3. Pirat Eats with Gusto — but Keeps His Distance
This is the chapter where Pirat wakes Lori up in the middle of the night by tapping her hand with his paw — and even trying to nibble her fingers to make his point clear: he’s hungry!
So Pirat finally arrived at Lori’s home. When she picked him up, he cried out in fear, his little heart beating wildly. Maybe it was because Lori herself was so emotional. Who could say? She held him close against her chest, resting her chin on his back, until he slowly began to calm down.
Bit by bit, the tiny kitten relaxed.
Holding him with one arm, Lori filled a bowl with food with her free hand, then gently placed him on the floor. Pirat had gotten hungry during the trip, and he eagerly began to eat.
What a beautiful little tom he was! His eyes were large, almond-shaped, and gray, framed by strikingly long whisker-like eyebrows.
His fur was a patchwork of three shades: white, gray-black, and a touch of beige. White covered his sides, belly, chest, and front paws. His head was cloaked in dark gray, but the lower part of his face was white again. His nose was dark, flowing naturally from the top of his head — as if he were wearing a Viking helmet!
The black fur running along his spine was different from the rest — not soft and fluffy, but glossy and coarse, almost like horsehair. His tail was long, shaded in silvery grays, ending in a neat black tip. Thick and bushy, it looked just like a squirrel’s tail.
Pirat was a mix — born of a striking white-and-gray house cat and a Norwegian Forest Cat. He had inherited the best from both, but also seemed to carry traces from his ancestors. His coat showed hints of Bengal heritage: leopard-like spots along his side and tigerish stripes on his hind legs.
He didn’t look exactly like a Siberian, nor like a Bengal, nor like any ordinary house cat.
Pirat was unique.
Once he finished his meal, he licked his little nose, then carefully washed his face with his front paws — just as his mother had taught him.
Lori rolled a few toy balls toward him. Instantly curious, Pirat chased them with delight, batting them around with his tiny paws. But when sleepiness caught up with him, he ignored the little house Lori had bought and instead crawled under a cupboard, curling up directly on the floor.
“Pirat! Pirat! Don’t sleep under there, you’ll get cold. Come on out,” Lori coaxed.
But it was no use. Pirat stayed put. The new place was still strange and unexplored, so hiding made him feel safer.
So Lori folded a soft towel and slid it under the cupboard.
“Here, Pirat. At least lie on this so you’ll be more comfortable.”
He hesitated for a few moments, then sniffed the towel, patted it with his paws, and approved. Soon, he curled up on it and drifted off.
It was Pirat’s very first night at home.
And because Pirat was asleep, Lori fell asleep too.
But around three in the morning, Lori suddenly felt a paw tapping her hand.
“Pirat!” she gasped. “I didn’t think you could jump all the way up here, into the bed!”
Pirat kept pawing at her, meowing in short bursts.
“I have no idea what you want!” Lori admitted.
That’s when Pirat tried to nip her fingers with his tiny teeth.
“Oh! You’re hungry!” she realized. “Come on then, let’s get you something to eat.”
She carried him into the kitchen and placed a few spoonfuls of pâté in his bowl. Pirat tucked in with great enthusiasm.
“Oh, Pirat, you really were starving! I’d read that kittens eat many small meals a day to help them grow, but I didn’t know they’d bite to make their point. You gave me quite a scare!” Lori confessed.
When he had eaten his fill, Pirat licked his muzzle clean, then ran his right paw across the floor beside the bowl, as though scratching lines in invisible sand. Maybe he was trying to cover the food with imaginary twigs and leaves — after all, he was the descendant of forest cats. In any case, it was clear he meant to save the rest for later.
Lori understood at once. She put the leftovers into a glass jar, sealed it, and stored it in the fridge. Pirat was utterly pleased — he even looked at Lori with newfound interest.
But when it was time to return to sleep, he retreated once again under the cupboard.
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