Time for breakfast!

Once the guards were certain that we were all up and on our feet, they herded us out of the sleeping room. The (relatively) soft carpet below my feet was replaced by hard, tiled floor which was easier to clean and cheaper to maintain. The air was cold and smelled of detergent, the room bigger and noise from the street seeped in. On one side, there were bowls with gruel-like cat fodder arranged on the floor, one for each of us. I had been told that it contained all the nutrients we needed, and I wouldn’t say that it tasted too bad, but I didn’t have much to compare it to either.

Of course, we didn’t get any cutlery, we had to eat with our bare hands. I prefer eating without them however, merely holding the bowl in place, and only using my lips and tongue. It’s a skill I am quite proud of, as it leaves my hands clean. The guards don’t particularly care about how we eat, so long as we don’t make a mess.

While eating, my gaze wandered about the room we were in. It was the room I spent most of my life in. Here we ate, played, got educated, and even washed in a corner. There also was a courtyard with high fences so we couldn’t escape, but we were only allowed to go out there at certain times and under the watchful eyes of the guards. The only other rooms I knew were the sick bay, where we got our check-ups and were brought when we were sick, and the sleep room. The latter was by far my favourite: In stark contrast to the other rooms, it was heated and sound-isolated, a necessity for us cats with our overly sensitive ears, we couldn’t sleep otherwise, not in a big city. Naturally, we didn’t get mattresses or blankets, we just slept huddled together on the floor. We were only allowed to go into the sleep room at night, although then we weren’t allowed to leave it either. These three rooms and the courtyard had been my entire world up until this day, and soon I would leave and never come back.

Although deep in thought, I still ate as fast as I could, fearful of my sisters taking away my food. For once I didn’t have to worry though. Since it was a special day and all of us were busy with our thoughts, there was no fighting over food, and I actually got to eat my fill for once. As I licked my bowl clean, I looked around me. Most of my sisters were either finished with their food already or close, which served as a reminder that breakfast would be over soon. And indeed, a few moments later, the guards ordered us to finish up and herded us towards the washing corner.