Mikie And The Great Kitten Christmas: The Mikie Books

By Mandy Sheridan

Mikie and the Great Kitten Christmas: The Story of a Little Cat Who Brought Peace and Joy to a Village

Mikie is no ordinary little cat. As he settles into village life after being rescued as a kitten, he is shocked to find that not all cats are as friendly as he had expected. When his sister, Polly, is attacked by farm cats and his feline friends decide to fight back, Mikie takes matters into his own paws to try and quietly save the day. Will he succeed in bringing peace to the Scottish village once more or will the warring cats win?

A moving and uplifting story that will touch the heart of anyone who reads it, Mikie and the Great Kitten Christmas is a perfect read for fans of Michael Morpurgo, Tom Cox and Sheila Jeffries.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mandy Sheridan
• Release date: Jun 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386080244

Mandy Sheridan

Mandy was born into an armed forces family and grew up with her siblings in Scotland, Germany and Singapore. Used to a household with dogs as pets, it was only when she met her husband, John, that she learned the joys of living with cats. She and John now live in the countryside near the port of Oban in Northern Argyll, Scotland, where they have nine free-range chickens (who give them the best eggs in the world) and five wonderful cats, including Polly who appears in the Mikie books. Mandy has been a children and families social worker for 32 years and currently works as a service improvement officer.

Book preview

1 The Return of Wicked Jim

Mikie awoke and yawned, rolling over on his blanket and stretching his long, black and white body, turning his head to look across the room to where his friend, Polly, was sleeping. She lay curled up in her favourite box with her paws wrapped around the sleeping form of her daughter, Annie. The sight reminded him he was now part of a loving family and he felt happy as he thought back through his life.

Mikie had been born to a feral mother who’d led humans called Betty and Jan to rescue him and his three sisters when she realised she was no longer able to care for them. He’d never seen her again and remained in the rescue centre for over a year whilst his sister and other cats went to new homes before him.

Some people came and said, Oh, he’s much too active for our family, whilst others said, We don’t want a funny-looking black and white cat. But Jan had told him to ignore that as he was perfect the way he was and he was her shining star. Eventually a lovely couple, John and Mandy, had said a boisterous, splodgy, black and white cat was exactly what they wanted to complete their family. They’d given him the name Mikie and taken him home to meet their other cats.

The rest of the family had consisted of Alexander, an elderly golden Persian, and Polly, a long-haired black and white cat who was very beautiful. They’d welcomed him and Alexander had helped him to learn about the world whilst Ginger, a friend to Alexander and Polly, had helped with his education.

Now, after some exciting adventures, Mikie felt confident around the village and in the company of other cats. He was doing so well in fact that Ginger, who pretty much ran the village from a cat point of view, had made him his assistant.

Alexander had sadly died, saying he was content to go because he was old and tired and that was the way of things. Mikie had missed him a lot but Ginger had become his and Polly’s best friend and this had helped enormously. Later Mikie himself had helped to rescue a newborn kitten when her mother, Soft Paws, died. Her father was called Bruiser who, because he was a feral cat, couldn’t look after her properly. She needed a new mother and so Mikie had brought her to Polly who’d cared for the tiny kitten whilst Mandy and John had provided the milk and early feeds until she was old enough to be weaned. They called her Annie.

Annie had grown into a strong-willed and confident cat and had almost come to grief when she ran away from home and met Jim and Arty, wicked cats who’d tried to push her into the river. Luckily Mikie, Ginger and Bruiser had rescued her and she’d learned at last that Bruiser was her father. Now she lived as part of Polly and Mikie’s family but spent time up at the graveyard, visiting Bruiser who lived under a shed at the back of the church.

Mikie was distracted from his musings by a young cat’s voice saying, Morning, Uncle Mikie.

Good morning, Annie, he said, getting up to stroll over to the cardboard box placed cosily close to the wood burning stove. And did you and Polly sleep well last night?

Not so great, Uncle Mikie. Mum must be getting bigger because I don’t seem to have the space I used to in the box.

Mikie laughed and licked her ear affectionately. I don’t think it’s your mother who’s getting bigger. Remember you’re not a little kitten any more.

Perhaps I should get Mandy and John to give you a box of your own, young lady, said another, rich, warm cat voice. Polly had woken up and was listening to the conversation with her big white paws still wrapped around the black-furred body of her daughter.

Oh no, Mum, don’t do that. I didn’t mean it! I really love sleeping curled up with you in this nice cosy box. She looked so worried that Polly touched noses with her in reassurance.

Well, you’re really getting too old to sleep with me in the same box but I suppose a few more weeks won’t hurt. After all I’m in no hurry to see my little girl all grown-up and independent. I like being a Mum.

Annie looked much happier