Once upon a time, there was a small family who lived on a street in town. There was a woman, a man, and a cat named Llyr who lived with them. The couple really loved cats, but their house was very small, so they couldn't get another inside cat to be friends with Llyr.
One day, a few friendly neighborhood cats started showing up on the couple's porch. There were only a few at first. The couple really loved cats, and the cats looked very hungry, so they gave the cats some food on the back porch to encourage them to stay in the backyard, away from the dangerous road where cars drove too fast and away from other neighbors who did not like cats so much.
Eventually, five cats were eating in the couple's backyard! There were the girl kitties -- Snubs, Gray Calico, Chinstrap, and Littles -- and one boy kitty -- Dan. Snubs and Dan were very, very friendly and wanted to move inside with the couple, but there was not enough room, so they had to live outside. However, they came up to get pets every morning when the couple put out food for them. The other girl kitties were shy. They ate a little food, but didn't like to be pet as much. Llyr was happy because he could watch his friends play outside and, sometimes, he could go out and sniff them before playing in the grass. Snubs and Dan always rubbed up against Llyr to show that they liked him, too.
One day, the couple noticed that the girl kitties looked like they were going to have kitties of their own! The couple was worried about how many kitties there would be on the street. So, they took Dan to the clinic to have an operation so that there would be fewer kitties in the future. The couple decided they'd take some of the other cats after their kitties were born and old enough to take care of themselves. When Dan went to the clinic, the vet said that Dan had a slight problem with his heartbeat, and it could cause problems during his operation. The couple was really scared for Dan, but they told the vet to go ahead.
Dan made it through the operation perfectly fine! The couple was so happy because Dan was such a nice, loving outdoor cat and now he could protect his cat family without making a lot more kitties. Dan was really brave and nice throughout the whole process. He was a trooper.
Over the next month, kitties started to be born! Snubs had two gray kitties that she eventually brought out on the back porch. Some of the other cats had kitties, too, but they were born in other places, so the couple did not see them for a while. There were getting to be too many cats on the back porch. Then, the couple found a new home in the country! They planned to move to their new home in a month and they were very happy because they knew Llyr would love the new home, and now all the outside kitties could come live in their barn and be safe from the road and not bother anyone.
Then, one night a few weeks before the couple was going to move, three new kittens appeared on their back porch! They were Chinstrap's calico and orange kittens. The couple said hello to them and put out some food for their mama, then went to bed. There were now 10 cats outside! That was a lot of cats ... but the couple was sure they could move them all to their new barn, where they'd be happy and safe and they could hunt for mice.
The next morning, Dan and Gray Calico were nowhere to be found. They didn't come for breakfast and did not show up all day. The couple was really worried about them. They called the shelter and talked to some neighbors, but no one had seen them. The couple was so sad. They were afraid the cats might have been hurt or taken away just before they got to move them to a new, safe home.
The next day, there was a different big male cat that scared the mama cats on the back porch. Snubs hissed and hissed to keep it away from her babies. The couple shooed it away, but they were extra sad that Dan had disappeared and now his kitty family had no one to protect them.
Then, the next day, Snubs disappeared, too. Three big kitties were gone suddenly and the couple didn't know why. Luckily, Chinstrap took care of not only her three kitties, but also Snubs's two bigger kittens as well. Now there were 5 kittens and only two mama cats: Chinstrap and Littles (who did not have kittens yet).
The couple became more and more sad. Their kittens and mamas were safe, but they were sad about the three big kitties that had disappeared, especially Snubs, who was a mama, and Dan, who was so, so friendly.
Then, one morning, a few days after the cats had first disappeared, the woman went out to feed the remaining cats. After Chinstrap and Littles and some of the bigger kittens started to eat, another cat jumped over the fence and ran up alongside them.
It was Dan!
The woman was so happy, she ran in to get her husband and show him that their beloved Dan was back. Dan seemed healthy and fine, and he started to eat like he'd never left. The couple was overjoyed and showered Dan with love. Now the big daddy cat of the cat family was back to protect his kitties! The couple still did not know what had happened, but they were so happy that Dan had found his way back. They still missed Snubs and Gray Cali, but they hoped that maybe they'd return, too.
The couple was so excited that one of their missing cats had come back.
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