Gone!

The next morning, Kyle’s alarm went off bright and early. He rolled over and looked at the clock. For a minute, Kyle was confused. It was only six a.m. Why was his alarm going off so early?

Suddenly, he remembered — it was time to feed the kittens!

Kyle hit the off button and jumped out of bed. He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to the kitchen. He had to feed Rex before he went anywhere else.

His mom was already in the kitchen fixing a cup of coffee when he came in.

“I’ll be ready to head to the clinic in a second,” Kyle said.

“Okay,” his mom said with a smile. “I’m glad to see you’re being so responsible about taking care of the kittens.”

“Rex found them, so that makes them my responsibility,” Kyle said as he poured dog food into Rex’s bowl. Rex finished it off almost before Kyle finished pouring it. “Ready when you are.”

Kyle’s mom always went to the clinic early. She had to check on the animals that had stayed overnight. Some of them were recovering from operations. Luckily, her clinic was right next to their house, so they didn’t have far to walk.

Mia was waiting for them at the front door when they walked up. Kyle’s mom unlocked the door, and everyone hurried inside. They turned on the lights and saw a piece of paper had been taped to the door leading to the exam rooms.

“Looks like Angie fed the kittens at three a.m.,” Dr. Blake said, reading the note. She looked at Kyle and Mia. “Do you two need any help feeding them?”

“No thanks,” Kyle said. “I think we’re all set. Angie showed us what we need to do last night.”

Dr. Blake stopped in her office while Kyle and Mia went straight to the kittens’ cage. The kittens were already awake and waiting for them.

Mia carefully moved the kittens from their cage back to the box and carried it into an exam room. While she mixed up the formula, Kyle cleaned out the cage and put fresh water in the dishes for the kittens so they wouldn’t be thirsty.

When Kyle got to the exam room, his mom let Rex into the clinic. The dog went straight to the kitten box on the floor.

“I could hear him barking,” his mom explained.

“Rex really likes the kittens,” Kyle explained.

Kyle and Mia sat down on the floor with three bottles filled with formula. Rex stretched out in front of the open door to guard the kittens.

“You feed the boys,” Mia said. “I’ll feed Smoke.”

“Smoke?” Kyle asked, looking over at her. “Is that the girl?”

Mia nodded and picked up the smallest kitten. “Yep,” she said. “Since her fur is the color of smoke.”

Kyle picked up the larger of the two boy kittens. “What should we name her brothers?” he asked.

“Hmm. They’re both orange,” Mia said. “How about Tiger for the bigger one and Cheeto for the smaller one?”

“I like those names,” Kyle said. “Time to eat, Tiger.”

Tiger guzzled the formula. When it was gone, Kyle put the kitten back in the box and picked up Cheeto to feed him. When the second kitten finished his bottle, Smoke was still eating. She was smaller and weaker than her brothers, so she ate more slowly.

“She’s almost done,” Mia said.

“Okay,” Kyle said. He checked the clock on the wall. He and Mia still had to eat breakfast before their school bus came. But when he turned to put Cheeto back in the box, Kyle gasped. “Tiger is gone!”