WHEN WE WERE KITTENS
another year in the life of Dougal
by
DAVID GREAGG
With special thanks to the amazing Kerry Greenwood, without whom this book really wouldn't have been possible; and to Lindy Cameron and all the team at Clan Destine Press.
Thanks also to Dougal, Shadow, Belladonna and all the other cats we have been privileged to know; and to all those readers who told me how much they enjoyed Dougal's Diary.
Special mentions here to Rosemary Greagg, Lesley Greagg, Cameron Greenwood Cramp, Peregrine Ryan, Rebecca Rodda, Alex Warnecke and Amethyst Howard Gration.
To all those who clamoured for a sequel, here it is.
For his grown-up thoughts on life he also wanders around Facebook, under the name of Dubh Geal, which is his name in Gaidhlig (the native tongue of the Highlands and islands of Scotland). `Dubh Geal' means Black and White. Like most cats, he finds being spoken to in Gaidhlig very soothing.
Beannachdan air a' chaitìn glè mhath an seo.
When We Were Kittens
Blurb
The continuing adventures of Dougal the Giant Kitten and his foster-sister Shadow.
The gentleman cat's account of his wonderful and challenging life follows his bestselling first book, Dougal's Diary.
Dougal and Shadow are still living with Man, Woman and Belladonna - the Senior Cat and boss of the house - but the pair are now, mostly, all grown up.
And life is seldom boring as Dougal tackles new escapades and things to figure out; like how his sister has been taking Assertiveness Training from Belladonna.
The young cats make a truce with the wattle-birds and Crows! in their garden; but find the dogs in the street are noisy and stupid.
As Dougal negotiates his position in the adult world, emotional reassurance, revelations and even help comes from a surprising source. But then - woe! - Man goes away for a Long Time and the poor boy is just sad and lonely.
Will Man come home? Does Shadow still love him, even though she still eats his food? And even if Man does come home again, will they all still go for walks at night?
September
1
The weather is very annoying. It's been cold and wet for ever so long and we're all a bit over it. The Long Dark Cold was a surprise first time around, but we were kittens and everything was still an exciting adventure then. Since I last wrote we had the Long Dry Warm, except that it wasn't really. The days were long and the nights were short and that was how we remembered it, but it wasn't nearly as hot as it was when we were little. I was glad because my fur is thick and I get overheated easily. Shadow said she would have liked it hotter; sometimes, anyway.
Then it started getting dark earlier again, and the sun got up later, and we remembered this from the first time it happened and Belladonna told us that was all right. First it gets hotter, then it gets colder - over and over again. Nobody knows why but it just does. When it's hot and dry and light for a long time it's called summer, and when it's cold and wet and dark it's called winter.
Belladonna is so old she's seen a great deal of both. She can't remember how many but it's a lot. And she also said that sometimes it's wet in summer and dry in winter. Shadow said that was confusing and I agreed with her, but apparently weather is something that plays tricks on us and we should just treat every day as it comes. That's what Belladonna said, and I told her well we're cats and that's what cats do; so we should be all right then.
We had lots of fun all through summer. I'm sure it wasn't as hot as when we were kittens, and it was certainly wetter, but we had a wonderful time playing in the back yard, sleeping on our favourite chairs, playing Chasey through the flowers and enjoying the smells on the wind.
And we went for our walks with Man nearly every night and we were so happy I just purred all the time. Even though there is a Loud Dog now who barks at us every night.
But then it got colder again and one day Man brought out the Big Warm and turned it on. Then he put down a warm fluffy on the floor between it and our bed. As soon as he'd done that my sister sat down on it and settled in for a long sleep.
I asked her if she was going to spend all winter there.
I will if I want to, she said. It's all very well for you. You've got beautiful thick fluffy fur all over; even on your paws, so you don't feel the cold road. Every time we went for walks last winter my paws were freezing. That's why I curl up and then run fast to catch up. So it's my fluffy and I'm having it and if you don't like it then too bad.
Of course she got sick of the fluffy after a few days and joined me up on the bed again. And Man took us for walks and that was good because we always sleep soundly afterwards. We did sleep a lot, though not as much as Belladonna. I think for Belladonna one day just blends in with all the others because she doesn't get out and about very much at all. Having our walks marks off every day for us, so we go to sleep at night knowing we've had adventures and that's how we know we're alive and having fun.
But the winter seemed longer than it had last time, and even though it's light enough to be warmer now it just isn't. During the last week we've only had our short walk because it's too cold for my sister and too wet for me. Tonight we just went up the road and back again and settled down on the bed. Maybe tomorrow it will be warmer.
2
It wasn't. And tonight's dinner was quite unsatisfactory. I just ate munchies instead and was polite about it. Belladonna is hiding in a box. I wonder what this means?
3
Belladonna is still in her box. I only found this out because Man had left it on the floor in the Food Room and I thought I'd play in it for a bit. So I put out my paw and patted the edge of the lid and there was a flash of black paw and a hiss from inside it.
Is that you, Belladonna? I asked.
Yes it is you impertinent kitten. Go away. I'm thinking.
About what? I asked.
Never you mind. Important things which are no concern of yours. She turned her head away and I left her to it. I'd really like it if she'd play with us but I know she won't.
4
Belladonna finally got out of her box and went to sit on Woman. We have noticed there are exactly three beds in this house. There are also three cats. So we're now trying it out with one cat per bed. This is partly because my sister and I are really getting on each other's nerves. We're waiting for it to get warm enough to play outside properly and we're just a bit fed up. It's too wet for our walk, according to Man. He's probably right.
But