Catch up with Leo the cat
On His Way Home
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New readers welcome!
Previous chapters, originally published in Richmond Hill Neighbors Magazine, are available on this page. So, if you're a new reader, or just missed last month's issue, scroll down and catch up. You'll also find clues about where Leo will go next. |
Video Clue: Part 3
Do you recognize where in Richmond Hill Leo will be for part 3?
Connect with me to share your guesses.
Scroll down for previous installments.
Video Clue: Part 1
Do you recognize where in Richmond Hill Leo began in part 1?
On His Way Home Part 1
My Humans
by Jeffrey Pax
Stretching all four legs and all 18 toes, Leo rolled onto his other side. His tail slapped the wood of the deck beside the inground pool. He blinked in the bright July sun. The shadow of the spindly crape myrtle made a circle around its trunk.
Midday, Leo thought. Too hot for a chubby tabby cat, with the sun high in the sky.
He stood with his back legs straight up, sliding his front paws far forward, with eyes closed, into a big cat stretch. Then he sauntered down the steps to take shelter in the shade below the deck.
Life was good. But he was a little irritated that day. Naptime had been interrupted, again. Early yesterday, an orange and white truck arrived. Matthew backed it into the driveway. A metal ramp clanged onto the cement. Leo had never seen his human drive anything like that before. All day long, Matthew and Ashley slammed tables and banged couches, dragging them out of the house. So many boxes. They were back at it again today. Leo pressed one ear to the soft dirt and put a paw over the other, trying to go back to sleep.
“LEOOOOOOOOO?”
The cat’s ears perked up. It was his favorite human, and the smallest in the family, Sophia.
“Leo?” she called again, closing the sliding glass door behind her.
“Leo!” She smiled and met the cat on the steps.
She prattled on and on about some place called “Ohio,” while Leo rubbed against her legs. He flopped on the grass, and the girl petted him. She sounded a little sad, talking about how many hours it would take to get there, so Leo climbed into her lap. He loved Sophia as much as he loved ear scratches, but he wasn’t too fond of hugs. He didn’t like to feel trapped, even for a second. But he let her hug him when he could tell she needed it.
“Here, honey,” Ashley said from the doorway. Leo jumped down as Sophia jumped up. Just the crinkly sound of that bag got Leo excited. “I know it’s early, but we gotta go soon.”
“I know.” Sophia took the bag to the corner of the yard, by the birdbath.
Nom nom nom. The earlier the better, in Leo’s opinion. Usually, someone brought out these crunchy, delicious little brown pellets around sunset. They put water in the birdbath and the pellets on a big flat stone in the corner, and he loved them for it.
“He’ll be fine,” Ashley said from the deck. “He’s a cat.”
“Bye,” Sophia said.
Nom nom nom.
The rest of the day was quiet. Leo got a good nap in.
The next morning was quiet, too. Leo thought it was strange that nobody came out to see him. That afternoon was quiet, again.
When the sun fully set, he realized no one was coming to fill the birdbath that day. No one put food on the big stone for him. It had happened before, once in a while, but this time felt different.
Leo sat alone in the darkness.
Another day came and went. No food, no water, and no humans. Leo’s stomach growled. He licked the bottom of the dry birdbath. He sniffed around the big empty stone. He remembered catching mice and birds with his brothers and sisters when he was very young. But his mother was gone. His siblings had all moved out of Richmond Place, and he’d grown plump and happy with Sophia feeding him ever since.
One afternoon, the hot sun hid behind grey clouds. Leo took shelter under the deck when the rain came. He wished someone would come out and pet him. His stomach growled, but that wasn’t why he was sad. Watching the birdbath fill up with water, he realized why.
I miss my humans.
Stretching all four legs and all 18 toes, Leo rolled onto his other side. His tail slapped the wood of the deck. A familiar grinding sound pulled him from his nap. My humans!
Leo looked to see the glass door sliding open. My humans are home! he thought, trotting over to greet them.
“KITTY!”
AAAHHHH!!!!!
It was not Sophia, Ashley, or Matthew. It was not his humans. A big male and a big female stood behind a tiny child.
“Kitty!” the boy screamed again, with a big, open-mouthed smile and two hands reaching out to grab Leo. “Kitty!” he screamed, running onto the deck.
“Ahh!” Leo meowed loudly, sprinting away.
Just before the child could grab him, the cat took shelter under the deck.
“Don’t touch that thing,” the big male said, picking up the bird bath. “Probably has fleas.” And he dropped the birdbath in the trash can on the side of the house.
Where are MY humans?
Midday, Leo thought. Too hot for a chubby tabby cat, with the sun high in the sky.
He stood with his back legs straight up, sliding his front paws far forward, with eyes closed, into a big cat stretch. Then he sauntered down the steps to take shelter in the shade below the deck.
Life was good. But he was a little irritated that day. Naptime had been interrupted, again. Early yesterday, an orange and white truck arrived. Matthew backed it into the driveway. A metal ramp clanged onto the cement. Leo had never seen his human drive anything like that before. All day long, Matthew and Ashley slammed tables and banged couches, dragging them out of the house. So many boxes. They were back at it again today. Leo pressed one ear to the soft dirt and put a paw over the other, trying to go back to sleep.
“LEOOOOOOOOO?”
The cat’s ears perked up. It was his favorite human, and the smallest in the family, Sophia.
“Leo?” she called again, closing the sliding glass door behind her.
“Leo!” She smiled and met the cat on the steps.
She prattled on and on about some place called “Ohio,” while Leo rubbed against her legs. He flopped on the grass, and the girl petted him. She sounded a little sad, talking about how many hours it would take to get there, so Leo climbed into her lap. He loved Sophia as much as he loved ear scratches, but he wasn’t too fond of hugs. He didn’t like to feel trapped, even for a second. But he let her hug him when he could tell she needed it.
“Here, honey,” Ashley said from the doorway. Leo jumped down as Sophia jumped up. Just the crinkly sound of that bag got Leo excited. “I know it’s early, but we gotta go soon.”
“I know.” Sophia took the bag to the corner of the yard, by the birdbath.
Nom nom nom. The earlier the better, in Leo’s opinion. Usually, someone brought out these crunchy, delicious little brown pellets around sunset. They put water in the birdbath and the pellets on a big flat stone in the corner, and he loved them for it.
“He’ll be fine,” Ashley said from the deck. “He’s a cat.”
“Bye,” Sophia said.
Nom nom nom.
The rest of the day was quiet. Leo got a good nap in.
The next morning was quiet, too. Leo thought it was strange that nobody came out to see him. That afternoon was quiet, again.
When the sun fully set, he realized no one was coming to fill the birdbath that day. No one put food on the big stone for him. It had happened before, once in a while, but this time felt different.
Leo sat alone in the darkness.
Another day came and went. No food, no water, and no humans. Leo’s stomach growled. He licked the bottom of the dry birdbath. He sniffed around the big empty stone. He remembered catching mice and birds with his brothers and sisters when he was very young. But his mother was gone. His siblings had all moved out of Richmond Place, and he’d grown plump and happy with Sophia feeding him ever since.
One afternoon, the hot sun hid behind grey clouds. Leo took shelter under the deck when the rain came. He wished someone would come out and pet him. His stomach growled, but that wasn’t why he was sad. Watching the birdbath fill up with water, he realized why.
I miss my humans.
Stretching all four legs and all 18 toes, Leo rolled onto his other side. His tail slapped the wood of the deck. A familiar grinding sound pulled him from his nap. My humans!
Leo looked to see the glass door sliding open. My humans are home! he thought, trotting over to greet them.
“KITTY!”
AAAHHHH!!!!!
It was not Sophia, Ashley, or Matthew. It was not his humans. A big male and a big female stood behind a tiny child.
“Kitty!” the boy screamed again, with a big, open-mouthed smile and two hands reaching out to grab Leo. “Kitty!” he screamed, running onto the deck.
“Ahh!” Leo meowed loudly, sprinting away.
Just before the child could grab him, the cat took shelter under the deck.
“Don’t touch that thing,” the big male said, picking up the bird bath. “Probably has fleas.” And he dropped the birdbath in the trash can on the side of the house.
Where are MY humans?
Video Clue: Part 2
Do you recognize where in Richmond Hill Leo was in part 2?
On His Way Home Part 2
Not My Humans
by Jeffrey Pax
Stretching all four legs and all 18 toes, Leo woke. For several seconds, he was happy and comfortable, then he remembered.
He looked around at the strange furniture on his deck. He looked at the patch of dead grass where he used to drink from a birdbath beside the big flat stone that used to have food for him. He remembered the family he loved and missed.
“Shoo!” the large female clapped her hands and stomped her feet, coming through the sliding glass door. “Get outta here!”
Hunkering under the deck, Leo remembered how things had changed.
The smallest of these humans was Leo’s least favorite, all noise and grabbing hands. It was so loud, stomping around on the deck, for such a little human. Leo wanted nothing to do with it, but he did want what was in its hand.
Mild milky sweetness, Leo followed his nose out from under the deck, up the steps, and toward the little human, with a cheese stick in his pudgy fist.
“KITTY!” the boy squealed, dropping his snack.
With hunger-fueled bravery, Leo dove for it.
“KITTY!” the boy squealed delightedly, patting Leo’s back so hard it could be called slapping.
Leo groaned, through a mouthful of mozzarella, and ran off.
“NO!” the big female said, setting a glass pot full of plastic flowers on the deck beside her child, who started crying the moment he saw that his snack had been taken. “You evil creature.”
Leo hadn’t eaten in days. He gobbled down the salty, delicious cheese on the flat stone that used to have food for him every evening.
The female stomped back into the house, returning with a broom. “Now I’ll get you!” she said through clenched teeth. With her feet wide apart, she held the broom straight up by the end of the handle. In one motion, she brought it down like the big sledgehammer at a carnival Strongman game. SLAP, it hit the stone. Leo was already gone, grumbling and hissing, from the other side of the yard.
“Get back here,” she sprinted after him, swinging the broom like a sword. Cornered, Leo ran one way, jumped, and pushed off the fence midair with his back feet, changing direction. The human tried to change direction just as quickly, but lost her balance and fell onto the grass. Laughing at her from the deck, the boy seemed to have forgotten all about his missing cheese stick.
“AHH!” the woman screamed.
Dashing around the inground pool and up the steps, Leo went between the boy and the flower pot. The boy lunged at the cat, and his mother swerved to avoid trampling him. Instead, she kicked the flower pot. It left a big crack in the sliding glass door, and shattered against it.
“OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!” she yelped, hopping on one foot. Then, with fire in her eyes, she saw Leo go back under the deck. “I’ll get you!” she shrieked, hopping down the steps.
Jabbing the broom at the frightened, hissing cat, she crouched beside the deck.
With no other choice, Leo pounced.
Stumbling backward, dropping the broom, the woman fell into the pool. The boy kept laughing as she screamed and splashed. With wet hair matted to her face, she climbed the ladder and stood on the grass. Then she took the phone from her pocket and screamed some more. “That’s IT!”
For a long time, Leo took shelter under the deck. For a long time, the woman’s phone sat in a bag of dry rice, in full sun, on the deck. Finally taking it out of the bag, she did a little happy dance when it lit up. Holding it a few inches from her face, she said, “Bryan… County… Animal… Control.”
Hours later, the sound of the side gate opening woke the cat. He went to investigate. Leo knew what it meant when he saw the weird little truck with cages on the back. More than one friend had disappeared into that truck before. But Leo never thought it would come here, for him.
His humans, his family, had left. They didn’t take him with them, and they weren’t coming back.
These humans live here, he thought. This is their house now.
“There it is,” the woman said to the man, as they entered the backyard. He held a catch pole, a metal stick with a choking loop on the end. “That’s the feral animal that attacked my child! Probably has rabies. Or at least feline AIDS. Get it. Protect us!”
Leo stood on the fence, turning his back to the home he’d lost, the home that was taken from him. With a swoosh, his paws landed in the grass on the outside of the fenced yard. He took a few quick steps and decided not to look back. He didn’t know where he was going, only away, forward, on.
He left behind being left behind.
He looked around at the strange furniture on his deck. He looked at the patch of dead grass where he used to drink from a birdbath beside the big flat stone that used to have food for him. He remembered the family he loved and missed.
“Shoo!” the large female clapped her hands and stomped her feet, coming through the sliding glass door. “Get outta here!”
Hunkering under the deck, Leo remembered how things had changed.
The smallest of these humans was Leo’s least favorite, all noise and grabbing hands. It was so loud, stomping around on the deck, for such a little human. Leo wanted nothing to do with it, but he did want what was in its hand.
Mild milky sweetness, Leo followed his nose out from under the deck, up the steps, and toward the little human, with a cheese stick in his pudgy fist.
“KITTY!” the boy squealed, dropping his snack.
With hunger-fueled bravery, Leo dove for it.
“KITTY!” the boy squealed delightedly, patting Leo’s back so hard it could be called slapping.
Leo groaned, through a mouthful of mozzarella, and ran off.
“NO!” the big female said, setting a glass pot full of plastic flowers on the deck beside her child, who started crying the moment he saw that his snack had been taken. “You evil creature.”
Leo hadn’t eaten in days. He gobbled down the salty, delicious cheese on the flat stone that used to have food for him every evening.
The female stomped back into the house, returning with a broom. “Now I’ll get you!” she said through clenched teeth. With her feet wide apart, she held the broom straight up by the end of the handle. In one motion, she brought it down like the big sledgehammer at a carnival Strongman game. SLAP, it hit the stone. Leo was already gone, grumbling and hissing, from the other side of the yard.
“Get back here,” she sprinted after him, swinging the broom like a sword. Cornered, Leo ran one way, jumped, and pushed off the fence midair with his back feet, changing direction. The human tried to change direction just as quickly, but lost her balance and fell onto the grass. Laughing at her from the deck, the boy seemed to have forgotten all about his missing cheese stick.
“AHH!” the woman screamed.
Dashing around the inground pool and up the steps, Leo went between the boy and the flower pot. The boy lunged at the cat, and his mother swerved to avoid trampling him. Instead, she kicked the flower pot. It left a big crack in the sliding glass door, and shattered against it.
“OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!” she yelped, hopping on one foot. Then, with fire in her eyes, she saw Leo go back under the deck. “I’ll get you!” she shrieked, hopping down the steps.
Jabbing the broom at the frightened, hissing cat, she crouched beside the deck.
With no other choice, Leo pounced.
Stumbling backward, dropping the broom, the woman fell into the pool. The boy kept laughing as she screamed and splashed. With wet hair matted to her face, she climbed the ladder and stood on the grass. Then she took the phone from her pocket and screamed some more. “That’s IT!”
For a long time, Leo took shelter under the deck. For a long time, the woman’s phone sat in a bag of dry rice, in full sun, on the deck. Finally taking it out of the bag, she did a little happy dance when it lit up. Holding it a few inches from her face, she said, “Bryan… County… Animal… Control.”
Hours later, the sound of the side gate opening woke the cat. He went to investigate. Leo knew what it meant when he saw the weird little truck with cages on the back. More than one friend had disappeared into that truck before. But Leo never thought it would come here, for him.
His humans, his family, had left. They didn’t take him with them, and they weren’t coming back.
These humans live here, he thought. This is their house now.
“There it is,” the woman said to the man, as they entered the backyard. He held a catch pole, a metal stick with a choking loop on the end. “That’s the feral animal that attacked my child! Probably has rabies. Or at least feline AIDS. Get it. Protect us!”
Leo stood on the fence, turning his back to the home he’d lost, the home that was taken from him. With a swoosh, his paws landed in the grass on the outside of the fenced yard. He took a few quick steps and decided not to look back. He didn’t know where he was going, only away, forward, on.
He left behind being left behind.
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All installments of On His Way Home were originally published in
Richmond Hill Neighbors Magazine.
