The ‘cat-a-pard’

“The best scenery on Earth! What a beautiful day!” 21-year-old Louis said as he trekked up the hill with his friends.

He loved hiking, safaris, and nature walks.

Suddenly, he saw something moving behind a bush. He froze with fear and whispered to his friends. Slowly, they gathered their courage and pushed aside the bush’s leaves.

They saw an animal curled up near a tree root.

Suddenly, Louis burst out from behind the bush and exclaimed, “Aww… that’s a cute little cat! Why are you all scared of that cute little dumpling?”

Saying so, he scooped the cat into his arms.

“I’ll adopt her. I’ll name her… Buttercup!”

Louis’s friends stared at him with their arms crossed.

“So, Louis, would you like to continue the trek, or stay here with your ‘Buttercup’?” they asked.

“Of course! Buttercup would like a trek,” Louis said, grinning at his new pet.

They continued up the hill and finally reached the top. They took out the food they had packed.

Jim, one of Louis’s friends, asked through a mouthful of sandwich, “Louis, won’t you get into trouble if you take Buttercup home?”

“Well, I would rather rescue this cute chum than abandon her,” Louis replied, stroking the cat’s head.

Soon, they packed up and headed home.

Louis rang the doorbell.

His mother opened the door.

“Mom, we’ve got a new member!” Louis exclaimed.

“Who?” his mother asked, wondering what mischief Louis might be up to this time.

The last time, he had brought home a huge tarantula. At the sight of it, his grandmother had freaked out and refused to enter his room for an entire week.

“Hope it’s not anything freaky!” his mother warned.

“A cute cat! Buttercup! Call her Buttercup!” Louis exclaimed.

His mother still looked annoyed.

“Why? Why do you keep bringing home such pets?” she asked tiredly.

“Weird? Since when did cats become weird? I thought my pet snake was weird!” Louis said as he walked into the kitchen to find something for Buttercup to eat.

Thus, a month passed.

Soon, the whole family grew fond of the cat.

However, there was one thing everyone noticed.

“Louis, why isn’t the cat meowing?” his mother, father, sister, and grandmother kept asking.

“Well, she’s still a cute baby kitten,” was always Louis’s answer.

“Louis! Go to the veterinary clinic today. Right now! It has already been a month, and baby cats do meow,” his mother told him sternly.

“Fine, fine. The doctor will say she’s still a baby. She’ll meow eventually.”

Louis scooped up Buttercup and headed to the vet.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” the doctor asked.

“A cat who doesn’t meow,” Louis replied grimly.

“Oh! Give her to me. Let me examine her.”

The doctor took Buttercup.

“By the way, how old was she when you adopted her?” the doctor asked.

“I didn’t adopt her. I found her sitting near a tree when we went on a trek,” Louis said.

“So, you rescued her?” the doctor asked while continuing the examination.

“Yes! I did! I love nature, so when I found this cute plum chum sitting under a tree, shivering without a home, I scooped her up and brought her home. She was waiting for someone to rescue her, and that someone was me!”

Louis proudly told the doctor the entire story.

The doctor listened with one eyebrow raised.

“Well, are you done telling me how you rescued her?” he asked.

“Yes!” Louis said, beaming.

“Okay, then I have something to tell you. She is not a cat. Buttercup is actually a baby leopard.”

Louis stared at him.

“B-b-but, Doctor, there must be something wrong with your stethoscope! Or maybe you need an eye test! Maybe you need spectacles!” he stammered.

“No. That’s exactly why she isn’t meowing. The spots on baby leopards are often faint and become more prominent as they grow older. That solves the mystery. Also, I had my eyes checked just last week,” the doctor replied.

Buttercup walked up to Louis, who was still frozen in shock.

“AAARGH!” Louis screamed as she licked him.

“Get off me! Shoo! Shoo! Scram!” he yelled.

The doctor remained calm.

“You will need to hand her over to the forest officers,” he said.

“Me? Why me? Please, Doctor, can’t you hand this leopard over to the forest officers?” Louis begged.

“Fine. I will hand this cute plum chum, Buttercup, over to the forest officers,” the doctor assured him.

Louis scrambled out of the clinic, wondering what might have happened if he had never visited the vet and Buttercup had stayed at home!