Cats - KATIE DID IT by Lauren Merryfield

A small, gray kitty had been given to a thirteen-year-old
girl who seemed too busy for the responsibility of caring
for a young cat. The startled and frightened cat found
herself in a "carrier on wheels," headed for a home on the
edge of a small town.

Two adolescent girls welcomed the unplanned, new addition
to the family, naming her Caterina, after the current Perry
Como hit, "Ca-ter-i-na; oh ho ho..." Katie, as she was
dubbed, made herself at home, both indoors and outdoors.

A few comfortable years with her new family suddenly came
to a standstill as she noticed furniture relocating and
boxes of clothing and dishes appearing from out of no
where.

"Not again!" she complained to herself, "They're not moving
me to another home are they? Why?"

One day, as the house became empty, she was placed, once
more, in a "carrier on wheels," but the rest of the family
was with her this time. Was someone giving away the entire
family, she worried?

Another new home all right; interesting indoors and
outdoors to learn, if she just wasn't so frightened.

Katie leapt from window to window, occasionally leaving
"presents" from her GI tract. Though she was not allowed
outside at first, she worked it all out in her mind,
joining the view from each window into a mental tapestry.

"Too many of those noisy carriers, usually carrying no cats
anyway; they were definitely something to fear.

Humans, smaller in stature and shrill-voiced, appeared in
droves at certain times of the day. They were something
else to be feared.

She consoled herself, to some degree, noticing the trees
and other plants. Bewildered, she saw the familiar picnic
table and other objects which had--well, how had they
gotten here?

At night, Katie was carried to the garage, and by day, she
played the window game and eventually spent more time
outside.

On an icy, winter's day, snug and warm in the house, Katie
discovered something utterly fascinating.

In the bathroom she found a counter on which she could
jump, and there, in a "window," was another cat, exactly
like Katie, looking back at her.

A yowl or two of apprehension and curiosity welled from
Katie's slight being. At that very moment, the other cat
opened her mouth, too, but no sound came forth.

Katie stood on her hind legs and as she did so, the other
kitty did the same.

When Katie walked back and forth along the counter, the cat
in the mirror did the same.

Feeling no apparent harm in this situation, Katie made
friendly conversation. The cat in the mirror seemed to
echo her communication, yet, oddly, without sound.

Just as Katie had chosen to prance on the mirror, in a
friendly manner, she saw the other kitty doing likewise.

"Why is she being such a, well, a copy cat?" Katie
wondered.

Their noses seemed to touch but she felt only hers on a
cool, hard pane. Their paws met, too, but again, Katie
felt only the mirror panel. Slightly disgusted at the
starkness of the mirror, Katie's tail slowly swayed back
and forth, prompting a similar response in the other kitty.

Why couldn't they hear each other? Why couldn't they
remove the mirror so they could touch each other?

Bewildered, yet continuing her curiosity, she left the
scene, finding herself once more either moving from one
window to another or spending more time outside.

On subsequent occasions when Katie and the mirror cat
entertained each other, the humans seemed to be quite
uproariously amused indeed. Katie was told how cute she
was, pictures were taken, and the teenage girls insisted on
showing their friends Katie's new-found game.

Katie contemplated the mystery yet further, when one day,
she realized that the cat in the mirror was pregnant, just
as she was, and she was wearing a blue-and-white homemade
collar, identical to the one Katie wore, as a gift from one
of her human sisters. "How could this be?"

When Katie's kittens had died and a slim Katie approached
the mirror, there was the other cat, slim as she. When she
related her sad loss, the other kitty seemed to say the
same, minus the sad meow.

During another pregnancy, Katie became very ill, spending
most of her time out in the garage. The human called "Dad"
watched over her, and when the time came for her to
deliver, she had no strength. "Dad" helped deliver a
large, lifeless gray kitten.

Weakened and saddened, Katie brought her plight to her
mirror friend who seemed to go through the motions, as
usual, but without--what was it? Was this cat not really
alive as Katie was? The more she pondered, the less Katie
understood this relationship which seemed to be based
totally on her initiation. However, there was something
alluring about it, so she kept coming back...

Until one day, ill once more, kittens on the way, "Dad"
watched over her as before. On this occasion, Katie was
too weak to deliver.

One last trip in the "carrier on wheels," to the vet, and
the news was not good. Katie had five lifeless kittens
inside her causing systemic toxicity. The vet kindly
reported to the family that even if he delivered the
kittens, Katie was most likely unable to recover.

A decision was made, and Katie was given tearful good-byes
from her favorite humans, who loved her as much as she
loved them. She saw her family for the last time, noticed
she still had the homemade blue-and-white collar around
her neck, and then all was silent.

Now she could go look for that cat in the mirror. Would
she realize that the other cat was a reflection of
herself?

Now, at long last, would she finally understand that
Katie did it?

KATIE DID IT

By Lauren Merryfield