The little kitten was meowing inconsolably, without stopping. 

     He was a small thing, orange and white, and was maybe a few months old.  They took him into the warm school for awhile and then they put him back outside as they could not keep him in.  Several children were allergic to animals and the school had a policy of no pets or perfume.  It was a bitterly cold winter day, with the temperature dropping and the beginning of another snow fall. 

     The little kitten would not give up; he wanted badly to be warm again and to sleep on a cozy chair.  As children and adults passed by, they would stop and look at him, maybe even pet him, but no one picked him up.   Maybe some children even asked their parents “Mom, can we take him home? He is so cute.” But the answer was a stern “no”.  No one wanted to bother with a stray kitten.

     During recess, Anna heard the kitten’s meows as she was passing by the school office.  “It’s not right” she thought “to leave him freezing outside”.  But she was a teacher in this school and she had a class to take care of for the rest of the day.

     The kitten’s pitiful little meows stayed with her as she was teaching her last Language Arts class.  “It could be a lesson in compassion and caring,” she said to herself, “but no one really cares.” 

     As soon as the dismissal bell rang, she hurried to the front door.  Although she had two cats at home, she would take the kitten.  “If he is still there,” she panicked, almost running to the door.  “Maybe he got run over or maybe someone called the pound.”  The pound was like a death sentence for the little kitten.

     She heard him before she saw him, his plaintive little voice calling to anyone who would listen. With him was a little girl, one of her former students, putting together a cardboard box for him. 

     “This way he won’t freeze,” said Jenny.  “I talked to my dad, but he said we couldn’t take him right now.  But what’s going to happen to him?” 

     “I’ll take him and we will try to find his owner or a good home for him.” Anna said, trying to reassure the girl.  She went outside and picked the kitten up.  His meows ceased as he snuggled close to her chest.  He was so light and so tiny she could hardly feel his weight while she carried him to her class.

     Once there, he began exploring the room, checking every corner. Then, visibly exhausted, he settled on the chair near her desk and fell asleep.  Anna had no choice but to share her chair with him, sitting on the edge while doing some marking.  The kitten seemed completely relaxed and at ease and she sensed a sweetness and genteelness from him. “What a sweetheart, how can anyone have abandoned him?”

     For the first time it occurred to her that maybe someone had simply left him near the school building, hoping that he would get picked up.  “People are irresponsible with animals, and they are cowards too,” she thought bitterly.  “I will not abandon you, poor little thing, we will find you a good home.” She stroked the kitten's matted fur as whispered to him.

      She put the kitten in a small cardboard box that someone had brought in and carried him to her car.   He did not like the box and soon was exploring every nook in her car while she was driving.  She had to stop his attempts at settling on her lap or playing with the gas and brake pedals.  She placed him firmly on the passenger seat on her right.  “You have to be a good kitty," she scolded,  "and settle down now.  We don’t want to have an accident, do we, buddy?”  The kitten curled up on the front seat, seeming to understand.  Once in awhile he crooked his little head to look up at her, but stayed calm for the rest of the trip home.

     His presence created visible stress in her two resident cats, Zizi and Blue.  While Blue circled him warily and quickly went back to his bed, Zizi hissed at him with visible discontent. She obviously did not like the newcomer in the house and felt threatened by his presence.  She would not approach him, and observed him from the distant and safe position of the kitchen countertop. 

     The little kitten, however, did not seem to care about the hostile welcome.  He devoured some food that was put out for him in a dish, and then went on his way to explore his new surroundings.  Up and down he ran, stopping briefly on the landing full of plants that offered him a good view of the main floor of the house.  He finally settled on the window shelf in a converted garage, near the big kitty condo, close to some cat toys he could play with.  For a time, he tried to catch the hanging ball, jumping up and down in visible delight, then curled up in a little ball and fell into a blissful sleep.  When Anna carefully stroked his shiny fur, she could hear him purring gently, an almost inaudible but happy purr.

     The next day, as Anna was leaving for work, she worried about the kitten.  Zizi, her other cat, continued acting viciously, hissing and trying to slap him whenever he got closer.  Blue, the big gay, was more indifferent but did not appreciate the little kitten’s attempts at play. 

     “I hope they won’t hurt him and he will not loose any body parts while we are not there.” She said to her husband. 

    At work, she wrote an advertisement about a found kitten and asked Jenny to put it up in the neighborhood.  She placed two more in her school and in the closest shopping center.  A thought crossed her mind that “Maybe he just escaped and someone is looking for him.”  She also called the pound and reported a found cat.  When they asked her to bring him in, however, she flatly refused, saying the owner could contact her.  But, as the day wore by, no one had called.  No one was looking for the little kitten.

     When she came home later that evening, she found the little kitten sleeping peacefully on the window shelf, while Zizi was at her usual place on the kitchen countertop.  Blue was snoozing, paws up, on the bed upstairs.  Things seemed in perfect order.  The little kitten was safe.

     Anna sat at her computer and wrote another ad; “Looking for a good home for a little kitten, found as a stray.  Very friendly, beautiful temperament.”

     “I have to find him a good home, he can’t really stay with us, taking care of the two cats and the dog is enough work.” She made a decision. “But he would make a wonderful pet for a family; he is so sweet and friendly, and playful too.”  She wrestled far into the morning with her thoughts, then decided she would take care of his vaccines and get him neutered.  It would be easier to get him adopted that way, she rationalized.

       She put up a flyer in her neighborhood store and another on the postal box near her house.  “Someone will surely call; people love pets in this area and take good care of them.” It was someone else's turn.  There was nothing wrong with passing on Buddy. 

     This was her last thought before falling asleep that night.

     Three days passed and no one called.  The little kitten seemed to be settling in nicely, alternating between sleeping, eating and playing.  He was a sweet thing, not bothering anyone and happy to occupy himself.  Anna’s two cats seemed to have gradually accepted his presence.  Although she still kept a safe distance, Zizi had stopped hissing at him and just avoided him.  Blue treated him with a quiet indifference and did not bother him.  Anna did not name the kitten.  She was determined not to keep it.  She did not want to get used to him too much in the event if someone called and wanted to take him in.  “You are a real sweetheart, buddy; you will make another family very happy.”  But the phone was silent.  No one was looking for him and no one wanted to bother with a kitten.

     One week passed by.  On Sunday afternoon, Anna was doing some marking, her school papers strewn all around her, when the phone rang.  She did not recognize the voice on the other end.

     “Hi, we’re calling about the little kitten you have.  You put an ad in Safeway.  We would like to have a look at him and possibly take him home.  Our old cat just passed away and we thought we would get another one...”

     The voice was friendly, and the lady sounded nice.  Anna was caught by surprise.  She almost forgot about the ad.  She hesitated for a second, and then she looked at the little kitten curled on the opposite sofa.  She finally said:

     “Thank you so much for calling, but we’ve already found a good home for him.”

     When she hung up the phone, she picked up the little kitten.  “Well, I guess I'll name you Buddy, little guy. I hope you like that name.”