Superscootby Eleni Limond

4th Class

When disabled, nappy-wearing rescue kitten, Scoot, stumbles across a plot to steal all the medicines from an old folks’ home, he is determined to stop the thieves.

With the help of a magical stone, and his best friends, Toffee, Tiffy and Licky, Scoot soon foils the evil gang of cat burglars.

‘Captain Scoot’ is a real life rescue cat owned by my half-brother Andrew. His hind legs were damaged and he had to have an operation. He wears a nappy, and has a set of wheels.

Usually he scoots around on his nappy bottom!

I set the story near where I lived on the Muswell Hill/Highgate border in North London. Highgate Cemetery is famous for the grave of Karl Marx and lots of other famous people.

Scoot was in the living room climbing with all his might using his front paws on the cat climbing tree. With Maple cheering him on and Chestnut thinking he was smart by saying insensitive things.

‘Come on Scoot, you can do it!’ cheered Maple. She was always the nice cat saying nice things to boost Scoot’s confidence.

‘Seriously kit, you’re not going to make it. I mean look at you?’ laughed Chestnut. ‘You’re disabled! You need to be realistic.’

Maple looked irritated. So Chestnut went to lie down in the sun. In the meantime Scoot’s paws gave way and he fell flat on his face. Crestfallen, Scoot scooted away.

Next morning Scoot woke up bright and early as his owners were fitting him with new wheels after he had an operation. When he arrived at the vet’s he heard his owners talking to the vet. It was quite hard to hear them, but he managed to hear some words.

‘I know, he’s such a young kitten, he didn’t deserve to be a stray.’‘But when we discovered he had gangrene all over his bottom it was so terrible! He

could have died!’‘Well he’s still here, isn’t he? And today he’s going to have lovely new wheels.’‘With these wheels he won’t just scoot anymore, he’ll super scoot!’ They giggled at

this. While Scoot could go out and about easily there was always a chance of tiring out because of disability when he was in a dark alleyway. And that was exactly what happened the next night.

---------------------------------------------------------

‘Well, all I can say is good luck’, said Maple.‘Really, kit, I just want you to know that I don’t think you’re really capable of…’ said

Chestnut. But Maple gave him a withering look and he shut up. After a few more minutes of Maple telling Chestnut off, Scoot was outside the cat flap saying bye to the cats. Quietly Scoot scooted along on his new wheels. Accidentally he turned a wrong corner and ended up nearing an old graveyard. He heard scufflings from some of the bushes. Scoot narrowed his eyes and hunched his back. Just when Scoot was about to scoot over to them,

‘Hey Scoot!’ shouted a furry ginger cat. ‘How do you know my name?’ thought Scoot.Then out came the others. There was a pretty calico and a ruffled up black cat with large forest green eyes.

‘I’m Tiffin and this is Toffee and Liquorice over here’, said the Calico.Scoot assumed Liquorice was the black cat and Toffee was the ginger.‘Welcome to Highgate Cemetery. We have heard about you, the new cat with the cool wheels!’ said Liquorice. Scoot stared at the spooky cemetery. Grey yews loomed up in the shadows as gnarled and twisted as the dilapidated graves themselves.

‘Come on in!’ said Tiffin.

As they were travelling through the dense undergrowth of Highgate cemetery they heard from somewhere some hushed hisses and growls.

Scoot and his new friends went to hide somewhere in the ferns.

6

‘How long do we have to keep ‘em here’, hissed a greasy-looking fat cat.‘Keep your fur on Giles, only a couple of weeks’, growled a shaggy, smirking grey

cat.‘Alright boss, but only if I get a pint o’ catnip’, chimed another.‘Oh! My tummy’s aching…I feel so unwell and stressed, I need a snack’, moaned a

big-bellied Tom sporting a blue beanie hat with a big fat ‘D’ on it. ‘That’s what made you unwell!’ hissed the shaggy grey cat.‘But…Tarquin?’‘No more of your nonsense, Dummy Dommy!’ And before the others knew, the

strange cats were out of sight.

Licky, Tiffy and Toffee approached first and then signalled to Scoot to come closer. It was a stubby old grave hidden with layers of ivy. But when you peeled off some ivy, you found what Tarquin and the others were hiding.

‘Wow! Look at those Diamonds! I never saw so many emeralds and rubies in all my nine lives!’ purred the others. Suddenly a cemetery attendant spotted them. He shooed the cats away in a hurry. Scoot scooted away on his wheels right back home.

When he arrived home there was no light on so it must have been late. As he was getting to bed he noticed that some kind of stone had got trapped somehow in his wheel. It had a magical look, colour and sparkled.

‘How did that get there?’ he thought. He decided that he would keep it with him in the night.

When Scoot woke up he felt different. More energetic, perhaps?‘How was last night Scoot?’ asked Maple.‘Oh yeah, good!’ he replied. Scoot didn’t want to explain.‘Were your wheels better to…you know…scoot on?’ asked Chestnut.‘They were brilliant!’ Scoot said quickly. But as he was talking to the other cats he

heard his owners speak clearly in the other room.‘That’s odd, I usually just hear muffled voices when they’re in the kitchen’ thought

Scoot.“I wonder who stole the jewel?” said one of the owners.‘Well, I’m not surprised that Russian oligarch had so many jewels.’‘Aren’t they the owners of the magical Cattawatta jewel that gives magical powers to

any who hold it?’‘I bet it’s the work of the infamous cat burglars of North London!’

Scoot thought about the word CATburglar. Funny? Scoot thought back to the time with Tarquin and the jewels. There were quite a lot of jewels and the owner said the Russian oligarch had a lot of jewels. What if Tarquin stole the jewels?!

‘And is it possible I have the Cattawata?!’ pondered Scoot. After a few more minutes of trying to calm himself down Scoot decided to have a catnap in the garden. While he was lying down in the sunny spot he noticed there was a newspaper on the garden table. When he went to have a look the words looked a bit clearer, a bit more understandable. In fact Scoot could actually read a bit!

“The cat burglar strikes again!” It read. “Highgate folks home. A regular nursing home has had a terrible loss of critical medicines. Lots of loved ones lives are in danger! Who will save them now?”

‘Oh no! Not again! Stealing from a rich person is bad enough but stealing from vulnerable people is a whole different matter!’

6

And in a flash Scoot scooted all the way to Highgate Cemetery. When Scoot arrived at the cemetery he raced over to the small grave with the ivy. Scoot hurriedly pulled away some ivy but the jewels weren’t there! But behind him he pricked his ears up and heard some hisses. He froze. ‘Oooooh! Look who we have here.’ sneered Tarquin.

‘I knew someone was poking around, boss!’ chimed the fuzzy drunk cat Scoot had seen earlier.

‘Yes, Nigel. I heard it too. Now, Dom, get him!’ But instead of running away Scoot felt a rush of angry energy towards Tarquin and leapt at him with full force knocking Tarquin clean out! The other cats lunged at Scoot but then Scoot started to feel a tingling feeling and started to hover in the air before flying in the air away from the other cats! Scoot landed a bit awkwardly in a bush somewhere, but near enough to hear the hushed voices of the other cats.

‘At least that cat can’t stop us from trading those medicines’, said one.‘When’s the deal?’ asked another.‘Tomorrow at the stroke of midnight’, answered one of the cats.

Scoot knew he had beaten Tarquin once but he will be looking for revenge. Scoot had to stop him.

When Scoot arrived back home it was getting quite late. Scoot didn’t bother going to bed because his mind was too taken up by ways of stopping Tarquin.

‘Where have you been?’ asked Maple and Chestnut. ‘Sorry about that, it’s just that I like exploring on my own with my new wheels’,

answered Scoot. Both Chestnut and Maple gave him a funny look but left him. Scoot sighed with relief. Now he could get back to where he was.

‘Don’t all superheroes need a costume?’ Now where was Scoot going to get a costume? ------------------------------------------------

First of all he needed a cape so Scoot quickly took one of his owner’s sports towels. Then he needed some superhero pants but he already had his nappy on so that was all sorted out. And, finally he needed a little mask but then he remembered that the neighbours were hosting a superhero-themed birthday party. He quickly scooted through the cat flap and the hole in the fence into where the birthday party was taking place and managed to get a hold of a titchy mask that would fit. Now he had the costume, he needed some allies and Scoot immediately scooted over to where he last met Toffee, Tiffy and Licky.

‘Hello Scoot! Nice to see you again!’ said Licky.‘We’ve seen what you’ve been getting up to. You really put up a fight against

Tarquin’, exclaimed Toffee.‘You’re a real superhero.’ Tiffy acknowledged.‘Thanks guys. I was wondering if you could do me a little favour?’ asked Scoot. ‘Sure!’ shouted all three cats.

Then Scoot started to explain to them what he needed from them. When Scoot said goodbye he turned and faced two gobsmacked cats.

‘So, this is what you have been getting up to!’ said Chestnut.‘What you’ve been doing is so dangerous, Scoot.’ Maple was fussing about Scoot

like a paranoid Mother. ‘Oh, Scoot. If I hadn’t been so mean to you this would never have happened in the

first place’, wailed Chestnut.

6

‘But I know who I’m meant to be now - a superhero!’ Scoot had assured them enough to calm Maple and Chestnut down.

‘All we want is for you to be safe Scoot’, whispered Maple.‘Well, you could help me with one little thing. Are you still in touch with those police

dogs?’ asked Scoot slyly.

---------------------------------------------------

‘Shhh! Dominic, they might hear us’, hissed Tarquin. Tarquin and the gang were padding silently in the dead of night and bouncing from roof to roof.

‘Welcome Tarquin’ murmured a shaky voice. ‘I expect you have come to make a deal with us but first you will have to give us the

medicines’, spoke a solemn voice. Tarquin and Giles reluctantly gave over the drugs.‘So, where is our pay?’ hissed an impatient Tarquin.‘Oh, I’m sorry because we don’t give money to thieves!’ shouted a molly’s voice. It

was Tiffin. Nigel and Dumb Dom lunged at the ‘dealers’, who were actually Scoot’s friends in disguise, but it was too late because Chestnut and Maple and the police dogs came bounding over.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ spoke a gruff voice of one of the police dogs. And while Tarquin and the gang were being taken to prison Scoot quietly sneaked the medicines into his nappy.

“Hey! Shouted an infuriated Tarquin. Now, Scoot hadn’t saved the day yet because there was still one more little thing to do.

“Now”, thought Scoot, “Where is the Highgate old folks’ home?” ----------------------------------------------

‘Oh, what a sweet little kitty’, said one of the human nurses. ‘I think you deserve a treat from your owners.’

‘You’re so lucky Scoot!’ said Chestnut. Chestnut, Maple and Scoot were back in the living room where Scoot was eating their favourite mackerel slices.

‘He deserves it, Chestnut, for all he’s been through, isn’t that right, Scoot?’ said Maple. Scoot nodded with his mouth full of mackerel.

‘Hey, Scoot! Me, you and the cat tree? Who can climb highest is the winner?’ asked the hopeful Chestnut.

And with that Scoot, Maple and Chestnut lived happily together visiting their best friends Toffee, Tiffy and Licky. And, so as they say…

the end.

But whatever happened to the Cattawatta jewel? Strange to say it just vanished and Scoot never found it again…

6

Inspo cats from the internet for my characters…

Mean cats:

Tarquin Giles

Nigel Big dumb Dom

Good cats:

Toffee Tiffy Licky

6