The Cat’s Inheritance - Chapter 5

City cats are different, they have to attend school

Editor: Vez

Xin Qin planned to let Sparta explore upstairs the next day, so he left the Dragon Li cat in the living room downstairs for now. Although the weather was starting to turn colder, it wasn’t too cold yet. He had lined the cardboard box with thick old clothes, making the inside look very comfortable and suitable for a long cosy nap. The Dragon Li cat did not express any dissatisfaction with his simple new nest, and quickly understood its purpose. Sparta circled around the inside of the nest and stepped around with his paws on the temporary bedding before finding a position he liked, then curled up into a ball and closed his eyes in satisfaction.

“Good night then, Sparta.” Xin Qin squatted down and wished his cat goodnight. Sparta heard him and opened his eyes again, raising his chin to look at him. Xin Qin stretched out his hand and scratched the cat’s chin. Sparta’s eyes became two crescent moons as he began to purr. Xin Qin smiled and moved his hand to pat the cat’s soft underbelly.

Sparta put forth his paw and gently placed it on the human’s hand. Miwu, he replied in a language the human would not understand.

Xin Qin softly replied, “Sweet dream.”

Despite his troubled heart, Xin Qin slept very soundly. For the first time in a long while he fell asleep before midnight. In the past, it was common for him to stay up late playing games, or even play through the entire night. He was a night owl and it felt like ages ago since he woke up in the morning. It was just…as soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed something was wrong. His chest felt very heavy, like something was crushing down on him. It was warm but constricting his breath. He slightly raised his head to see more clearly. Then suddenly, a cat paw appeared and his mouth was covered by the paw pad.

Miwu! Sparta called out to his human, you finally woke up.

Xin Qin was in a trance. It took him sometime to remember that there was one additional member in this house, the Dragon Li cat. Currently, the big cat, who now made himself at home, took over his bed and impolitely laid his claim on his chest. But Qin Xin was sure that he had closed his door last night. How did Sparta get in?

Miwu, no more sleeping! You have slept the whole night. It is time for breakfast! Sparta softly called to his human.

Last night after his human left him alone for sleep! He played by himself in the dark for a while, feeling not a single trace of drowsiness. Then he climbed up the stairs, following the smell. He toured the new area and found no issue. His Miwu preferred sleeping on this higher ground, which was not a problem for him. This height was a piece of cake for a mature cat.

Sparta leapt and landed quietly on the human’s quilt. The moment he stepped into the soft quilt, he nearly sank as the pleasant smell of his human surrounded him. His Miwu slept in a cluster of cotton, his breathing long and even. Sparta suddenly felt sleepy. He found a comfortable spot near Miwu, curled up into a ball with his head tuck in and fell asleep.

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Covering his nose, Xin Qin chuckled. “All right, enough. I am up.” Originally, he was worried that Sparta as a stray cat and injured one as well, would take a long period to recover. Now it seemed that the worries weren’t needed. The other party was very self-confident and friendly.

He sat up and Sparta slid down the quilt into his arms. He bent over and kissed Sparta on the head. After the kiss, he remembered that Sparta had not bathed yet because of his wound and wailed unconsciously, “You get down from my bed!”

Miwu is very energetic. It seems that my human is a very healthy human. Sparta meowed with satisfaction, quietly jumped down from the edge of the bed and skated down the stairs. The bright sunshine intruded in from the balcony, coating the downstairs living room in gold. He searched for the temporary cardboard toilet in his corner to solve his needs. Then, a strange knock came from the balcony glass panel. Sparta keenly pricked up his ears, tiptoed on his front paws and turned to the sound.

A pair of strange visitors on the balcony.

Eurasian Jays.

This bird’s name is actually given by the human. Although the birds call themselves that, from a cat’s point of view, crows are birds which can only be divided into obnoxious (edible) and more obnoxious (unpalatable). Although jays are a little better looking than the black crows and both males and female birds have ridiculous black moustaches on their face, in the end, they are still birds.

Sparta breathed from his nose, his whiskers twitched and his paws began to itch.

The pair of jays seemed like husband and wife. In response, they were frightened that they flapped their wings and whimpered. Among them, the male bird spoke fluent cat language, looking very funny as he gestured animatedly while talking, “Oh, hello mister cat, good morning to you! We are messenger jays here to deliver a message for you, there is no need to get too excited, please.”

Sparta turned and glanced at the entrance of the stairway. Seeing that Miwu had not come down yet, he faced the jays and licked his lips. “Go ahead.”

The male bird trembled and, under his wife’s encouragement, hopped another step forward and said at the top of his voice, “We have been entrusted by Dai Mochi from Eat Plenty Clinic to deliver you a message in regards to cat school.”

Sparta felt somewhat puzzled when he heard Dai Mochi’s name. Then he remembered the name belonged to that annoying big black cat. “Continue.” He stepped in place on the soft carpet and laid down once he found a comfortable position. He put his chin on the top of his paws and then fixed his eyes on the jay couple.

Under great pressure, Mr. Jay began to dictate Dai Mochi’s message in a trembling voice, “Mister Dai Mochi said: Dear Dragon Li cat da-shixiong. We became kindred spirits during our meeting yesterday, and one day apart seems like three years.”

Raising his head, Sparta was questioning if he was hearing things. What bird dialect was this bird speaking?

Mr. Jay was unmoved as he went on. Fortunately, the rest of Dai Mochi’s message was simpler and clearer. Sparta understood most of it. The message included that if he wanted to be a scholarly cat like him, he must attend cat school to gain knowledge, complete the corresponding courses and obtain the advanced cat qualification certificate.

Cat school is the collective name of all education programs designed for cats. It is mainly divided into preschool, primary school, junior high school, senior high school and college. Preschool and primary schools mainly teach general knowledge to help fledgling kittens to better adapt to living with humans. Junior high schools begin to divide into academic subjects, and senior high schools begin to specialise in selected subjects.

After entering the university, each cat could pursue further education according to the professional direction of their own interest. Each cat is required to take a final examination before completing a stage of study. Only after passing the examination could the student proceed to the next stage of education. Because of the difficult course, not all cats would pass the exam. In fact, only about thirty percent of cats would attend college, and only half of them would successfully graduate and get a higher qualification certificate.

Of course, Dai Mochi is one of the rare talents, an excellent graduate from the year before last.

Sparta automatically ignored the last string of boasting from Dai Mochi and directly picked up on the part that he was most interested in and asked, “If I went to school, would I be able to understand humans like Dai Mochi?”

“Er…” This question was not included in Dai Mochi’s message. However, Mr. Jay was a knowledgeable bird as he nodded calmly and replied. “To answer your question, be diligent and you will soon find your own answer.”

Sparta’s ears twitched in confusion. Was that a yes or no? But he did not dwell on this for long. Being ‘diligent’ sounded like a very amazing thing. So he cheered up and asked while swaying his tail, “I want to enter cat school! Did Dai Mochi tell you what I should do?”

“Yes, in fact, the main purpose of my trip here is to convey mister Dai Mochi’s instructions to you.” Mr. Jay nodded and motioned to his wife behind him to bring out their package. It was a small booklet with illustrations and instructions when opened. Unfortunately, Sparta could not read the cat’s written language as he wrinkled his whiskers.

Mr. Jay seemed to pick up on his troubled thoughts and answered his questions, “Mister Dai Mochi said that this pre-school handbook is a prep material. All students who want to participate in the preschool class need to understand the handbook’s contents in advance and bring questions to the class. The student must answer questions at the end of the learning handbook in class and must complete it correctly to smoothly enter school. Mister Dai Mochi has inquired around and got a seat for you in the preschool class that will start in a week. This seat is very precious. He exchanged two beef cans for it. Mister Dai Mochi hopes you will cherish this opportunity.” Dai Mochi was worthy of being an intellectual. Even taking Sparta’s problems into account, which birthed favourable opinion from Sparta.

Mrs. Jay pushed the handbook to the corner of the window while Mr. Jay continued. “Now, I will convey Mister Dai Mochi’s final message: All the cat classes’ learning contents must be kept in secret from the human. Otherwise, revealing the highest secret of the cats will bring great calamity to our race.”

When delivering this message, Mr. Jay would automatically imitate the sender’s demeanour and tone. Sparta listened to the bird’s serious tone, unknowingly sat up straighter and puffed out his chest. “What does this great calamity mean?” He humbly asked.

“Uh…” Mr. Jay was at a loss for words once again. After pondering for a moment, he replied, “Great calamity is a very terrible thing.”

Sparta closed his eyes and recalled a very scary thing. The hunger he felt from failing to catch mice for two weeks. He took this very seriously. Opening his eyes and nodding solemnly. “I understand.”

Mr. Jay was relieved to have completed his task. “Then I will leave this preschool study handbook with mister Dragon Li cat. Remember not to let the human find it. You can only learn from it in secret. My helpmate and I will visit you at the same time tomorrow. If mister has any questions at that time, I will answer them for you.” After that, he waved goodbye with his gorgeous wing and flew away with his wife.

Sparta licked his whiskers and watched Mr. Jay and his ‘helpmate’ fly away. He had gained so much knowledge today! But then again, what is this helpmate? His tail was resting across the carpet as he was lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over him and he looked up to see Miwu!

“Why are you sitting here?” Xin Qin lowered his head to look at the Dragon Li cat and asked softly, “Are you hungry?”

Miwu, you are here!

“Let’s eat first if you are hungry, we can play later.”

Miwu, do you remember your name is Miwu?

“How about eating the cat food from yesterday? I will change your water.”

I knew you would like it! Miwu, Miwu, I’m really a genius. I’m great at naming!

One human and one cat, acting like a chicken replying to a duck, and each felt that the other was a good listener.