Cat Island

At the hospital Dr Yowl was having a short catnap when his nurse Lola woke him to tell him that Amber had arrived with her kittens for their vaccinations. Having not heard what Lola had said he gave a little stretch and instructed her to give them some cod liver oil and tell them to come back in two days time to let him know how they were feeling. And, with that, he went straight back to sleep.

“Never mind”, thought Lola, “I’ll do the vaccinations myself.” In fact, Lola was much gentler when it came to giving injections.

At the Palace King Freddy was having his claws trimmed by his faithful servant Felix. Every now and then he would give a little chuckle to himself, which usually meant that he was planning a trick to play on someone. Queen Suzi was lying on a satin cushion gazing out of the window and trying to remember her speech that she made every year at the opening ceremony of Cat Pride.

In the school house Tee-Cha had the task of choosing the kitten who would present Queen Suzi with a bouquet of lavender at the party the next day. Queen Suzi particularly loved the smell of lavender as she claimed it helped her feel calm and relaxed. Sitting at the back of the classroom was Bertie, who was King Freddy’s nephew and, like his uncle, he also loved playing tricks. Tee-Cha decided that he should give the bouquet to Queen Suzi and it was a decision that she would later regret.

All the cats went to bed early that night as they wanted to be bright, fresh and shiny furred for the party the next day.

At last the day of the party had arrived and the sun shone brightly. The Palace gates had been opened wide and the cats started arriving.

The first through the gates was Yoki, a little cat from Japan, and she was dressed in a beautiful kimono. Yoki was carrying a big plate of sushi that was her gift for Queen Suzi.