I screamed as I was ripped from my mother’s cage. I struggled for breath as I was placed into the arms of an estranged person. My greatest fear was finally coming to fruition. We both knew that it would happen eventually. I was forced, face first, into a cage too small for even a kitten. I screamed and screamed, but all I could hear was my mother screaming back at me, there was nothing she could do to save me now. Just like that, I was gone. I heard the slamming of the car door and whir of an engine in the cold winter weather. I was being taken somewhere, to a place that I feared even more than death. All I could do was think about what I had left behind, my mother, my friends, my family. Now I had a new ‘family’, a family that was supposed to love me just as much I love them. However, that was not the case. I hated my family. I hated my family from the second the mini human opened my cage on Christmas morning.
      They would never leave me alone. Every second of the day they would try to play with me. They would wave strings over me, like I was in some sort of circus. They would throw fake mice at me, for cruel reasons that I cannot fathom. They would even shine a mysterious red dot at the floor, that I could not resist chasing. They did all of these cruel things just for their own entertainment. Don’t these stupid humans know that all I want to do is sleep!
       I thought that things would change with time. I thought that they would forget about me and I would forget about what I had left behind. I never forgot. All I could ever think about was how much I missed Patrice, my mother. I had to do something about it. I couldn’t let myself lay rotting away in some family’s home. The first step was to wait for them to let their guard down. This would take time, and this was no plan that I should rush. Right when they left their guard down, I would strike. The plan was simple. Once all of the humans fell asleep for the night, I would sneak up on them and use my sharpened claws to kill each and every one of them. My plan was genius. Who would expect their cute little kitten to kill them in their sleep?
     It was finally time to strike. My whole life depended on the next 24 hours. The sun was setting and I was finalizing my plan of attack. Suddenly, I heard the slamming of the front door and the starting of a car engine. Just like that, they were gone. Where they were going or how long they would be gone, I did not know. For now, the plan was off. I would have to wait even longer without seeing Patrice. One hour went by and they were back. Just like that the plan was still on.
      I heard the loud creak of the front door opening. They were calling my name: “Nugget!”, “Nugget! We have a surprise for you!”. What could they possibly have for me, another fake mouse? I rounded the corner and I could not believe my eyes. There she was, locked behind the same metal door that I was shoved through when my life changed forever. I could see the white markings of her face through the darkness of the cage. She was instantly recognizable, it was Patrice.