Although the card on my cage in the Animal Orphanage said the kind of cat I am and guessed my age and personality, there was one thing it didn't say. It didn't say that I was very very sick.

You see, I had a serious problem with my belly. It poked out in places it shouldn't poke.  Because of this I couldn't jump properly and I didn't play very much.  I had to be very careful when I walked because the place where my belly poked out was very sensitive.

Mommy and Daddy didn't notice my problem when they first got me home because I followed the cat rule that says whenever you go into a new place you hide until you know it's safe.  As soon as they opened the door to the cage they brought me home in, I rushed straight to the nearest safe place--under the bed.  I knew it was very safe because it was very cozy.  There were hundreds and hundreds(or maybe forty because I can't really count) shoe boxes under a very big bed. And I could curl up in between the boxes and no one could ever find me. Well, maybe they found me a little bit because they would lie on the bed and stick their heads down so I could see them upside down and they would talk to me soft and friendly.    

After a while, I realized no one was probably going to hurt me and I began to cautiously explore the house. I carefully snuck out from under the bed and found other places I could hide. There was a little cave under Daddy Ted's desk.  And I could hide under Mommy's desk and under the couch.  I knew I was going to be safe because Mommy and Daddy let me hide wherever I wanted to.  And they told me I hid very very good whenever they came to look in on me, so I knew I did a good job.

It wasn't until the next day that Daddy Ted noticed the problem with my belly. That was when I started to let them pet me.  They pet me while I ate and told me I was good.  Then they pet me when I shit in the litter box and told me I was good then too. Now I like being pet like that so much that I try to wait until Mommy and Daddy are home before I eat and shit. I always feels much better when I'm being told I'm a good boy.

But back to those early days.  When Mommy first pet me, she it felt like I had a layer of dust in my fur. And when Daddy pet me he felt my belly at the same time.  He did it very gently, so I didn't run away.  Then he and Mommy both got very worried.  

The next day they put me back in the cage and took me back to the animal orphanage.  And then they left.  I thought they left me there because I was too much trouble.  I thought maybe my whole story was over.  Then the animal orphanage people stuck me with one of those medicine needles and I went to sleep.

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