Hero Cat

Once upon a time there was a cat called Gemma. One day a bright light shone in the sky and hit her eye like a big pizza pie. She had superpowers. Magic! Gemma learned to talk like a person. She grew bigger than she had ever been and she could fly. Gemma the Hero Cat had a costume that never got scratched. Her claws could cu through steel and her ears could hear a pin fall miles away.

A naughty cat called Bad Kitty Claw stole all of the city’s treats, making cats everywhere sad. Gemma wouldn’t have that. She leapt into action like a cat jumping away from a cucumber it didn’t see.

Time raced. Bad kitty in her super costume threw treats at Gemma as if that would stop her. Gemma snapped them up hungrily with a huge grin on her face. Energy from the treats helped her run even faster up the giant cat tower Bad Kitty Claws called home. Thick carpet let Gemma run faster than ever vertically!

Bad Kitty was an orange cat with brown stripes. He had a pink nose and white patches on his stomach and at the tips of his paws and on the end of his tail. His whiskers were soft white and a collar meant he had been someone’s cat at one point. His teeth were white and his mouth smelled of tuna and chicken. His whiskeys were long white and thick. He has a big tummy because he steals food from all of the local cats and dogs. Sometimes he even steals food from the butchers.

When it came to big cats there were none as big as Big Bad Kitty Claws. He towered over most dogs! He sat at the top of the food chain, nibbling sausages!

Gemma came closer and closer. Faster and faster. Bad Kitty Claws looked like a mountain of orange fur. Gemma’s heart raced. She was scared. She was never scared of anything. She was the bravest cat in the city, if not the world. Thunder and lightning didn’t scare her this badly. Even the vet wasn’t so terrifying. Gemma nodded her head and licked her lips.

“Im not afraid of you Bad Kitty,” Gemma lied. Her body shook with emotion.

“Yes you are, Hero Cat. Everyone is afraid of me. I’m the big cat in this little town. I have claws in every pie there is. And they all taste wonderful.” Big Bad Kitty Claws swished his tail. He was getting nervous. He knew about the Hero Cat’s legend. She had defeated crocodiles who took over the Cat Cafe. She’s stopped stripes zebras who blockaded the broccoli farm. She tripped a tiger shark in the zoo who was biting a diver trying to feed it. Gemma was the real deal, a big cheese.

“Im not afraid of you and I’ll show you when I defeat you. You need to give back the treats you stole. It’s not fair on the other cats of the city. All of them are sad and hungry because you took the treats. That’s not fair, Big Bad Kitty Claws.”

“Fair?! You want to talk to me about fair? I was abandoned. Thrown out for eating too much of my owner’s food.” Big Bad Kitty Claws pulled at his collar. “This is a reminder of what I was. They pretended they loved me. Then they threw me out like I was nothing but trash. Garbage.” He turned away, eyes closed.

Gemma saw the sparkle of a tear in his eye. She stopped in her tracks.

“Is that what this is about? You’re taking revenge and eating your feelings? You don’t have to do that. You’re a handsome cat. Find a new family, one that loves you.”

“No. No one loves me. It doesn’t matter. I’ll eat what I want. I’ll take what I want and no one can stop me!”

“Wait. No. Why don’t we say you found the missing treats. You can be the hero today. You can give them back. You can tell everyone you need a new family while you’re in the spotlight. You’ll find a new family today.” Gemma smiled to sell the story. He had to believe her.

“You really think so?” Big Bad Kitty Claw’s expression softened. His shoulders sagged. “I don’t know. I can’t go through the pain again.” He twitched. His eyes narrowed. “Wait.” He stood side on. Hairs bristling. “You’re tricking me! Give away my treats? No. You’re lying.” His tail waved. Big Bad Kitty Claws doubled in size.

“No. Really.” Gemma backed away, making herself small. “I mean it. You can have all the love you need if you just give this up. This isn’t you. I can see the love in your eyes. You have a big heart, Claws.” She wanted to appeal to the goodness in him. She was certain he could find a family quickly.

“Do you think I’m a fool? I have all of the treats. ALL OF THEM. What more could I need? The love of humans who will forget me? No. I'm Big Bag Kitty Claws, undefeated feline felon number one.” A big smile, big enough to swallow all of the mice in the world, spread across his lips.

Then he spasmed. He flinched. He leaned forwards and coughed. A horrible gagging sound filled the space. The sound echoed off the walls of the warehouse where Big Bad Kitty Claws had hidden all of the treats that sat bagged in piles to the ceiling all around him. He had made the bags into his throne, looking down on Gemma.

“You can be a good cat. You can have hugs whenever you want. You can be stroked. Someone will scratch behind your ears. No amount of treats can get you that.” She put all of her love into it. The love her family had shown her since she was a kitten still trying to work out the secrets of the litter box.

Big Bad Kitty Claws coughed up a furball that slipped down the bags of treats. “Yes. I want that. I want that so much.”

He turned his back. Gemma called in the find. Cats swarmed the warehouse from every direction. Gemma said nothing about Big Bad Kitty Claws taking them. There was a party. People came with their cats. There was catnip.Gemma told people he was looking for a new owner. Within an hour a girl in a pink dress was rubbing his tummy and everyone knew his name was Brian. Everyone was happy.