by Jenny Dale
Contents
Felix the Fluffy Kitten
Snuggles the Sleepy Kitten
Star the Snowy Kitten
Nell the Naughty Kitten
Felix
the Fluffy Kitten
Special thanks to Mary Hooper
To Daisy – another fluffy kitten
Chapter One
Jodie Taylor woke with a start and remembered what day it was. She jumped out of bed and ran straight downstairs in her pyjamas.
“Happy birthday, sleepy head!” her mum said as Jodie bounced into the kitchen. “I was just about to come and wake you up. Fancy sleeping in late today!”
“I was awake at five o’clock, wondering what presents I’d get,” Jodie said, rubbing her eyes. “But then I snoozed off again.”
Jodie’s dad came into the kitchen with his coat on. “Happy birthday, love!” He looked at his watch. “I’ll just about have time to watch you open your presents.”
Jodie looked excitedly at the pile of cards and presents beside her cereal bowl. She sat down and began opening them.
There was a soft pink sweater from her nana, a computer game from Uncle Jack and a rucksack in the shape of a lamb from Auntie Joyce. But nothing from her mum and dad.
Jodie looked at them, surprised. Then her dad winked at her mum. What was going on?
“Now open the cards!” he said.
Jodie tore open her cards. There were eight of them – the same number as her new age.
At the bottom of the pile was an ordinary-looking brown envelope with Jodie’s name on it. “This doesn’t look like a card,” she said.
Mr Taylor peered at it. “It doesn’t look like anything much.”
“Looks like a bill,” said Mrs Taylor, trying not to smile.
Jodie opened the envelope and pulled out a small white square of paper. On it was written:
IOU one kitten.
Jodie looked at her mum and dad in astonishment. “What does this mean?”
“It means,” said Mrs Taylor, smiling, “that your dad and I owe you one birthday kitten – and we’re going to collect it later.”
Jodie gave a squeal of delight. “Really?” This was what she’d dreamed of for ages. But her mum and dad had always said no. Until now!
Mr Taylor did up his coat. “Mum’s taking you to see a lady called Mrs Dent after school,” he said. “She has a litter of kittens ready to go to new homes.” He dropped a kiss on Jodie’s head. “Got to rush. Have a lovely day!” And he left to go to work.
“A kitten,” Jodie breathed. “A real live kitten.” She gave her mum a hug.
Mrs Taylor smiled, then she said, “Dad and I think you’re old enough now to look after a pet of your own, Jodie.”
“Oh, I am, I am!” Jodie said.
“So it’s up to you to look after the kitten,” Mrs Taylor went on. “You know how busy Dad and I are at the moment. We don’t have time to feed and groom a pet or . . .” she pulled a face “. . . clear up any messes.”
“Oh, there won’t be any messes,” Jodie said. She knew lots about pets and loved reading stories about cats. “Kittens are really clean. They’re house-trained by their mothers from the moment they’re born.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” said Mrs Taylor as she swished around the sink and gave it a little extra polish. “Because you know I can’t bear any mess.”
Jodie, used to her mum’s neat and tidy ways, hardly heard her. She was getting a kitten! She was getting a kitten of her very own. She could hardly wait!
Chapter Two
“Oh, they’re all lovely!” Jodie said, as five tiny kittens played about her feet. There were three fluffy grey kittens, like their mum, and two sweet black and white ones with pink noses.
Jodie sighed deeply. “I’m never going to be able to choose!” She got down on the floor and picked up each kitten in turn. “Oh, I don’t know!” she wailed.
Jodie’s mum smiled. “Can you help, Mrs Dent?”
“They’re all good, clean little kittens,” Mrs Dent said. “But the short-haired black and whites would be easier to care for. The grey kittens, being long-haired, will need lots more grooming.”
“Oh, I won’t mind doing that,” Jodie said. “I shall love combing my kitten.” She held up one of the grey fluffies. “This one has the bluest eyes. And he’s really fluffy!”
The kitten looked at Jodie and miaowed. Choose me!
Jodie laughed and put him down so she could look at the other kittens again. But she kept coming back to the fluffiest one.
The kitten went up to Jodie and rubbed his face against her ankle. “You look nice,” he purred. “I’d miss my mum and my brothers and sisters – but I wouldn’t mind coming home with you.”
“I really think you’ll have to make up your mind, love,” Jodie’s mum said. “I’m sure Mrs Dent has other things to do.”
Jodie watched as the kittens tumbled about, each trying to look the sweetest.
“Come on, Jodie,” said Mrs Taylor.
The fluffiest kitten climbed onto Jodie’s trainer, mewing up at her. And . . . well, if a kitten could smile, he was doing it.
Jodie’s heart melted. “OK, I want . . .” She took a deep breath then scooped up the fluffiest kitten. “This one! I love him to bits already.”
Delighted, the kitten pushed his head into Jodie’s neck. “Good choice,” he purred.
“At last!” said Mrs Taylor.
“What are you going to call him, dear?” Mrs Dent asked, smiling.
Jodie thought hard. “I’m going to call him Felix,” she said. She gave Felix a cuddle. “You’re my fluffy Felix.”
Tired from all his kitten capers, Felix closed his eyes, burrowed his nose into the crook of Jodie’s arm and went to sleep.
Jodie’s mum paid Mrs Dent, and Felix was put in the pet carrying box they’d bought from the local pet shop on the way.
Jodie looked down at her sleeping kitten and smiled. “Look,” she said. “He’s so fluffy that you can hardly tell which way round he is!”
“He does have a wonderful thick coat,” Mrs Dent agreed. “The thickest I’ve ever seen. You’ll need a special comb for grooming him. And he’ll need combing every day.” She wrote down the details for Jodie.
Jodie thanked her and gave Felix a gentle stroke before closing the carrying box.
Still sleeping, Felix purred. What a lovely life he was going to have with his new family . . .
On the way home, Jodie and her mum popped into Pearce’s Perfect Pets in the high street.
“Oh, you’ve brought your new kitten in to see me,” said Mr Pearce, the owner.
Felix allowed himself to be lifted out of his basket, put on the counter and shown off to Mr Pearce.
“Well!” said Mr Pearce. “What a fine kitten – and such a wonderful coat.”
Felix preened himself, purring loudly. He could get used to all this praise!
Jodie nodded, pleased. “He’s lovely, isn’t he?”
“You don’t want to sell him, do you?” Mr Pearce joked.
“No way!” Jodie said. “We’ve come in to buy a special comb for grooming long-haired cats.” She gave Mr Pearce the piece of paper Mrs Dent had given her, with the type of comb written on it.
“I don’t think I’ve got one in stock,” said Mr Pearce. “But I’ll order one for you. Jot down your phone number and I’ll ring you when it’s in.”
“I hope it won’t take long,” Jodie’s mum said, writing down their number. “I want that grey fluff combed out before it gets shed all over the house!”
Mr Pearce tickled Felix behind his ears. “With a thick coat like that, I reckon y
ou’d soon comb enough fluff off him to knit yourself a woolly jumper!” he joked.
Jodie laughed. “I just want to keep him looking good.”
“I tell you what,” Mr Pearce said. “He’s such a handsome kitten that I’d like to take his photograph to put in my window. I’m sure it would attract a lot of attention. I’ll give you the comb and a smart new collar in return. How’s that?”
“Great!” said Jodie. “Can we, Mum?”
Mrs Taylor nodded. “I can’t see why not,” she said.
Felix began to wash around his face so that he’d look his best for the photograph.
“Why don’t you choose a collar while I go and get my camera?” said Mr Pearce.
Jodie held a red and a green collar next to Felix, then chose the red one. She was carefully putting it on him when Mr Pearce came back with his camera.
Felix just loved attention. Everyone in the shop was watching him now. “How about this?” he purred, looking over his shoulder, his tail up straight. “Or this?” he miaowed, rolling on his back and looking up at the camera, his blue eyes wide. “Have you ever seen anything so sweet?”
“I think he knows he’s being snapped,” Mr Pearce said, grinning. “He’s posing like a model. He thinks he’s one of those supermodels.”
Supermodel? Superkitten, more like, Felix thought.
Chapter Three
“You’ll have to try to keep Felix off this sofa, Jodie,” Mrs Taylor said a couple of days later.
Jodie had just come in from school and was sitting watching TV, with Felix on her lap.
Mrs Taylor dabbed at the sofa with a damp cloth, then frowned at the grey fluff she’d gathered up. “Dad sat down wearing his new suit and got it covered in grey hairs this morning,” she went on.
“Sorry,” Jodie said. “I’ll try and brush some of the loose fluff out of Felix’s coat later.” She was going to make do with an old blue hairbrush until the special comb arrived at the pet shop.
Tutting a little under her breath, Mrs Taylor went over to the vacuum cleaner in the corner. “And this old vacuum cleaner of ours is hopeless!” she added.
“Shall I have a go with it?” Jodie offered, feeling guilty at the extra work Felix’s fluff was making for her mum.
Mrs Taylor shook her head. “It’s much too heavy for you to lug around, love. It’s too heavy for me, come to that!” She plugged in the big old machine and switched it on.
Felix, who’d been snoozing, sat bolt upright. What was that horrible roaring noise? He jumped down and made a dash for the stairs. Pale grey fluff hung in the air as he ran . . .
It was Saturday and Jodie was taking her time in the bathroom. She didn’t have to rush to school this morning and could play with her new kitten all day.
Felix had decided to keep Jodie company while she showered, and was perched on the edge of the bath. He bobbed from side to side, dabbing his paw in the drops of water. “Why can’t I catch these little round silvery things?” he miaowed sharply. It was very annoying!
Jodie turned off the shower and put a dollop of soapy foam on the edge of the bath for Felix to play with.
Felix looked at the white froth. He reached out a paw – but the bit he touched seemed to disappear. Very odd.
He leaned over to sniff the strange stuff – and jumped back in surprise, sneezing as tiny soapy bubbles flew up his nose. Felix lost his balance and slid into the bath, a wisp of foam still on his nose.
“Oh, Felix!” Jodie cried. “You silly puss!”
Jodie couldn’t stop laughing as she lifted Felix out of the bath.
Then she noticed the hairs that had flown off Felix as he’d skidded into the bath. She grabbed a cloth and quickly wiped them up before her mum noticed. Jodie could hear the vacuum cleaner on again, downstairs.
Felix had been with the Taylors for just over a week now, and he had settled in really well. But there was one big problem: his fluff!
Felix’s lovely thick coat shed oodles of fluffy hair wherever Felix went. And Mrs Taylor was not pleased about it.
Jodie got dressed and took Felix into her bedroom. “Time to brush out some of that fluff,” she said to him, setting him down on her bed.
She went to find the old blue hairbrush. But when she came back, Felix had vanished. Then she noticed a fluffy tail, fat as a squirrel’s, sticking out of the duvet. “I can see you!” she called.
Jodie flung back the duvet to find Felix crouched down ready to pounce. He leapt into the air, scrabbled up her back and landed on her shoulder. “You’re back! Let’s play!” he miaowed loudly.
As Jodie collapsed onto the bed, giggling, her mum appeared in the doorway.
“Just look at all that fluff on your bedclothes, Jodie,” Mrs Taylor said frowning. “You’d better change them. And don’t you think it’s about time you started grooming that kitten? If you combed out all that loose fluff it wouldn’t come out all over the house!”
“I’m going to, Mum – right now,” Jodie said, and held up the brush to show her.
With a sigh, Mrs Taylor went back to her cleaning. Pulling Felix onto her lap, Jodie gently began to stroke the brush along his back.
But as far as Felix was concerned, the bristly blue creature was trying to attack him! He sprang round. “How dare you!” he hissed, ready to fight the brush.
Jodie sighed. “Come on, Felix, you have to let me groom you – otherwise we’ll both be in trouble!”
Just then, the vacuum cleaner stopped again, and Mrs Taylor called from the bathroom. “Jodie, leave that kitten alone for a moment and come in here, will you?”
Jodie put the brush down on the bed and went out to her mum. Felix pounced on the blue creature, biting and kicking it. “Caught you!” he growled happily.
“Have you had Felix in here with you?” Jodie’s mum asked sternly when Jodie went into the bathroom.
Jodie nodded. “He likes to sit and watch me clean my teeth.”
“I thought so,” Mrs Taylor said, “because there are hairs in the sink and on the flannels.” Mrs Taylor shook her head. “Wherever I look there’s a smudge of grey fluff!”
“But what can I do, Mum?” Jodie said. “Felix can’t help moulting.”
“I never seem to stop cleaning these days,” Mrs Taylor grumbled. “Not since Felix arrived.” And then she stared at a toothbrush in horror. “That’s the limit!” she cried. “There’s cat hair on my toothbrush!”
“Perhaps the special comb we’ve ordered from the pet shop will work,” Jodie said.
Her mum nodded. “I hope so – I feel quite worn out with all the extra work.”
Feeling guilty, Jodie escaped back to her bedroom and watched as Felix burrowed under her duvet again, leaving a cloud of grey fluff behind him. She just hoped that Felix would allow her to use the new comb on him. If he didn’t, she could see things getting very difficult . . .
Chapter Four
A couple of days later, Jodie and her mum made their way to Pearce’s Perfect Pets after school. Mr Pearce had called to say the special comb was in.
As they approached the pet shop Jodie noticed that Felix’s photograph was now in the window. “Oh, look, Mum!” she pointed. “There’s Felix! Doesn’t he look gorgeous?”
They both stopped and stared at the big photograph of Felix in the middle of the window display. He was wearing his new collar, with his head on one side, looking his cutest. A slogan above the picture read:
Posh Pets
come to
PEARCE’S
Mrs Taylor nodded. “Yes, he looks lovely.” Then she gave a little sigh. “But sometimes I can’t help wishing that you’d chosen one of the short-haired kittens.”
“Don’t say that, Mum!” Jodie protested. “I love Felix. He’s the most beautiful kitten in the world!”
“He’s certainly the fluffiest!” said Mrs Taylor, And then she smiled. “He is gorgeous, and I’m awfully fond of him. But he makes such a lot of mess!”
As they went into the shop, Jodie
looked once more at the beautiful photograph of Felix. Who would have thought that choosing the fluffiest kitten would cause such a lot of problems?
“I wish you’d let me comb you, Felix!” Jodie said. “It might help with all the fluff, you know.”
“Purreow!” Felix said. “I’ve decided I don’t like those things called brushes and combs – they mess up my lovely fur.”
Jodie had tried the special comb for long-haired cats for the first time yesterday. But it hadn’t been a great success. Felix treated it just like the blue hairbrush.
As he rolled on the carpet, showing his soft fluffy tummy, Jodie put her hand out for the comb. Half-hiding it in her hand, she very gently combed down his tummy with it and collected some soft fluff in its plastic teeth.
Felix sprang to life. That thing again! “Miaow!” He jumped on it, caught it and gave it a good old bite.
“Oh, Felix!” Jodie cried, pulling the comb away from him. It already had tiny teeth marks in the handle, where Felix had attacked it yesterday His kitten teeth were sharp as needles.
“Oh, don’t you want to play, then?” Felix miaowed.
Jodie sighed as she heard the monster cleaner roaring away downstairs again. “Maybe you’ll let me groom you when you get older,” she said.
Felix stared up at her with his bright blue eyes. No, he didn’t think so . . .
Just then, the doorbell rang downstairs and the vacuum cleaner was hastily switched off. As Mrs Taylor opened the door, Jodie could hear a very familiar voice. Then her mum called upstairs.
“Jodie! Mrs Oberon’s here. Come and say hello!”
Jodie gathered Felix up. “Mrs Oberon is organising the school fête this year,” she told him. “She’s my teacher. She’s a bit posh and strict – but quite nice really.”
“Of course I’d be delighted to help at the school fête,” Mrs Taylor was saying, as Jodie carried Felix into the sitting room. “Just let me know what you’d like me to do.”