Chapter 1 Meowing for Help

 

 

  Amy Purvis knew every inch of the bike ride home from the Santa Vista Public Library. That’s how she remembered to slow down as she turned onto her street.

  Bump! As she pedaled over a crack in the sidewalk, the books in her bike basket jumped. But none of them escaped.

  Amy was excited about all the books she checked out. Now which one should she read first? The graphic novel? The newest book in her favorite series? The book of Sherlock Holmes mysteries, which she had already reread twice?

   

  Amy hummed a happy tune she made up.

  Then a faint sound interrupted her song. It sounded like her cat, Milly, meowing… only much higher-pitched.

  Amy left her bike on the sidewalk and followed the sound.

   

  Mew, mewwwww.

  A tiny calico kitten sat alone on the lawn. It cried out with its head back and its nose in the air.

   

  “Oh, little kitty!” Amy said. She hurried over and knelt down. The kitten didn’t have a collar.

  “Hi, there. Are you a stray?” she asked.

  The kitten turned its head toward her. Mew! Mew! it cried out even more urgently.

  Amy looked over at her mom’s vet clinic. It was the building right next door to Amy’s house.

  “It’s okay,” she said to the kitten. “I’ll be right back.”

  Inside the clinic the waiting room was empty.

  “Mom? Are you here?” Amy called as she grabbed a small pet carrier from the closet.

   

   

  “Amy?” Dr. Purvis answered as she entered the waiting room. “What’s the matter?”

  Amy led her mom outside. The kitten hadn’t moved an inch.

  “Oh, a little calico girl!” Dr. Purvis said.

  She reached into the pocket of her coat, pulled out three cat treats, and put them inside the pet carrier.

   

  “It’s okay,” Dr. Purvis said to the kitten in a soothing voice.

  Sniffing the air, the kitten stopped meowing. She got up and inched toward the carrier, but she missed the opening and bumped into the door.

  Amy winced. “Be careful!”

  The kitten tried again.

 

   

 

This time the kitten stepped gingerly inside the carrier and sniffed her way to the treats.

  Together, Amy and her mom took the carrier into the clinic.

  Once they arrived in the exam room, the kitten stumbled out of the carrier.

   

  “Is she hurt?” Amy asked. “She doesn’t have very good balance.”

  “I don’t think it’s a balance problem,” Dr. Purvis said. “Look.”

  Amy got closer, and her mom shone a penlight into the kitten’s eyes.

   

  The kitten’s eyes were clouded over. It reminded Amy of windows fogged up on a rainy day.

  The kitten didn’t seem to care that a bright light was shining in her eyes. She kept staring straight ahead.

  “Amy,” said Dr. Purvis, “I think this cat is blind.”