Chapter 260: Chapter 253 Your Cat Has Given Birth to Kittens Chapter 260: Chapter 253 Your Cat Has Given Birth to Kittens Zheng Tan arrived at the villa with the kitten as the rain started to come down harder. He was already somewhat drenched, but the kitten nestled in his arms remained mostly dry, faring better than Zheng Tan.

Before renting out the house, Mr. Jiao had installed a small ladder on the side, which couldn’t support a person’s weight—only that of a cat. The ladder was quite small but just perfect for a cat. At the time, Feng Baikin didn’t pay it much attention and even admired how well the Jiao family treated cats.

Normally, Zheng Tan didn’t really need to use the small ladder; he could simply find a place to climb up the wall to the attic, which was more convenient and gave him more freedom to go up however he wanted. Today, however, as he was holding a kitten, it wasn’t convenient to climb, so he used the ladder to get up.

Upon opening a window to the attic, Zheng Tan flipped inside, closed the window behind him, and kept out the rain and wind. He then turned on a lamp beside the window. Actually, he didn’t mind the dark environment of the attic and only turned on the lamp beside the window to signal the people downstairs that it was Zheng Tan moving about in the attic and not some thief.

Zheng Tan remembered that there were quite a few items left in a cupboard in the attic; the old lady hadn’t taken everything with her when she moved, things like towels.

The towels hadn’t been used for a long time but were clean. Zheng Tan found one and wrapped the kitten in it to keep it from getting cold. Although the temperature wasn’t low, the kitten was fragile and could easily get sick.

The attic had a clean wooden floor, so Zheng Tan laid out a few towels directly on it and set the kitten there. The kitten kept meowing, leaving Zheng Tan unsure whether it was hungry or trying to convey something else. Looking around, he noticed a small tiger plush toy on the single bed in the attic, which the old lady bought as a birthday present for a friend’s child but ended up swapping for something else. This toy tiger had been left there ever since, with no special meaning to the old lady who had moved out. Zheng Tan would sometimes use it as a pillow to sleep on when he came up here.

Zheng Tan brought the plush toy, nearly as big as himself, down beside the kitten. Perhaps cats naturally take to soft plush things easily; the kitten moved closer and even patted it with its paw.

With its attention diverted, the kitten stopped meowing so much, and Zheng Tan just sat there, wiping his feet with another towel. His feet had picked up a lot of mud on the way, leaving muddy footprints on the floor. However, the lady from downstairs would come up to clean tomorrow, and Mr. Jiao had once mentioned paying a monthly cleaning fee, but she had declined. The couple from downstairs already earned a salary from Feng Baikin’s parents that was way beyond some white-collar workers; they weren’t concerned about a little cleaning fee.

When renting out the house, Mr. Jiao had mentioned that Zheng Tan had spent quite a long time there, so he was very familiar with the place and could open cabinets and windows. This was to preempt any concerns Feng Baikin and the others might have had about Zheng Tan turning on lights or opening cabinets, so they wouldn’t be startled later on.

Feng Baikin stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the attic. He had come out to pee and suddenly heard the sound of a kitten. Going out to look, he saw the light by the attic window was on, indicating that the landlord’s cat was up there. However, the cat usually just hopped through the window to sleep and wasn’t known to have kittens.

Although he hadn’t heard much from the kitten since then, curiosity got the better of Feng Baikin, and he quietly made his way up the stairs to the attic room’s door to eavesdrop. After hearing another kitten meow, he was certain there was a kitten inside—that sound was definitely not from an adult cat!

After much thought, Feng Baikin came to a possible conclusion—the landlord’s cat must have given birth to kittens!

But then again, Aunt Li had been cleaning upstairs daily without sighting any kittens. Were they born today? Could a newborn kitten be so vocal? That didn’t seem right either, and the sound didn’t resemble that of a newborn. Maybe the landlord’s cat had given birth earlier and kept the kittens hidden? Could it be that the landlord actually knew but hadn’t said anything? Perhaps this was why the attic wasn’t for rent?

Feng Baikin’s imagination was running wild with scenarios at this point.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tan was completely unaware that he had been saddled with a number of labels, as he was thinking about how to deal with the kitten. This little one was much weaker compared to Big and Little Rice; he wasn’t even sure if it could survive, and certainly didn’t feel capable of raising a kitten. That leopard cat really had given him a tough problem.

Since the leopard cat had brought the kitten out, there must have been its reasons, so Zheng Tan didn’t take it back. Maybe he should leave it here for Feng Baikin and the others to help care for? He didn’t know the tenants well enough to decide yet and didn’t want to take the kitten back to the Jiao family; he was enough for that household. However, if there were no other options, he would have to take it to the Jiao family after all.

Zheng Tan really felt like slapping himself at that moment—too kind for his own good!

As he was pondering, Zheng Tan heard a knock at the door.

The door creaked open.

The attic room’s door was never locked, which was also convenient for the cleaning lady from downstairs. Driven by curiosity, Feng Baikin twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and peered inside.

The attic room was rather dim for Feng Baikin, but since it wasn’t very big, he could make out the figures by the light of the lamp near the window. He saw a black cat “playing with a towel” on one side, and then, there was a lump on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, Feng Baikin distinguished the kitten amidst the lump. It was difficult because the plush tiger toy blocked the light.

Once he had a clear view, Feng Baikin paused, then quickly turned and went downstairs.

“Aunt Li! There’s a cat upstairs!”

“I know, the one from the landlord’s family,” Aunt Li was watching TV on the first floor.

“No, a small one, a tiny little one!”

“What’s the matter? Did the landlord’s cat give birth to kittens on the rooftop?” The uncle joined in the conversation curiously.

“Definitely!” Aunt Li immediately stood up, ready to take a look upstairs, “I’ve heard mother cats like to move their litter after giving birth, no wonder I haven’t found them. It probably moved back because of the rain!”

The trio, thinking they had uncovered the truth, rushed to the attic. At first, Aunt Li was wary of the “mother cat” protecting her litter. Upon realizing that Zheng Tan was not reacting at all, she approached for a closer look.

“Aiyo, what a sin, such a small cat and it’s so skinny… The big cat is too irresponsible!” Aunt Li said, looking dissatisfiedly toward Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan: “…” What the hell is that look?! An accusation, a condemnation? Its thinness has nothing to do with me!

Over there, three people were still gathered around the kitten, discussing. The more Zheng Tan listened, the more something felt off. Now that he “had” offspring, Zheng Tan got Spartan about it.

Damn it, that’s not my seed! Not to mention, I didn’t bear it! I’m a male! A male!!

Unfortunately, the three people over there couldn’t hear the injustices being trampled in Zheng Tan’s heart by an alpaca.

The little kitten, although not very afraid of people, was very resistant to creatures with unfamiliar scents and kept meowing. When picked up, it struggled continuously, but probably because it had had enough of wrestling and was also hungry, it didn’t have much strength left.

“Its teeth are already so grown, it must be over a month old, how can it be raised so thin and scrawny… I’ll go make a bowl of egg custard!” Aunt Li said as she ran out.

Many of the people living around here hired nannies, so Aunt Li, living here for a while, would meet some people on her grocery shopping trips or walks and chat with them, which is how she learned many things. A couple of days ago, she heard a nanny complain about taking care of a kitten. Aunt Li didn’t pay much attention at the time and only remembered parts of it – the kitten’s food shouldn’t be cold, hot, hard, or dry. She remembered that person seemed to have mentioned making egg custard, but she wasn’t sure if this kitten would eat it. Regardless, it was worth a try – it’s just one egg after all. Looking at how skinny the kitten was, oh dear!

Quite quickly, Aunt Li prepared a bowl of egg custard and brought it up. She first dabbed a bit on the kitten’s nose, which it licked off itself. Sniffing the fragrance of the food, its spirit was much revived.

“Looks like it can eat.” Aunt Li, satisfied, tried a spoonful of egg custard to test the temperature and then offered it to the kitten’s mouth. Now, the kitten no longer struggled and just buried its head to lick the custard off the spoon.

Watching the three people care for the kitten, Zheng Tan felt that these tenants were actually not bad. It would be good to let them keep it, saving him the trouble.

With one issue resolved, Zheng Tan looked out the window. It wasn’t raining anymore, and it was also time for him to head back. So, Zheng Tan pulled open the window and jumped out.

As Zheng Tan was descending from the attic, he still heard a grandmother there complaining, “What kind of mother is that, leaving her child here and she just runs off.”

Zheng Tan was so frustrated he almost fell out of the attic window.

God damn it, what a wrongful death!

The next day, when Zheng Tan went to the lakeside villa, Aunt Li wasn’t there. According to the uncle, she seemed to have taken the kitten to the Pet Center for a checkup and to buy some suitable cat food and such.

At the same time, in the Old Building District, the Leopard Cat’s household was preparing to move away.

“Where’s the kitten?” the child’s father asked.

“Don’t know, I saw Big Flower carrying the kitten away yesterday. She came back alone in the evening. I went out to look for it but didn’t find it; probably someone picked it up,” the child’s grandfather said.

“That’s probably for the best. Such a small cat following us is just suffering. Kittens are not like adult cats, they’re fragile.”

“This kind of cat already has a spirit. It knows that the kitten would suffer if it stayed, so it probably found a way to send it off,” the grandfather sighed. He bought the big cat from a friend who ran a restaurant. The child liked the big cat, and after buying it, they discovered it was pregnant. Unfortunately, due to health reasons and lack of proper conditions, out of three kittens, only one survived. Though thin and small, the old man believed the little kitten would definitely grow strong in the future.

The child’s father didn’t believe in spirits and such, but he didn’t say much. In any case, not bringing the kitten was better for them; otherwise, the journey would be quite troubled. This time he planned to take the compensation money and go to the coast to do business, taking the whole family with him. The road wouldn’t be easy, and having a kitten was really inconvenient. He had thought about giving the kitten away. Yesterday, he even mentioned it to a friend here and originally planned to send it over while the kids weren’t paying attention today. He didn’t expect the mother cat to carry it away on her own. Today when the children asked, they just said the kitten had gone with its father, and the two children even cried.

As the old van left the Old District, inside, the leopard patterned big cat stayed by the rear window, looking in the direction of the Old Building District until it could no longer see a shadow, then curled back into the seat following the children’s embrace.

Chuhua University.

At noon, Mr. Jiao was about to ride his electric bike home for a nap when he was stopped by Feng Baikin on the road.

Feng Baikin had originally wanted to make a phone call yesterday but thought it was too late at around nine o’clock, so he didn’t call to ask. Meeting today was just as well to talk about it.

Feng Baikin rode his newly bought electric bike and caught up, thinking for a moment before saying to Mr. Jiao, “Mr. Jiao, do you know your cat has had kittens?”

Screech—
Mr. Jiao, while riding his electric bike, upon hearing this, suddenly braked and stopped right there. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep