Outstanding Stories » Whiskey The Cat

“Whiskey The Cat” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the second biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Aliya Shetty Oza, Juhu, Mumbai, India.

Whiskey The Cat

It was a little after the stroke of midnight, when I finally entered this world and became a part of it. I was the eldest of a litter of three kittens born to my mom, Lisa. My other two siblings who were both girls, were smaller and younger, hence, weaker. We three kittens were born on the 26th of March one after the other. I was born in a storeroom surrounded by boxes and some trash. At first, I was so petrified. I just stuck with my mother and my two sisters. Once I opened my eyes a few days later, my mom still stuck around me but at least she let me explore that room for a bit. We were no bigger than an egg when we were born. Mom kept moving into different rooms until finally she took all three of us into a bigger room. It was the boss's room! As we got used to the room, we encountered many people who loved and took care of us, except for one man who abhorred us cats.

The people working in the office took revenge on the cat hater by making mom sit on his seat and started taking pictures of us on his phone when he was not around. One day, while he was talking to the boss in her cabin, I climbed up his leg! When the boss told him to look down, he was horrified and shrieked when he saw me on his leg. He was dying to throw me down, but he knew that the boss would fire him, and the entire office would go against him. So he just picked me up and kept me on the floor. It was so funny and hilarious! Unfortunately, my youngest sister died as she was the weakest and mom rejected taking care of her. Everyone was sad and felt empathy for my sister. Despite of the staff feeding her milk with a bottle, she just couldn't handle it. I hope she is happy and is resting in peace in cat heaven.

As I grew up, life was like a piece of cake, as I had more stamina and strength. I even wrestled with my other sister and played with her too! Life was superb!

A few months later my sister and I had to shift into new houses leaving our mom behind. We were so scared and nervous. To calm my sister down, I even licked her in the car, just how mom would do. After she got dropped to her new house, I was at the boss’s house sleeping till I was finally shifted to my new home. I was so nervous. Luckily, everyone was there to help and support like a real family. The lady of the new house wasn’t even sure if she wanted me. One of the people who was apparently named Josh, had called me an Indie cat, instead of stray. He read my mind, I hated being referred to as a stray. The kids in the new house immediately started playing with me. I was getting used to all of it! Everyone in the house was calling the head of the house and I was similar because we both took naps, we both loved attention and people, we both were boys and he liked to drink Whiskey and well, I’m called Whiskey! We were actually so similar! I got used to my new life.

For a while, life was the same- sleep, eat, play, eat, play, sleep, eat, play and further on. But, I couldn’t blame others for calling me lazy (rarely). Many a times a lot of people came by to see me and play with me! I was always booked, especially in the evenings!

But everything, suddenly changed after my first birthday. I just cannot begin to tell you how awful it was. My family left me behind...! They shifted to Mangalore. I decided to pen my experience as a poem titled 'Awful Abandonment' and here is how it goes…

Abandonment is when you're left alone,
Abandonment is when you don't have a home.

This is a story about a stray cat,
Who ended up outside on a rich family’s doormat.

The first few months of his life, he was truly happy,
Until his picture-perfect life turned shabby.

After a while they left him behind,
Clearly the family was cruel, brutal and unkind.

The cat's world fell apart,
The family obviously had a stone heart.

A pet isn't just for Christmas; it’s for a lifetime,
And they didn’t bother to fix this, so that is a crime.

Let us all recollect the golden 3 rules,
And breaking even one of them ain't cool.

Rule number 1 - pets aren't just for fun,
They are with you through rain and sun.

Rule number 2 - never ever think of abandoning children,
As that's something God has forbidden.

Rule number 3 - you can't leave and flee from old people,
Because that's just simply deceitful and should be illegal.

Remember abandonment is just awful,
It should be declared unlawful!

- Whiskey the Cat.

If you are done wiping your tears please rest assured I am truly lucky I found another home. Remember the boss's family? They have adopted me as their own. It’s taking me time to adjust to my new home that unfortunately has two pet dogs (yuck!). But, I am a survivor. Stay tuned for further updates on my life.

This is Whiskey the cat signing off for now.