Холли Вебб - Lost In The Storm

Dad looked thoughtful. “Didn’t the people who moved from that house down the road a few days ago have a white cat? I’m sure I remember seeing one around. Was she pregnant? Maybe she decided to have her kittens in that cottage. Cats do that sometimes, don’t they?” he asked the vet. “Find strange places to have their kittens?”

The vet nodded. “It’s to do with wanting to be private, and keeping the kittens safe. If her owners were moving, she might not have liked all the mess of packing up at home.” She was laying the white kitten in what looked like a fish tank. “This has got a heat mat to warm her up gently,” she explained. “I’ll take her through to the ward when she’s settled.”

Ella peered through the plastic side. The kitten looked really cosy, but that gave her a horrible thought. “What happened to the other kittens?” she asked worriedly. “Do you think they’re outside somewhere? There was only this little one in the cupboard.”

“Maybe the mother carried them back to the house,” the vet said thoughtfully. “Or perhaps she only had the one. That happens sometimes, and it would mean that it wasn’t too obvious she was going to have kittens. Her owners might not have known.”

Mum looked sad. “So they took her with them and left the kitten behind.”

“Yes, she might have had to go home for some food. Thank goodness for Fluff,” the vet said, smiling.

Mum sighed, and shook her head. “I suppose you’re right, Ella. After what Fluff did, we have to take this one home too.” Then she smiled. “I might have known it wouldn’t stop with one!”

“You mean we can keep her?” Ella asked, hopping up and down. “Really?”

Her dad grinned. “Why not. I took ages putting in that cat flap, we might as well use it… Ooof!” he gasped as Ella hurled herself at him for a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to tell Fluff!”

Back at home Fluff was sitting anxiously on the window sill. She didn’t quite understand where Ella and the kitten had gone, but Ella had whispered that they were looking after her. She stared out at the snowy street, watching for the car, waiting for Ella. As they pulled up in front of the house, she jumped up with her paws scrabbling on the glass, mewing excitedly. Where was the kitten?

Ella got carefully out of the car, and Fluff watched in relief as she walked slowly up the path, cradling the kitten. Fluff was there waiting as they opened the door, twining affectionately around Ella’s ankles, then leading Ella to the kitchen and her too-big basket. She watched as Ella carefully set the kitten down on the red cushion, then she stepped in and curled herself around the white kitten lovingly. The kitten, who’d been fast asleep ever since they left the vet’s, opened one eye sleepily, and looked up at Fluff. “Prrrp,” she murmured, and a very small bright-pink tongue shot out and licked Fluff ’s nose. Then she went back to sleep.

Fluff looked down at her, and then back at Ella, who was crouched next to the basket watching.

Ella reached over to scratch Fluff under the chin. “What shall we call her?” she wondered, looking at the kitten’s white fur, snuggled next to Fluff ’s tabby coat. “How about Snowy? She is our snow rescue kitten.”

Fluff yawned and stretched a little in agreement.

Ella grinned, watching the two of them snooze. “It looks like we were right to buy a big basket after all!”

About the Author

Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.

Other titles by Holly Webb:

Lost in the Snow

Lost in the Storm

Alfie all Alone

Sam the Stolen Puppy

Max the Missing Puppy

Sky the Unwanted Kitten

Timmy in Trouble

Ginger the Stray Kitten

Harry the Homeless Puppy

Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Alone in the Night

Ellie the Homesick Puppy

Jess the Lonely Puppy

Misty the Abandoned Kitten

Oscar’s Lonely Christmas

Lucy the Poorly Puppy

Smudge the Stolen Kitten

The Rescued Puppy

The Kitten Nobody Wanted

The Lost Puppy

The Frightened Kitten

Copyright

STRIPES PUBLISHING

An imprint of Little Tiger Press

1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,

London SW6 6AW

Text copyright © Holly Webb, 2007

Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2007

First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.

eISBN: 978-1-84715-263-3

The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

www.stripespublishing.co.uk