A small village not far from the border to the state of Westphalia at the North Rhine. Extensive nature, a few idyllic farms, wind turbines and a main road that runs through the entire village like a lifeline. Apart from the usual banter about the driving skills of the neighbouring inhabitants of East Westphalia, there is nothing really interesting to be experienced here. Quite normal people live here. Quite normal? Well, there is one in every village. The one who is considered to be cranky. Closed off. Strange. Weird. And so it is in this one. This one, who is described here, is with body and soul the servant of a well known, illustrious cat society, which, after the painful losses within the last two years, has been joined by two young cats since a few days. Ms. Nati and Mr. Jeremie, called Jerry.

Ms. Nati, a young lady cat in an elegant black fur dress, which shimmers a soft reddish brown in the sun, was content with herself and her world in the last few days. For a few days now, this was her new home and she had everything she ever dreamed of. Plenty of space, countless scratching possibilities, toys and many cosy resting places, including a fireplace with a luxurious, large, thick and unbelievably fluffy blanket with a rustle foil insert in front of it.

So now, while the servant, lounging on the sofa, indulged in his latest passion, reading philosophical writings (which he, of course, did not understand), she dozed peacefully on the above mentioned luxurious blanket in front of the fireplace after an extremely productive and exhausting day, blissfully dreaming of that handsome, red and white tomcat with the melodious name “Kalle”, who immediately fled as soon as he saw this intrusive little black something, but that didn’t stop her from repeatedly stalking his soft, plush fur, even though said gentleman was already in his middle years while she was still in the throes of youthful recklessness, when she was suddenly awakened by an unpleasant smell. She felt a strong suction that threatened to pull the fur off her ears.

Ms. Nati was furious about this disturbance of her much-needed sleep. “I absolutely refuse this impertinent…” she wanted to rebel, but besides her eyes widening, she only managed a barely audible, weak “mi…” when she discovered what was causing this suction. A huge nose, belonging to an even more huge, obviously very old tomcat of black and white appearance, appeared in front of her graceful face. A voice that ached uncomfortably in her ears, like fingernails on a slate, asked “Who are you? And… what are you?” Snorting, hot and foul breath hit her. Ms. Nati instantly fell into a frozen state of shock, unable to answer. Waiting, the old tomcat looked at her and weighed up carefully whether this small, black something was edible or not. Finally he blinked slowly at her and moved away.

“Rats. Rats that smell like little cat. What a lot of strange things there are in this household…” thought the old tomcat, slowly and leisurely trotting away towards the kitchen, leaving behind a small black cat that, completely confused, wavered between insecurity and indignation, and a servant who, bursting out laughing, was rolling on the floor.