Alfie the Doorstep Cat
For all fans of A Street Cat Named Bob, this is the only book to find in your stocking this Christmas.Can a pet really change your life?Alfie is homeless, abandoned after his elderly owner passes away. But when he stumbles on to Edgar Road, Alfie knows he’s found his new home.However, the street’s residents don’t agree – the last thing they need is another stray cat, and he is shooed away from many doorsteps.But as life throws its worst at the residents of Edgar Road, they soon realise how much they all need Alfie – a cat who brings hope to the darkest times, and who will always be a friend to those in need.Heart-warming and uplifting, Alfie the Doorstep Cat is the perfect read for fans of ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’ and ‘Solomon’s Tale’.
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HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
Copyright © Rachel Wells 2014
Cover image © Shutterstock 2014
Cover design © Emma Rogers 2014
Faith Bleasdale, writing as Rachel Wells, asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008101626
Ebook Edition © October 2014 ISBN: 9780008101619
Version: 2014-09-15
To Ginger, my first cat who I took on walks on his lead and let me treat him as if he was a doll. You are long gone but never forgotten.
Contents
‘It’s not going to take too long to pack up the house,’ Linda said.
‘Linda, you’re so optimistic; look at all the junk your mother collected,’ Jeremy replied.
‘That’s unfair. She’s got some nice china and you never know, some of it might be worth something.’
I was pretending to be asleep but my ears were pricked up, listening to what was being said as I tried to stop my tail flicking in agitation. I was curled up on Margaret’s favourite chair – or rather, the chair that had been her favourite – watching her daughter and son-in-law discuss what would happen; determining my future. The past few days had been so terrifyingly confusing, especially as I didn’t fully understand what had happened. However, what I did understand as I listened, trying my best not to cry, was that life would never be the same again.
‘You’ll be lucky. Anyway, we should call a house clearance place. Lord knows we don’t want any of her stuff.’ I tried to sneak a look without them noticing. Jeremy was tall, grey haired and bad tempered. I had never really liked him, but the woman, Linda, had always been nice to me.
‘I’d like a chance to keep a few of Mum’s things. I’ll miss her.’ Linda started crying and I yearned to yowl along with her, but I kept quiet.
‘I know, love,’ Jeremy’s voice softened. ‘It’s just that we can’t stay here forever. Now the funeral’s over, we need to think about getting the house on the market and, well, if we get it packed up, we can be off in a few days.’
‘It just seems so final, though. But you’re right, of course.’ She sighed. ‘And what about Alfie?’ I bristled. This was what I was waiting for. What would happen to me?
‘We need to put him in a shelter I suppose.’ I felt my fur stand on end.
‘A shelter? But Mum loved him so much. It seems so cruel to just get rid of him.’ I wished I could voice my agreement with her; it was beyond cruel.
’But you know we can’t take him home. We’ve got two dogs, love. A cat just won’t work for us, you know that.’
I was incensed. It wasn’t that I wanted to go with them, but I absolutely couldn’t go to a shelter.
Shelter. My body shuddered at the word; such an inappropriate name for what we in the cat community thought of as ‘death row’. There might be a few lucky cats who got re-homed, but then who knew what happened to them? Who was to say that the family that re-homed them would treat them well? The cats I knew unanimously agreed that a shelter was a bad place. And we knew full well that for those that weren’t re-homed, the death sentence loomed.
Although I considered myself a handsome cat with a certain kind of charm, there was no way I was going to take that risk.
‘I know you’re right, the dogs would eat him alive. And they’re very good at these shelters these days, so he might be re-homed quickly.’ She paused as if she was still mulling things over. ‘No, it has to be done. I’ll call the shelter in the morning and the house clearance company. Then I guess we can get an estate agent round.’ She sounded more sure of herself and I knew my fate had been sealed unless I did something about it.
