Chapter 1
Queen Lizzie Arrives
I’m Tabitha Catarina — Tabby Cat, for short. I L-O-V-E, love cats. I’ve loved them my whole life. I even have a cat of my own — a beautiful Himalayan cat named Bootsie.
Last spring, I had three choices for where to spend the upcoming summer.
Choice Number One: on a movie set with my parents. They’re both veterinarians. They take care of animals that appear in movies.
That’s their job. I said, “No, thank you” because there weren’t going to be any cat actors — only horses.
Choice Number Two: in the city, at our condo, with my nanny, Pam. She was going to house-sit for the summer.
Choice Number Three: on my grandparents’ farm, where they run their amazing cat hotel, Tabby Towers.
Can you guess what my choice was?
Yes, I’m here at Tabby Towers. I feel like the luckiest girl alive. I get to play with cats seven days a week. I get to help care for them. And I get to spend time with Grandma Kit and Grandpa Tom.
So far, this has been my best summer ever.
But there’s a problem. The problem is a girl my age named Alfreeda Wolfe. She lives on the farm next door to my grandparents’ place. Her family runs a dog hotel.
I’d like to be better friends with her, but she always brags about dogs and puts down cats. It makes me so mad. She even said mean things about a famous cat named Lizzie, while Lizzie was a guest at Tabby Towers last month.
Do you think I started to hiss at Alfreeda? Well, here’s what happened.
It was an early afternoon at the beginning of July. Grandma Kit and I were busy working in the cat hotel.
Tabby Towers is on the main floor of my grandparents’ farmhouse. It used to be their family room.
Grandpa Tom built everything for the hotel: the cat trees, scratching posts, and seven kitty condos, where the guests sleep at night.
Grandma Kit was cleaning dishes at the washtub. I was playing a string game with a guest named Puppycat. He was a large Maine coon. Maine coons need a lot of exercise every day, and I made sure Puppycat got his.
Two cute kittens — Fifi and her brother, Furbaby — chased each other around the indoor kitty playground. They zoomed around and around like two furry race cars.
Then Furbaby shot up a tall ladder, and Fifi followed. They ran along a narrow catwalk near the ceiling. Grandpa Tom built that too. I call it the “kitty highway.”
Another guest — Child — sat on a shelf, high in a cat tree. Child was a Persian, with long, fluffy hair. He licked his legs and paws. Like most cats, Child spent a lot of time cleaning himself each day.
I saw Grandpa Tom out the big window that overlooked the farmyard. He was fixing a fence between our land and the Wolfes’ place. He’d likely be out there until dinnertime.
Anyway, the doorbell rang, and Puppycat and I jumped.
“Now who could that be?” Grandma Kit asked, wiping a large tray with a soapy cloth. “I’m not expecting any new guests to check in this afternoon.”
“I’ll go see who it is,” I offered.
“Thanks,” Grandma Kit said. “I’ll wash my hands and be there in a minute.”
I set Puppycat on a kitty swing, gave it a gentle push, and then hurried to the front door. Before I opened it, I peeked out the window.
A pizza-company truck was parked in the driveway. Large letters on the side said: QUEEN LIZZIE’S PIZZA PALACE.
That’s the new pizza place in town, I thought. Today’s their grand opening!
A big picture of a strange-looking cat was printed above the letters. That was Queen Lizzie. I’d seen her picture lots of times in the town newspaper. The restaurant had placed a lot of ads lately.
The man standing on our porch looked around nervously. I’d seen his picture in the newspaper too. His name was Ben, and he was the pizza restaurant’s owner. He was holding a cat carrier.
“Hi!” I said, throwing open the front door. I pointed at the carrier. “Is that Queen Lizzie? The Queen Lizzie?”
Ben nodded. He looked a little sad.
“I can’t believe you brought her to Tabby Towers!” I cried. “Come in!”