Dedicated to families who open their hearts to animals in need.
Teddy was hot. And to be honest, he was getting tired.
He’d been helping his father weed the flower beds in the backyard all morning and it was hard work. But they were almost finished, so he was not going to quit now!
He liked helping his father do chores like this.
Sure, sometimes it was hard work. But, work or play, they always had fun when they were doing things together.
Teddy had just finished pulling up the last of the weeds when his mother came out to the porch carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and a plate full of cookies.
“A little snack for my hard-working men,” she said.
Mom set the tray down on the picnic table and looked around the backyard.
“My!” she said. “What an improvement!” The flowerbeds do look beautiful! Come and have a cool drink and some cookies.”
Dad stood up and took off his gloves. “Come on son,” he said. “I think we’ve earned ourselves a break.”
Dad and Teddy went to the hose bib on the side of the house and washed their hands while Mom poured a glass of lemonade for each of them.
There was a gentle breeze blowing and big white clouds were slowly drifting across the sky overhead.
It was a warm and sunny afternoon.
Teddy took a long drink of cold lemonade and immediately felt refreshed.
Dad surveyed the yard thoughtfully as they sat in silence around the table.
“You know,” he said, “It’s hard work to keep the yard looking like this, but I think it’s worth it.”
“Everything looks beautiful!” said Mom. “Good job, boys!”
All of a sudden, Mom’s expression changed.
“Listen,” she said. “Do you hear that?”
Dad and Teddy stopped eating their cookies and listened intently.
After a moment, Dad said “I don’t hear anything.”
“I do,” said Teddy. “It sounds like a kitten. But where is it coming from?”
“There!” said Mom. And she pointed to the fence at the far corner of the yard.
As they watched, a small orange kitten squeezed through the slats of the backyard fence and came walking towards them.
“My goodness,” said Mom. “I wonder where it came from?”
The little orange kitten continued toward them, mewling all the way to the porch steps.
The kitten tried to climb the steps, but they were just too high and the kitten was just too small.
“He must be lost,” said Dad. “He’s too little to be out on his own.”
Dad went down the steps and gently picked up the kitten.
At first the kitten meowed loudly, but when Dad held the kitten to his chest, it began mewling again.
“What should we do?” asked Teddy.
“The best thing to do would be to reunite it with its family,” said Mom. “Let’s have a look at it and make sure it’s not injured.”
Mom sat down on the porch steps. Teddy carefully took the kitten from his father and handed the kitten to her.
Mom gently stroked the little kitten while she gave it an inspection from nose to tail.
“She looks healthy enough,” said Mom. “No obvious injuries. But I’ll bet she’s hungry.”
“She?” asked Teddy.
“Yes,” said Mom. “This is a little female tabby. About eight weeks old I think. Let’s give her a little warm milk and see if she’ll drink it.”
Mom handed the little kitten back to Teddy and went to the kitchen to warm some milk.
“How does Mom know it’s a girl cat?” asked Teddy.
“Well,” said Dad, “Your Mom learned about all kinds of different animals when she was studying to become a veterinarian.”
“She knows a lot about dogs, cats, horses and all kinds of animals.”
Just then Mom came out to the porch carrying a little saucer full of milk.
She placed the saucer of milk on the porch deck and Teddy gently placed the little kitten down in front of it.
The little kitten began mewling loudly as she sniffed the milk in the saucer.
She didn’t seem to know what to do.
Mom put a drop of milk on her finger and touched it to the kitten’s mouth.
The little kitten stopped mewling and licked the milk off her fur with a long pink tongue.
She sniffed at the milk in the saucer again, then began lapping it up greedily.
“Wow! She’s really hungry,” said Teddy.
“Why don’t you keep an eye on her while Dad and I check with the neighbors to see if anyone has lost a kitten,” said Mom.
Teddy sat down on the porch deck next to the kitten and watched her lap up the milk while Mom and Dad went out the backyard gate to check with the neighbors.
The little kitten continued lapping up the milk until the saucer was completely empty.
Then she climbed up onto Teddy’s lap and curled up into a little furry ball.
“Sleepy after that big meal?” said Teddy softly.
The little kitten didn’t stir. Apparently, she was sleepy.
And watching her was making Teddy feel a bit sleepy as well.
Soon, he heard the gate open and Mom and Dad came up the steps to the porch.
“Unfortunately, no one is missing a kitten,” said Mom.
“Since she’s too little to be out on her own, I guess we’ll have to keep her at least for tonight.
Maybe someone will come looking for her tomorrow.”
“I’m not saying we can keep her,” said Mom. “But we need to take care of her until we find her family.
Now, I think I’d best start supper. It’s getting late and I know my hard-working men will be hungry tonight,” said Mom.
“Can I take her up to my room to play for a while?” asked Teddy.
Mom smiled. “Maybe you should let her finish her nap first,”
“I’ll run to the store and pick up a few cat supplies for tonight,” said Dad.
Teddy carefully stood up, cradling the little kitten in his arms, and carried her upstairs to his room.
Teddy gently laid the kitten in the middle of his bed and then sat down on the floor and watched her sleep.
Soon, Mom walked into his room carrying a shoebox filled with a soft fluffy towel.
“Here, Teddy,” she said. “Maybe this would be a good bed for her to use tonight,” said Mom.
“That’s perfect,” said Teddy. “Thanks, Mom!”
Soon it was almost time for supper and Teddy took the kitten downstairs with him to the kitchen.
Dad was home from the store and was putting things away while Mom finished cooking.
“How’s the kitten doing?” asked Dad.
“She’s doing great!” replied Teddy.
“Well, I picked up a few things we might need tonight,” said Dad. “I bought some kitten food, some cat litter and a few cat toys to keep her entertained.”
Dad continued to put away the groceries.
When he pulled an orange jar out of the bag it caught Teddy’s eye.
“What’s that?” asked Teddy.
“Oh, that’s a jar of marmalade I bought to spread on my toast for breakfast,” said Dad.
“It’s the same color as the kitten!” exclaimed Teddy.
“You’re right!” said Dad.
“I think you’ve just found a name for our little guest!” said Mom.
“Marmalade?” asked Teddy.
“Why not?” said Dad. “It suits her!”
And that’s the story of how Marmalade became a member of Teddy’s family.