Crazy Cat Kid (Crazy Cat Kids Book 1)

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  “Can anyone use it?”

  “It’s first come, first served,” Dad said, as he went into the bathroom.

  “And I wouldn’t want to use it in the morning after it’s cooled down overnight,” Mom said. “We have water for our own showers, it’s just that our used water holding tank will only hold so much.”

  I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the edge. I had to keep my head slightly bent because of the ceiling. I put one foot on the back of the bench seat and swung around so my back was to the room. I stepped down onto the seat itself and then the floor. I guess motorhomes are supposed to have ladders for climbing into the overhead bunk and down again, but a ladder hadn’t come with this one.

  Saltry immediately began to meow. She was on the other bench seat looking at me.

  “What?” I asked. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost eight o’clock. “I’m not very late.” Usually, I fed them between seven and seven-thirty morning and night.

  Mom sat at the table to get out of my way. I tugged on the handle of a narrow pullout cupboard beside the stove. There were three wire shelves with lips that were full of cans of cat food. Purple immediately came over and tried to climb into the cupboard. I took a can out and clicked its pull tab. This got the other girls’ attention and they came closer. When I moved Purple away and closed the door, she scratched at it trying to open it.

  I got four paper plates from the cupboard over the sink and divided half the food onto them. I set one in front of each cat. They all immediately began to eat.

  I had been given many instructions by the vet when Saltry was diagnosed with diabetes. First was that even though everyone called them needles, there were two sections. The syringe was the plastic part that held the insulin, and the needle was the part that entered the body. According to the second instruction I wasn’t supposed to shake the bottle of insulin. Instead, I was supposed to roll it in my palms to warm it. Once warm, I was to turn the bottle upside down, stick the sharp needle into the rubber end of the bottle, and pull the plunger of the syringe until the insulin flowed into it.

  After doing that for a few weeks I changed the procedure. I began filling the syringe and then warming it with my fingers. That way the insulin wasn’t going back and forth between cold and warm.

  Saltry was to have two cubic centimeters or ccs of insulin morning and night. While the girls were eating, I went through the procedure of pulling the insulin into the syringe.

  The third instruction was that I was to give Saltry the needle in her nape or back of her neck. It seems that cats don’t have much feeling in that part of their body and it wouldn’t hurt her. I had to practice on an orange at the vet’s office to make sure I could do it right.

  Now, I bent down and rubbed Saltry’s neck. She had grown so accustomed to me doing this that she lifted her head. I pulled up slightly on her fur to raise the skin and swiftly stuck the needle in her nape. She went back to her eating. I put the syringe in the fridge beside the insulin. Morning routine done.

  Since Mom and Dad were dressed and I was in my pajamas, I raised the blinds and privacy sheet. Purple, Daisy, and Red immediately went to the windows, probably thinking that they would be rescued. They watched the activity of one of our neighbours cooking on a barbecue, while another person set up lawn chairs, a third restarted a fire. There was a lot to keep them occupied.

  The only closets in the motorhome were in the back bedroom. I had put all my clean clothes in a cupboard over the table and I had the bottom shelf of the cupboard under the sink for my toiletries. The only place I had to put my dirty clothes was in a pile in the far corner of my bed.

  Mom and Dad were at the table with their coffee. I went into the bathroom and was closing the door when Purple rushed in. She sat on the toilet lid then jumped on the sink counter. I put her back on the toilet and she jumped again. I opened the cabinet above the sink. Purple stretched up on her hind legs and propped her front paws on the wall so she could look in. There was nothing to see so she dropped to the floor.

  There was a meow at the door. I opened it and Daisy entered to see what was happening. Purple scratched at the bottom cupboard. I opened the door to get my toothbrush and tooth paste and she and Daisy climbed in, Purple on the top shelf, Daisy on the bottom. I didn’t pay attention to what they were doing as I brushed my teeth. I opened the bathroom door and went to get my shorts and t-shirt. When I had washed and dressed I bent down and looked at the shelves in the cupboard. There was toilet paper, shampoo, Mom’s makeup bag, Dad’s shaving kit, a first aid kit, a bottle of holding tank freshener and other paraphernalia plus my toiletries. Neither cat was in there so I closed the door and left the bathroom.

  A few minutes later Dad went in to shave. “What’s that noise?” he asked.

  “What noise?” Mom and I looked at each other.

  “It sounds like someone scratching. Is someone outside?”

  I looked out the window and shook my head. “I don’t see anyone close.”

  Dad listened then bent down and opened the cupboard door below the sink. Purple gave a little meow as if to ask what had taken so long and strolled out. Dad shook his head and closed the door. I stared at her. I had checked the cupboard before closing the door. Where had she been?

  After Dad had shaved, I kept the cats away from the door while he and Mom took their bowls of cereal and second cup of coffee outside to enjoy in the morning sun. It was cool so they closed both doors.

  Purple was still on the alert for a way out. When I opened a cupboard door over the sink to get out a bowl for my cereal, she jumped up on the counter wanting to see if it was an escape route. I unlatched the fridge door to get out the milk and she was on the back of the bench seat checking for a door to the outside.

  While I ate my cereal, Saltry came to sit beside me, a ritual we have at home. When I was finished, I left a small amount of milk in the bowl and set it down for her. She lapped it up. Maybe if I kept some of their routines, they would adapt faster.

  I thought they needed something to occupy their time so I opened the outside camper door and asked Mom to latch it in place. Three of the girls immediately went to the screen. Saltry sat on the top step and Purple and Daisy on the bottom step. Red was content to sit behind the swivel chair and look out from there. Mom and Dad had pulled out the awning and were drinking their coffee at the table.

  “Hi, girls,” Mom said to my cats.

  They looked at her. Daisy meowed.

  “No, you can’t come out,” Mom answered.

  I smiled. I wasn’t the only one in my family who talked to my cats. Both my parents also did although Dad only did it when he thought no one was around.

  The first thing I had to do was clean the cat litter. I put the clumps in a plastic bag and threw them in the garbage. The pail of unused litter was in the outside compartment, which meant I had to carry the litter box out the door to top it up. I slipped on my sandals, picked up the box, and went to the cab. I set the box on Dad’s seat and opened the passenger door. I looked at my cats but they were engrossed with the action outside the screen. I climbed out the passenger door and went around to the driver’s seat to retrieve the box.

  As I walked around to the compartment I looked at the large yard where we were camping. The young kids were out and busy. Three girls chased each other around on bicycles while the two boys played in the dirt with a big caterpillar and dump truck. Two dogs were tied to the bumper of one trailer and barked at the girls on the bikes as if wanting to play with them. I opened the compartment door and scooped some litter into the box. I reversed my steps into the motorhome and set the box under the table. My cats barely noticed me.

  I took the cat house from the swivel chair and set it on the bench seat behind the driver’s seat. I secured it using the seat belt and a bungee cord from the junk drawer.

  Now I didn’t know what to do with my time. I pulled out my cell phone and looked for messages. There were none. Not that I expected any. Brenda, Olivia and I
had pledged to keep in touch and so far we had, but only by text. I hoped to go back to Vancouver for visits and it would be nice if they could come to the island to see my new place. I didn’t to expect it to happen soon.

  They had their summer jobs and other activities, activities we used to do together such as shopping, hiking, and going to movies. I had my cats to look after and was adjusting to life on an acreage. I doubted that I would get back to Vancouver unless Mom or Dad agreed to give Saltry her insulin.

  I sent them both a text telling them I was on my first camping trip with my parents and my cats. By this time Red had fallen asleep on one of the swivel chairs, Saltry was lying on the floor, and Daisy and Purple had gone up to my bed.

  I got my book from beside my pillow and sat in the other swivel chair to read. The story was good and kept my attention for an hour but I am not a person who likes to sit for long. I prefer to be doing something active. I set the book aside and looked around the motorhome. There wasn’t anything to do in here, unless I ate something. I was still full from breakfast so that didn’t appeal to me.

  That left going outside. Since none of the cats was paying attention to me, I took a chance and opened the screen door. I hurried down the steps and closed the door again, hooking the wire. When I looked back in I saw that Red had opened her eyes to watch me and Saltry had lifted her head. The other two hadn’t moved from my bed. Was it going to be this easy? Were they going to adapt to life in the RV so quickly or were they just resting for an attempted break?

  I stood by the motorhome and looked around. Mom and Dad had taken their chairs and moved over to visit with the couple at the trailer next door, the two young boys were fighting over who got to dump the dirt out of the truck, and four men were setting up a volleyball net. What was there for me to do?

  I could go down to the lake and look at the water if Mom and Dad kept an eye on my cats. I glanced over at where they were laughing at something either the other woman or man had said. I walked over to them.

  “Hi, sweetie,” Mom said. “This is Alan and Carol Cooper. Alan and Carol, our daughter, Lilly.”

  “Hi,” I said, and they answered back.

  “Alan is our steersperson,” Mom said. “He keeps us going in a straight line when we’re paddling.”

  Mom had explained the positions of the team members to Dad and me. There were up to twenty paddlers, the drummer at the front of the boat, and the steersperson at the back.

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Um, good.”

  There was an awkward silence.

  “I’m going down to the lake,” I said. “The cats are sleeping.”

  “Okay,” Mom said.

  I walked past the campers, through some trees, and down to the lake. It wasn’t far. And there wasn’t anything to do once I got there. We were in a small bay and there was a narrow beach. I sat on a log and looked out at the water. It was blue and calm and wet. It was water in a lake.

  I could see boats tied to piers in front of other homes. There was a dock here but no boat. I walked out on the dock and sat down. I took my sandals off and sloshed my feet in the water. That soon got boring so I shook my feet to get rid of the excess water and put my sandals on again. I stood and walked off the pier.

  Now what to do?

  I went slowly back to the motorhome. Mom and Dad were still over at Alan and Carol’s site. I waved to get their attention and let them know I was back. Purple stretched her front paws up on the screen when she saw me and meowed.

  “Don’t do that,” I said, gently tapping at her paws. “You’ll put a hole in the screen.”

  Purple sat back down.

  I walked to the passenger door and climbed in. Red was sharpening her claws on the side of the bench seat. I took her paws and set them on the floor. I brought the scratching post out from under the table. Red sniffed at it but didn’t put a claw on it.

  I pulled open the narrow cupboard and Purple was at my side. She stuck her head in the shelving and looked to the back. I took out the treat container. Purple tried to step onto a shelf but I lifted her away and closed the door. The other girls came over and I gave them each some tidbits.

  Mom and Dad were back under the awning. It was close to lunch time. I found a loaf of bread in the cupboard and opened the fridge. I took out sandwich meat, cheese, mustard, and salad dressing.

  “Are we eating in here or out there?” I asked Mom.

  “Out here,” Mom said, standing. “It’s so beautiful.”

  I passed her the sandwich makings, plates, and cutlery through the sliding cover on the screen door. “Water, juice, or pop?”

  “Pop for me,” Dad said.

  “Orange juice for me,” Mom said.

  I took water for myself. Since the girls were now watching the activity of Mom and Dad making sandwiches at the table, I went out the passenger door.

  “There isn’t much for me to do here,” I said, as I spread salad dressing on my bread. “Can I go home this afternoon?”

  “We haven’t been here a day,” Mom said. “Give it time.”

  “But there is no one my age. What am I supposed to do?”

  “There are more team members coming this evening. I know two of them have teenagers.”

  “Yes, but are they coming?” I would have stayed home if I’d been given a chance.

  Mom shrugged. “The parents didn’t know.”

  Great.

  When we finished our sandwiches, I went back into the motorhome and Mom passed everything to me. I put things away and then had the problem again of what to do.

  Purple wanted in the bathroom. I opened the door for her. She went to the cupboard door and looked at me.

  “No,” I told her.

  She hooked her claws on the edge of the door and pulled. It opened a little then banged shut. She tried again with the same result. I finally felt sorry for her and pulled the door out a little. She stuck her nose in the crack and pushed with her head. She kept going until she was inside and the door closed behind her.

  I pulled it open a little so she could get out and left the bathroom door ajar also.

  Saltry was sitting on the step staring at the screen door. She looked up at me. Sometimes at home she will sit by the front door and wait patiently until someone comes to open it for her. It doesn’t matter that the cat door is just a few steps away at the back door.

  “Not this time, Saltry.” I said. “No one is going to let you out.”

  I climbed up on my bed and stared at the ceiling. This was not what I had expected. I had listened to stories told by my school mates after they had come back from a camping weekend. They had always sounded so exciting, so romantic. Lots of sitting around campfires, singing songs, laughing, eating hot dogs, swimming, and hiking. Except for the campfire it sounded like there were so many activities that you couldn’t do them all in one weekend.

  That certainly wasn’t happening here.

  I rolled over and stuck my face to the open window.

  “I want to go home,” I said.

  “You know you can’t,” Mom said.

  “Why not?”

  “You are too young to stay alone.”

  I rolled onto my back and kicked the ceiling with my feet. “But this is soooo boring,” I whined.

  “Stop that.”

  “I will if you will let me go home.” I kicked a couple of more times.

  “You are not going home so quit asking. And quit kicking.”

  I sighed. For some reason I had thought that meeting the family of team mates meant there would be someone my age that I could spend time with. Had I been the only one who thought that way, though? Because, really, there were kids I could play with. I’m sure the little boys would love it if I got down on the ground and pushed trucks with them, or the girls would be so happy if I got on one of their bikes and raced around the yard with them.

  I sighed again. So much for having a fun time camping.

  I laid my arms over my eyes. I had three more weeks
of this. Three whole weeks of staring at this ceiling. How was I going to get through them without dying of boredom?

  “We’re going to the lake,” Dad called up to me.

  “It’s not worth the walk,” I said, irritably.

  “We’ll decide for ourselves.”

  * * *

  Somehow I managed to make it through my busy afternoon. Saltry climbed onto my stomach and I rubbed her while she purred. Red tried to sharpen her claws on one of the swivel chairs. I had to get up and stop her. Purple came out of the bathroom. I didn’t bother closing the door in case she wanted back in. Daisy told me she wasn’t happy with being stuck inside and I told her that was too bad. I didn’t like being cooped up in here either but, obviously, none of us had a choice. I played solitaire using a deck of cards my parents had brought.

  Finally, it was supper time. When Mom decided we were going camping with her team, she began looking for recipes for meals that could be cooked over a campfire or barbeque. Dad had moved our fire ring so it sat just out from under the awning before starting a fire. It was far enough away from the motorhome doors that I could go in and out without getting too close to the flames. I kept the girls away from the screen door while Mom was in and out of the motorhome taking the smaller of two cast iron skillets that had belonged to her grandmother, some sausage, an onion, a pepper, a garlic clove, a cutting board, a container of chicken broth, and some cooked brown rice out to the table.

  Because we had absolutely nothing else to do, Purple, Daisy and I sat on the step and watched through the screen door as Mom cut the sausage into small pieces and sauteed the pieces in the skillet. Dad chopped up the vegetables and minced the garlic and when Mom removed the sausage, Dad scraped the vegetables off the board into the skillet. He stirred them until tender and Mom poured some chicken broth into the pan. When it boiled Mom stirred in the rice and sausage, added salt and pepper and covered the skillet.