I spent most of the morning meowing, going from one window to another, hoping to see someone who would notice me. Nobody was out there now– even the boats had gone, and the helicopters were far away. I clung to a frail idea that Amber might come back, and I worried about my family. TammyLee was the one I ached to see.
Clouds gathered over the midday sun and soon it was raining again. Mist hung over the water, and the place looked desolate. The day was passing and I hadn’t been rescued. Starving hungry, I ate some bread and cheese Max had left, but it upset me and I was sick. I missed being in the garden and thought that going outside would make me feel better.
‘You must help yourself,’ said my angel, and I flicked my tail in annoyance. But last time she’d said that, it had worked. I sat in the front window, thinking, studying the flooded landscape for escape routes, wondering if it might be possible to go along the tops of fences and trees. FirstI had to find a way out of the house. Swimming was not an option. Meowing at boats hadn’t worked. I studied parts of the roof visible from the window and noticed a skylight that was open just a crack.
I found it in the bathroom. The crack was too small, but if I got my paws up there and pushed, I could squeeze out. Jumping up was a challenge, especially from the floor. I clambered onto the shiny lid of the loo, then onto the cistern, and from this narrow slippery perch, I planned my daring leap. I had to try. Focusing on the power in my back legs, and the sharpness of my claws, I sprang up there. For a frantic moment, I hung with my claws dug into the wood. With all my strength, I lifted my hind legs, butted the crack with my head, and wriggled through. I was out!
It had stopped raining, so I walked up to the ridge of the roof to survey the landscape. Somewhere an engine was running, and I soon discovered it was a fire engine, sucking water out of a nearby house. I sat on the roof and meowed, but no one even looked in my direction, and my cries for help were lost in the noise of the fire engine.
I was hungry, and thirsty, and cold.
Night came with frightening speed. Another night of being abandoned, this time on my own. Thinking the roof was not a good place to spend the night, I went back to the open skylight, intending to attempt the jump back into the bathroom. But I made a dreadful mistake by putting my weight on the raised edge of the window and making it shut. My entrance was closed, and despite my efforts to reopen it, it stayed closed.
With thick darkness and a chilly wind blowing, there was no choice but to spend the night on the roof, with no soft place to sleep, no food, no water, and no one to love me.
Chapter Fourteen
CATS IN CAGES
I pressed myself against the chimney on its warmest side. Cold and isolated up on the roof, I tried to conserve my energy by tucking my paws under my body and dozing quietly. Staying calm was vital to my survival. No more meowing.
It ought to have been peaceful, but suddenly the roof tiles were vibrating, first from a loud clanking noise, followed by a steady rhythmic pounding, like footsteps. I could feel my eyes growing big with fright. Was the roof somehow trying to shake me off into the water?
The rhythmic pounding stopped, and, in the expectant pause, I sensed a listening, and a beam of light came sweeping over the roof. Then, an unbelievable sound.
Someone was calling,‘Kitty kitty kitty.’
A gentle, male voice, up there on the roof. It wasn’t anyone I knew, but from past experience, I assumed that ‘kitty kitty kitty’, meant me.
Someone had found me!
I peeped round the chimney and the light dazzled me. Whoever was holding it turned it off, and I stared down at a fireman in a helmet, his face looking up at me. He looked solid and reassuring, obviously a cat lover.
My tail shot up, and my fur bushed out with joy. I couldn’t get to him fast enough. I slithered down the wet tiles, doing purr-meows in gratitude. A friend, a warm, human friend. It was so comforting to lean against his chest and hear the slow heartbeat. I clung to his shoulder, and cried like a little kitten.
‘You’re a beauty!’ he said, appreciatively. ‘You’re gorgeous. Now you hang on to me and I’ll take you down. Trust me. OK?’
How could I not trust this cuddly fireman? I hung on, and treated him to my loudest purr as he took me carefully down the ladder. It didn’t even bother me when he put me in a cat cage. I was being rescued!
The fireman waded a long way through the flood to a patch of higher ground. A fire engine was parked there, its blue light flickering, reflected in the water. Behind it was a van with a familiar figure waiting at the wheel.
‘Got her. She’s fine,’ the fireman shouted. ‘Can you take her?’
‘I’ve just got room, my luvvy. Thank you SO much. You’re a star.’
She took the cage from the fireman, and looked in at me.‘Tallulah! Hello, my luvvy. It’s me, Penny, the cat lady. Now don’t you worry, we’ll take care of you and find your people.’