小猫上树《Up a Tree》（上）

Our rescue cat, Mouse, had been Queen of the Hill For some time when another feline entered her realm in the form of a little, orange kitty. It was a ray of sunshine [or our family, but for Mouse, it was a home Invasion.We had found the stray one rainy afternoon by our back porch. It had no tags and was in dire need of nourishment. Mouse did not share our tender feelings for the interloper, even though we had rescued her as well, adopting her from a shelter. She hissed and swatted at the tiny thing.The kids didn’t want to take the kitty — named Peaches for its bright, orange fur— to a shelter. Mouse would just have to adjust and learn a little humility. She’d have to share some of the attention that was heretofore exclusively hers.The situation remained in standoff mode for several days. Peaches quickly learned to be wary of the older, bigger cat. We all hoped that Mouse would come around eventually.Mouse had long since become strictly an indoor cat, showing little interest in the outside world other than to watch the birds and squirrels go through their antics around the bird feeder and a display of peanuts. When she wasn’t watching life pass by from the comfort of a windowsill, she was usually stretched out across the middle of a bed, driftIng from one lazy dream to another.I wondered if she had reached the point where she would observe a rodent or a beastly bug scuttling in front of her with no more enthusiasm than a yawn. But because of Peaches, we tried to make sure unattended doors were closed, worried that Mouse’s intimidating tactics might cause Peaches to run outside. With kids coming in and out constantly, that would prove to be a daunting task.