Ruby has a minion!

Baby the Angry Clockwork Blob Kitty

Information & History

Name: Ruby
Age: Three Years
Gender: Female
Breed: Unknown/Mixed
Appearance: Solid black fur, bright amber eyes. Small in stature due to being the runt of her litter; roughly the size of a one year old kitten.

Once upon a time, I was a street cat.

My mother took good care of me, and all of my brothers and sisters, right up until she knew we'd be able to look after ourselves out on the street. I remember her fondly - she made sure my siblings wouldn't push me out of the way of food, and she put a stop to them picking on me for being so small, too. I know some mother cats aren't like that at all, so I count myself lucky that she put a stop to the other kittens bullying me all the time.

She was sad on the morning she told us we had to leave her. Two of my brothers ran away without so much as a backward glance, but the rest of us - all five, including me, - lingered with her for a little bit longer, a little wary of the big, scary world. She was trying to reassure us, promising us all we would be safe and happy, that we would find a new place to call home, and eventually have families of our own to love. I couldn't find the words to tell her that this was my family, and I didn't want to have another one.

Eventually, it was only me and her left, as all of my siblings had found their courage and darted off into the stream of people in the street just ahead. The thought of it terrified me - what if someone stepped on me? Cars were loud, and push-bikes were a definite threat to the safety of my tail! The last thing I wanted to do was venture out of our cozy little alleyway where mother had set up a little nest for us all, but she insisted I do so, despite my protests. Mother gave me another gentle nuzzle and told me to be safe before nudging my rear end with her paw to get my paws moving.

It wasn't easy walking away, and I couldn't resist looking back over my shoulder as I left. My mother sat still as a statue, her ears flicked back against her head and the saddest look on her face as she watched me leave. It took a lot to keep going, to not turn and run back and beg her again to let me keep close by. She'd always told us this day would come - the day we became big enough to look after ourselves and had to go and make our own way in the world, - but I felt it had come around too soon. I wasn't even six months old yet! And yet, there I was, taking my first solo steps out into the busy street that lay just ahead of the place I had called home. I tried to stand tall and keep my ears perked (just like I'd always been taught to do), but every noise made me flinch, and so my natural reaction was to shy away. I would gain confidence in time, but those first few weeks were terrible for me.

At some point or another, I stumbled onto the dog park.

I hung around there for a little while, hidden well up high above the dogs and humans on the highest tree branch I could scramble onto. I liked being up high like that - it let me take everything in while being far enough away that I could make a quick escape if need be. I would emerge only when the sun went down because I could blend into the shadows and sneak around all I wanted, even if there were a few late walkers still hanging around.
The thought of going near a human terrified me still, even though I was quickly learning the ways of being on my own. I wasn't stupid enough to approach one, especially not one that was accompanied by a canine. I'd come nose to nose with a dog already, and the only reason I'd gotten away unharmed was the fact it was old and a little slow to react. I learned my lesson that day, that was for sure! I've always been curious, albeit a little timid sometimes. The curiosity eventually drew me down from my perch in the evenings, because sometimes someone would notice me. Often, the humans would make gentle 'Pss pss pss' noises at me, wiggling their fingers in my general direction. I didn't quite understand what the noises meant, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't start to lure me in after a time. The first time I gave into that strange tug in my stomach, a young human was standing at the bottom of my tree. She didn't scare me as much as the grown humans did, because she was smaller.

"Hi, Kitty!" Her voice was soft and quiet, and she didn't reach out toward me after I had slunk down the tree trunk. We just stared at each other for a few seconds, until she made that noise again: 'Pss, pss, pss...' This time, I couldn't stop my front paws from moving. I found myself stretching out toward her, trying to keep myself as far away as I could. She lifted her hand to me, and I almost ran away - but she was talking again, and I liked the sound of her voice. It made me feel like I was safe. "Hello, Kitty... Aren't you being brave?"

I shouldn't have let the human scratch my face

, because when she left I felt more alone than I had done before. I decided there and then that I would find someone else, someone that wanted a feline to call family. Mother had always spoken about the humans that adored cats, who would spoil them rotten and love them like their own children. I hadn't been too sure about the idea when I first started people-watching, but the idea had grown on me after my time spent with the friendly human.

The main issue with my plan to find a human family was that a lot of them had dogs. I knew some of them wouldn't mind the company of a feline, but I only had to think back to the first one-on-one confrontation I'd had a few days before to remind myself that most dogs wouldn't take too kindly to me shimmying over and laying claim on their person, or people.
Beyond the initial threat of a dog attacking me for getting too close, there was also the worry of other cats. I'd been in a number of fights since leaving my mother, and the thought of trespassing into another cats home was almost enough to make me turn tail and find somewhere new to stay.

I'm glad I didn't give up on my search

because it was only a few days later that I stumbled onto my human. Actually, I stumbled onto my big brother first.

He was a big dog; a German Shepherd, I would come to find out later. He was a giant compared to me and could have easily squished me with his paw, or swatted me away with his massive tail. I had been minding my own business, stalking after a little mouse in the bushes when Arlo's giant snout came snuffling in amongst the branches I had been hiding under. He gave me such a fright I yowled, my automatic instinct to swipe my claws across his muzzle. He yelped and stumbled back for a moment, but I was too afraid to run. His nose poked through the leaves again, sniffing furiously, so close it was almost touching me. I hissed at him, raising my paw again in warning until he stopped coming closer. He surprised me by giving a low whine, as I had expected a growl (or worse). It was enough to make me lower my paw, though my fur still bristled as fear coursed through my whole body. I'd never been this close to a dog before, and certainly not for this length of time. He whined again and finally pulled away after staring at me through the twigs and leaves, his large ears twitching toward a voice.

"Arlo! Where are you, buddy?"

The big dog barked in reply, and I shied away from the deafening noise with a small growl of annoyance. His head swung back to me, his tongue rolling from his mouth as his tail wagged furiously. It didn't take me long to realize he wasn't threatening me - he wanted to play. He had bowed down in front of my hiding spot, his rear end in the air as he made soft little growls, his whole body wiggling with anticipation. "Arlo?" The voice called again, making him whine as he shimmied slightly closer to me again, willing me to come out from where I was nestled. "C'mon, bud, it's cold! I wanna go home!"

This time, he took heed and turned away from me, bounding off toward the figure in the distance. He was leaping around his human, barking at her as she laughed and told him he was 'a daft dug'. I didn't know that she was speaking in a different dialect from what the usual humans did; she was from Scotland, she would tell me later. I didn't really understand what it meant until she started speaking to me properly, telling me stories about the place she'd once called home. It was the fate of the universe that brought her to that dog park because Scotland was thousands of miles away.

I'd had to run really fast to catch up

. Arlo was still bouncing around, barking up a storm. It's a wonder Elani heard me yelling at her over the racket he was making! I ended up right at her feet, meowing like crazy to get her attention.
At first, she looked confused - she stared down at me with a puzzled expression, until eventually, a smile formed. "Hello there," she greeted me quietly as she crouched down, just like the first human had done. I didn't hesitate this time, I just pounced toward her to nuzzle my face against her hands, still meowing persistently. "Who are you then, hmm?" She was scratching under my chin, making my whole body vibrate with purrs. "You're very pretty... Are you a boy, or a girl?" I told her I was a girl, and she chuckled in reply. "Is that so?"
I knew she hadn't understood what I'd said, but I replied anyway, confirming that yes, I was a girl. She picked me up eventually, being so gentle and careful that I didn't even feel scared. She was looking me over, I think, but I realized how cold it had gotten, and so I scrambled up her arms and into her jacket. I nestled down against her chest as she cradled me carefully, looking down at me with the warmest of smiles. "Is this you telling me you're coming home with us tonight?" She asked me with a tilt of the head. I again agreed, which made her laugh again. "Alrighty then! I guess that's me told..." And she zipped up her jacket a little more, shielding me from the cold wind and welcoming me into her family all at once. To Be Continued