“Should we get her to the vet?”
“I don’t think she’d be too impressed at being moved at the moment. If we get worried, we’ll call the vet straight away, but she seems comfortable.”
“Do we need to do anything?” Carrie asked, looking around the office like she might spot some cat labouring device handily lying around.
“The most important thing is that we keep quiet,” Michael said, pointedly. “She needs to be able to get on with it.”
“Right . . .”
“If we’d known in advance, we could have made the box more comfortable for her.”
“Does she have a basket at home that she likes? If it was put next to the cardboard box, then she could choose to move into it if she wants,” Carrie suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Michael said. “I’ll carry the box through to my house and put it next to her basket.”
“You said we shouldn’t move her!” said Carrie immediately. “She’s in labour!”
“I’ll be really careful,” he promised.
“No, leave her here,” Carrie said. “I’ll keep the office door closed so it’ll be quiet and I’ll let you know if there’s any development.”
“I can’t expect you to look after my labouring cat! And you’ve got a bookshop to run.”
“You told me she needs to be left in peace. Seriously, you can’t move her now.”
“I can look after her,” said Poppy. “Tabitha really likes me.”
“She does,” agreed Carrie, “but I’m afraid you’re too little to do that by yourself.”
“Poppy can help me look after Tabitha,” said Michael. “If you don’t mind me taking over your office as well as my pet.”
“Of course, I don’t,” said Carrie.
“I’ll put a sign on the shop saying I’m in here and I’ll bring my laptop so I can at least answer emails and maybe bid on some books.”
“Great,” Carrie said. “We’ll keep an eye on her while you get your stuff.”
“Thank you. I’ll only be a few minutes. Call me if you’re worried.”
“I will, she’ll be fine. Are you sure there isn’t anything we should be doing for her?”
“Just keep her warm and comfortable. I’ll get a pouch of her food and her water bowl in case she wants it.”
Michael left to get his and Tabitha’s things and Carrie took the opportunity to have a quick Google to see if there were any suggestions to make the poor cat more comfortable.
It seemed Michael was right and that the best thing to do was to leave the cat in peace. But maybe some relaxing music... she got the laptop from behind the counter and found a ‘Six hours of relaxing music for mindfulness’ playlist which she started playing on low.
Tabitha seemed to glare at her, but Carrie knew she must have imagined it.
“Now, Poppy darling, Tabitha needs quiet and calm, OK? It’s really important for her, so if you need to be noisy or run around you must come out of the office and go into the garden. Can you do that?”
“I can, Mummy.”
“And you need to give her some space. She probably won’t want you stroking her very much.”
Poppy nodded. “Is Tabitha really going to have kittens?”
“Apparently so,” said Carrie.
