Priscilla's Human is Sick

    My human hasn’t been eating very well lately. It’s not for lack of food. Our neighborhood is crawling with prey, and my food dish is always full. She’s just eating less and less. Maybe she’s sick. That would explain how thin she’s been getting. I wound around her feet and purred extra loud for her. She smiled and scratched me behind my ears the way I like.

    “Everything’s going to be fine, Priscilla.”

       *****

    She’s eaten even less this week. I cleaned my face and stared out the window at all the nice, plump birds flitting around the bird trap she had set up. Maybe she was having trouble hunting. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when someone gets too sick to eat. This wasn’t going to happen to my human. Not if I had anything to say about it.

    That night, I presented her with three fat robins. She curled her lip and threw them in the trash.

    I dug them out after she went to bed. No reason to let good food go to waste.

       *****

    Her mother showed up with a bag of food today. This was good. Now my human would get nursed back to health. No mother would let her young starve and die.

    But my human became very angry at the sight of the food. She shouted at her mother, threw the food, and chased her out. A pity. I was pretty sure there was a can of tuna in there. She might have shared it with me.

       *****

    My human didn’t get out of bed this morning. I pawed at her face and miaowed at her, but she barely even opened her eyes to look at me.

    “Good kitty,” she whispered. I buried my head under her hand. Her fingers twitched behind my ears. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

       *****

    Strange men came into our home today and took my human away. She was too weak to fight them. I tried to protect her, but they locked me in the bathroom. I scratched at the door and miaowed and miaowed and miaowed. No one came to let me out. I curled up in the bathtub and went to sleep. Maybe my human would come back tomorrow.

       *****

    I don’t know how long I was in the bathroom, but when the door opened, I bolted through the open space and into the living room. The curtains were sturdy, and I liked to climb up there when I wanted to be left alone. At the top of the curtains, no one could put me back in the bathroom.

    My human’s litter mate followed me into the living room. She was carrying a box with a door in the front. Like the one I had to ride in when we went to the vet. I hated that box.

    She reached for me, and I responded with a warning growl.

    “Please don’t be that way, Priscilla.” There were tears in her eyes. “We need to go now.”

    I don’t budge. With my human gone, it’s up to me to protect our home. At least until she gets back. I won’t abandon my post.

    She reached up for me, and I swatted her hand.

    “Please come down. Look, I brought food.” She put a can on the floor and opened it. The smell of wet food filled the room. My stomach growled. It’s been a long time since my last meal. I decided to climb down and inspect it.

    After only a couple tastes, I found myself shoved into the box. The can of food was put in there with me. She picked up the box, and I fell over onto my side.

    “Don’t worry, kitty. Everything’s going to be fine.”

    I curled up in the back of the box. She could have the food. I just wanted my human back.