A Cat and Her Kid

A barn cat named Tabitha slept deeply near the loft window, her bed of hay warmed by the afternoon sun. She was not at all pleased when an unfamiliar and clamorous sound woke her from her nap.

Annoyed, yet still curious, she lazily looked over the edge of the loft down at the barn doors. The farmer was rushing around, trying to catch some strange creature that was jumping about, knocking over tools and sacks of feed as it pranced. It was small with hooves and tiny horns on its head.

Tabitha turned her attention back to the door when she heard a familiar giggle. Abbey, her favorite human, was standing there looking far more excited than Tabitha would have expected. Abbey crouched down and the creature took notice, pausing, before giddily bouncing over to her.

“I can’t believe you got one, Uncle Steve! I’ve always wanted a baby goat! What’s his name?”

‘So that’s a goat,’ Tabitha mused sleepily.

“I was thinking about calling him Pinball since he keeps bouncing around into things,” the farmer laughed.

“I love it!” Abbey said, smiling broadly. “Welcome home, Pinball!”

The little goat, instantly accepting of his new title, took another joyful lap around the barn.

Knowing she wasn’t going to get any more sleep for now, Tabitha decided to make her way down to Abbey. That girl knew all her best spots, and Tabitha was in need of a good neck scratch. Before she could reach her girl, though, Pinball rushed at her, wanting to meet this new, strange friend.

Something similar had happened when the Farmer had brought home a new puppy a few years back. One good swat with a menacing hiss had put that pup in its place. However, Tabitha barely had time to yowl as the young goat bounded toward her. She made her way over to Abbey, jumping into the girl’s arms, then let out a much more feeble hiss than intended.

Needless to say, it was not a great first meeting.

As months went by, Tabitha kept a close, cautious eye on the kid. As much as she disliked him, he was entertaining to watch. Abbey and her younger brother Henry would run around the apple tree in the backyard, Pinball chasing them wildly. The Farmer’s wife set up some boxes for Pinball to jump on and boy did he enjoy that. Each day he was learning something new and growing like a weed.

One night, as Tabitha was taking her regular evening stroll, she heard a noise coming from the field. She crouched defensively as the neighbor cat, a large ginger beast of a feline, lurked from the darkness toward her. Tabitha was older now and unsure if she could scrap like she used to, but tonight she didn’t need to find out if she still had it in her. Without warning, Pinball, sensing that his barn-mate was in trouble, rushed the ginger cat, butting him in the side and sending him running back to his own farm.

Things were different between them after that night. Tabitha still kept an eye on him, but now it was protective. She would sit with him while he was calm, grooming him and sharing her warmth when it got colder. Pinball also went through a change in behavior. While he was wild with the children and other critters on the farm, with Tabitha he was gentle and respectful.

The two became family, and when Tabitha passed away from old age, she did so peacefully, curled up next to her adopted kin, Pinball.

Thank you so much for reading my story! If you enjoyed it, I hope you'll consider leaving me a tip!

I wrote this and several other stories using prompts I found online. I was hoping to rekindle my love of writing, but only made it a few days in (you know how New Year’s resolutions go). Perhaps after some positive feedback I'll know I do actually have a little talent and will find the motivation to stick with it. Maybe I'll even finish the novel I started then gave up on.