Tyler and The Ghost Cat

by Marie Helen Turner

Tyler and Cassie jumped over puddles along the side of their lane. They stopped and looked up at Mr. Hornby’s empty house.

“I miss Oliver,” Tyler said. Oliver was Mr. Hornby’s fluffy white cat.

“Me, too,” his big sister said. “I wish our moms would let us have a cat.”

Meow-ow--ow!

Tyler shivered. “What was that? It sounded like a--a ghost cat!”

“I think it’s Oliver! He came back to his old house!” Cassie ran to look for him. “Here, Oliver!”

Tyler helped search. “There he is!” He pointed under a bush. “Here, kitty!”

The cat sneezed. It was soaking wet and covered in mud. “Oliver!” Cassie called, but it didn’t come to her. She took off her jacket and grabbed the cat with it.

Tyler ran home ahead of them. “Take those wet boots off!” Lisa-mom called as he rushed in. He kicked them off and held the door open for Cassie. After he closed it, she set the cat down. It darted under the table, swishing its tail.

“It’s Oliver!” Tyler said to Lisa-mom. “He came back to his old house! We heard him going, meow-ow-ow! and I thought it was a ghost cat!”

“If it is Oliver, he’s lost his collar,” Lisa-mom said. “And he’s walked a long way. It’s probably a stray. Poor little guy, he’s scared.” She laid a thick towel under a chair and set a saucer of milk next to it. “We’ll leave him alone for a while.”

Lisa-mom put Cassie’s jacket in the washing machine, then she phoned Mr. Hornby. He didn’t answer, so Lisa-mom left a message. She called Kailey-mom next and asked her to pick up a can of cat food.

“If it’s a stray cat, can we keep him?” Tyler asked. “We could call him Spooky! Because he’s white, and he sounded spooky!”

“Please?” Cassie begged. “We’ll look after him!”

Lisa-mom shook her head. “If it’s not Oliver, it’s someone’s lost cat. First we need to look for its owner.”

Tyler hoped no-one would come for the cat, not even Mr. Hornby. Then they could keep Spooky.

In the kitchen, the cat was curled up on the towel. The saucer was empty. Tyler filled it with water, and Cassie opened a can of tuna. The cat ate and drank, then washed its whiskers.

Lisa-mom used a towel to rub some of the mud off. Underneath was dirty white fur. “It is Oliver!” Cassie said.

“A stray cat could be white, too,” Tyler said.

Mr. Hornby still hadn’t called back when Kailey-mom came home from work. She knelt by the cat. “Hello, there. Is your name Snowboy?”

The cat’s ears perked up.

“I checked the lost cat notices outside the supermarket,” Kailey-mom said. “A man and his daughter lost their white cat. They’re coming at six thirty.”

The cat gobbled up all its food, but Tyler wasn’t hungry. He stirred his spaghetti around the plate. He wished Kailey-mom hadn’t found the lost cat notice. He wished Mr. Hornby would phone and say Oliver was safe at home.

The doorbell rang while Tyler and Cassie were clearing the table. Their moms brought Mr. Hornby into the kitchen. “Don't worry, Oliver’s at home,” he said. “I I'm so sorry I didn't call you back. I turned my phone off while I was in a meeting, and I forgot to turn it back on.”

The doorbell rang again. It was a man and a teenage girl. “You must be Mr. Wong,” Kailey-mom said, “and I bet this is Julie.”

“It’s him, Daddy! It’s Snowboy!” Julie picked up the cat. He nuzzled her chin with his head. Tyler could hear him purring.

Mr. Wong pointed to a smudge of gray fur on the cat’s chest. “I’m sure this is Snowboy. We can ask the vet to check his microchip if you like.”

Lisa-mom smiled. “No need. We can see he’s Julie’s cat.”

“She was devastated when Snowboy took off,” Mr. Wong said. “It was my fault. I burned the dinner and the fire alarm was screeching. The kitchen was full of smoke so I flung the door open.” He bent to pet the cat. “That was three days ago. Snowboy’s an indoor cat. It’s amazing how far he walked. Thank you so much for rescuing him!”

Julie let Tyler and Cassie pet Snowboy. Mr. Wong told them they’d probably saved the cat’s life. After they left, the kitchen seemed empty.

“I really, really wish we had a kitty,” Tyler said.

“Me, too,” Cassie said.

Kailey-mom turned to Mr. Hornby. “You adopted Oliver from the shelter, didn't you?"

Mr. Hornby smiled. “I did. Eight happy years ago.”

She winked at Lisa-mom. "You two took such care of Snowboy. How would you like to go to the shelter tomorrow and look for a cat of our own?"

Tyler couldn't believe it for a moment. Then he and Cassie did a happy dance down the hall, singing, "Kitty-cat! Kitty-cat! Our very own kitty-cat!"