Mews. It’s the picture from last night.” 

Mom was very excited.  She even fixed my favorite breakfast, Mouse Muffins! 

I knew some time soon the Record Book would come out and I would be listed as the new record holder for ‘Most Mice Pounced in a Single Day’.  What a proud day it would be for our family! 

Chapter 8:  Return of the Crayons 

The next day, I was sitting around with my kitty friends.  I was so tired from the day before.  It was nice just to relax and be with my friends.   

“Hey Shelby,” Goldie suddenly said , “How does the crayon thing work? 

“What crayon thing?” I asked.   

“You know, that thing where you draw the place you want to go to and ‘poof’ you are there.” 

“Oh that.  Well, all I know is you have to draw it with the magic crayons.” 

“Well let’s go to your house and draw with them.”

 
“Okay, but we can only draw one picture at a time.  If we don’t, we’ll end up in separate places.”

 
We went to my house and found the crayons and paper. 

“Let’s go to Kitty World,” said Goldie. “We could invite some friends to come with us.” 

Even though I was really tired, the thought of spending the day at Kitty World to celebrate my accomplishment seemed pretty good.  I called four friends Snowy, Silver, Stripy and Duchess and invited them over.  When everyone arrived, I said, “Do you want to go to Kitty world?” 

Silver said, “Kitty world isn’t a real place. We can’t really go there can we?” 

“With the crayon trick we can,” said Goldie.  “Shelby has some magic crayons her Mom found at a garage sale.  Any time she draws a picture ‘poof’ we are there!” 

“Cool!”  Everyone said. “Let’s go!” 

I began to draw the picture of all of us in Kitty World.  Suddenly, we found ourselves there.  Snowy went to the mouse tasting booth.  Stripy and Duchess climbed the Bird Tree.  I had a mouse milkshake with a cat named Mouser.  We all had a great time.   

After a fun-filled day, I said to Goldie, “We need to go home.  Tell everyone else to come here.” 

We were all a little sad to leave this wonderful place but it was time to get home.  I drew a picture of my room with the clock at the same time we had left.  

“That was fun,” Goldie said. 

“It sure was,” the rest of us said together. 

“I guess it’s time for us to go back to our own homes,” Goldie said, “Thanks for the adventure today Shelby.”  

“Thanks,” everyone said as they left. 
 

Chapter 9: Paw Lickin’ Good 

Shortly after my friends left, I heard my Mom call me.

 
“Coming Mom,” I said as I walked into her room. 

“Honey, I’m expecting a new litter of kittens.” 

“Oh Mom, that’s so exciting!” 
 
“Yes dear, but pregnant cats can get really hungry for certain things.  This is called a Kitty Craving.  And right now I have a craving for some fried chicken.  Could you go to the nearest KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and get me some?” 

“Sure Mom!  I love you,” I said as I hurried out the door. 

“Love you too sweetie,” Mom said as she lay on the couch and relaxed. 

I went off to the local KFC to get my Mom some chicken scraps.  I remembered having seen one before.  I found it easily.  I was hunting around looking for something especially yummy for my Mom when suddenly a human saw me. 

“Oh!  Look,” he said.  “It’s a lost little kitten.” 

I looked around for a lost kitten but realized he thought I was lost.   

“Oh, no sir, I’m not lost.  I’m just looking for some chicken scraps for my Mom,” I said. 

The human said, “Oh it’s meowing.  It must be hungry!”

 
Clearly this human and I weren’t speaking the same language. 

Next thing I knew, the human scooped me up and put me into a large, metal moving box with him.  (Later, I learned this was called a car. These are usually used for transporting pets to the Vet!)  He took me to a huge building called a pet shelter.  I was put in a cage by another human.  In the cage next to me, there was a huge cat that did not look very kind.   

“Hey,” said the huge cat, “where did they find you?”

 
I was too scared to answer him. 

Suddenly I heard a very sweet sounding voice, “Hello, I’m Wendy.”  What’s your name?”  Before I could answer, a human came and asked sweetly, “What’s your name little kitten?”

 
“Shelby,” I said in answer to both the human and Wendy. 

The human heard, ‘Meow”. 

“Well you look like….. a …. Shelby. How does that sound little girl?” 

Wendy said, “Hey that really is your name!  I wonder how he guessed it.” 

“I don’t know,” I said, “Maybe just a lucky guess.” 

A few days later, I was in my cage in the shelter when a family came into the shelter.  The father must have been at work because he wasn’t with them.  There was a mother, a young but very tall boy and an older girl.  The boy was sort of jumpy and loud.  The girl was quiet and calm.  The mother was very caring.  I could tell because of her looks and as she got closer she had what we cats call a “caring smell”.  I could tell these were good people!  I knew this would be the purr-fect family for me.   But they left!  Later than same day, they came back and the father was with them.  They all looked in my cage and pet me.  The shelter worker took me out and they all played with me.  I was praying this would be my family.  The Dad had the caring smell too!!! 

This sweet family took me home and became my new family.  The girl and I became great friends.  She read every cat book she could find and she even learned to speak some cat language.  When she did that, I knew I could trust her with my story.  And that is how this book came to be written.   

You may be asking if I miss my Mom and kitty brothers and sisters.  I do, but Mom always told me there would be a time when I would go to live with another family.  I guess the time had come.  I am so thankful this family found me and I found them.  They are so sweet to me and (as usual) we have all lived happily ever after. 

The End 
 
 

Postlude 
Shelby cat is a wonderful member of our family.  We got her from a local pet shelter, Southern Hope Human Society, back in November 2003.  Her name, Shelby, was on a card attached to her cage.  The only other information on the card was that she had been found in the parking lot of a KFC!  But now we know the whole story!