  Things had been quiet in the apartment building since the departure of Whiskers, Little Tom and Mittens. At first, their owners had thought that the cats had been kidnapped. As though someone had broken into the building in order to steal cats for some nefarious purpose. Some people in the building remembered hearing what sounded like a cat fight on the night that they disappeared and this was generally agreed upon in the building as the cats bravely fighting against their captor as they were dragged away into the night. Signs were hung up around the neighborhood, the police were called and no one ever considered to look in the shelter. After all, these were cats with collars and little paw-shaped licences that jingled when they ran.
There was no reason that cats of this caliber would have ended up in a shelter. Jasper was happy for that month or so. Things were quiet in the building and he was free to roam where he wished. During that first month, all the pet owners in the building were afraid to let their beloved furry ones out alone in fear of another mass pet-napping. Yet, after that first month, the owners began to be more lax about letting their animals out. By the end of the second month, the building had returned to normal, cats and dogs were free to wander the halls and outside of the building.
There was, however, one exception. There were now 3 fewer cats in the building. This may not seem like a lot, but in a building of only 8 cats and five dogs to begin with, this loss of cats greatly affected the cat/dog ratio. The three owners who had lost cats had not yet replaced them and one of them even talked about getting a dog instead. It began slowly, but things changed. One day Jasper noticed that he felt uncomfortable walking alone in the halls.
It wasn't anything in particular, it was just a feeling. There always seemed to be a dog watching him. Wherever he went, there was at least one dog, somtimes two or three. But Jasper just thought that this was because there were more dogs than cats now and it just seemed like there was always a dog around. Things got more and more tense, but Jasper didn't do anything about it. He wasn't really friends with any of the other cats in the building, or the dogs for that matter.
He was just really a loner. Then one day, Jasper ran down to the laundry room to look for some mice and there were two of the dogs sitting outside the door. Jasper looked up at them and then just tried to walk in. "No cats" one of them growled at him. "What are you talking about Rusty? " Jasper asked "He said no cats" said the other dog.
He just looked at Jasper with a hint of a smirk. "Since when Duke? " Jasper asked the other dog. "Since today" "What's going on? " Duke nonchalantly chewed on his foot. "No cats, thats what's going on" he said.
"And I would stay away from the 2nd floor storage closet if I were you. " Jasper looked back and forth between the two dogs. He knew that he didn't want to start something by himself against Rusty and Duke. "Ok then, see you two later" he said and lightly walked away. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew he wasn't going to live in a building run by dogs. Dogs that he had saved, mind you!
He knew what he had to do. He ran to his apartment and picked up his small red bandana out of its hiding place under his scratching post. He ran to the front of the apartment building, tied the bandana to the front door and then went back to his apartment to have a nap. At ten till midnight, Jasper snuck out the cat door to his apartment and ran outside to the dumpster. He was quiet and careful not to be seen by any dogs. When he got there, 2 of the other cats were already there.
"Hi Socks, Critter," Jasper said. "Hiya Jasper! " said Critter. He jumped around and played with an old soup can that had rolled out of the trash. "Jasper" Socks nodded. He put out his foot and stopped the soup can.
"This is a secret meeting, Critter, keep it down. " "Are the girls coming? " Jasper asked. Socks nodded, "I saw them earlier. " He looked at Jasper. "I heard that you had something to do with the disappearance of Whiskers and them.
" Socks licked his foot and Jasper saw the scar over Socks' eye in the moonlight. "I did," Jasper said, "I heard them plotting to kill the dogs and I thought I should do something. " He looked Socks in the eye. Socks looked back at him. Critter ran around, now batting his own tail around. "I never liked Whiskers, he always stole my mice from me, " Critter said.
"I appreciate your honesty," Socks said, "I don't know if I trust you, but you have always been a straight cat. " "I just did what I thought would be best for the building, for all of us," Jasper said. Socks nodded, "So why did you call this meeting? " Just then they all heard a noise behind them and jumped up. Well not Critter, he was still playing with his tail. But it was just Princess and Sonya.
"Hello ladies," Jasper said. "Hi Girls! " said Critter. "Hi guys," Princess and Sonya purred. Socks nodded his acknowledgement of their presence. "Sorry we're late," said Princess, "we had to hide from some of the dogs for a little bit.
" Jasper paced in front of the cats and looked at them before he spoke. Critter continued to play with his tail while he talked to Sonya. Sonya licked her paw and preened herself while she listened to Critter. Socks' eyes scoured the back of the building and his ears were perked up. Princess sat quietly and looked at Jasper. "Well, I've called this meeting to talk about our dog problem," Jasper said.
To Be Continued... 
