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Star licked her kittens’ heads fondly with her own little pink tongue. Jasmine’s eyes filled with tears. It was so grown up, such a mother cat thing to do, and Star was only a baby herself, really too young to have kittens.

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“But I guess you didn’t know you were too young,” Jasmine murmured. “Wow. Andy and Helen have got three cats now; they’re so lucky!” She looked admiringly at the kittens. They were about as long as two of her fingers. One of them was a gorgeous stripy ginger, and the other looked like atiny baby Star – only with slightly more grey in her tabby fur. Their eyes were closed, and their ears were almost invisible, still tucked against their heads.

Star gave her a slightly anxious look, and Jasmine smiled.“They’re beautiful. Beautiful kittens.” She couldn’t tell if they were boys or girls. Then she frowned slightly. She hoped Star was OK. Was there anything she ought to do for her? Did she need to go to a vet?

Jasmine carefully backed away from the cupboard, not wanting to startle Star or the kittens– although they were fast asleep and didn’t look like much could disturb them right now. “I’ll be back soon,” she murmured. “And I’ll bring you some more food and water, and – and a litter tray.”

Jasmine raced downstairs and back to her own house.“Mum! Mum!” she called excitedly.

Her mum rushed out of the kitchen.“Have you found her? Oh, you have, haven’t you? Well done, Jasmine!” She peered over Jasmine’s shoulder, expecting to see Star following her. “But where is she?”

Jasmine beamed, and hugged her. She’d almost forgotten how miserable and frightened she had been about losing Star, and now an incredible relief flooded over her in waves. She needed to hold on to someone. “You’re not going to believe it,” she said into her mum’s shoulder.

“What? Has she been somewhere really obvious all the time? What’s happened?”

“She’s in next door’s airing cupboard.” Jasmine grinned at her. “And she’s had kittens!”

“No!” Jasmine’s mum gasped. “You mean it? Star has? How could we not have noticed she was pregnant?”

Jasmine laughed.“I don’t know! I guess we just thought she was too young. There are only two kittens, so I suppose that’s why she wasn’t really that big. We did think she was fat, didn’t we? I need to go and find all my cat books, Mum, I need to know what we should do!”

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Jasmine was very careful not to upset Star by fussing over her and the kittens too much. She knew now that Star had been grumpy because she was about to have the kittens, and her cat instincts were telling her she needed to hide away somewhere safe. But she was pretty sure that Star would still be touchy about anyone going too close. So she left kitten food– her books said that was what Star needed right now, as it was high in energy – and water bowls and a litter tray just outside the cupboard. She then strictly rationed herself to a five-minute visit every couple of hours. Her mum had rung the vet whose number the Murrays had left. The receptionist had said that it sounded like Star was doing brilliantly all by herself, but to ring if there were any problems and the vet would come out and see her.

It had gone from being the worst Christmas Jasmine could have imagined to the absolute best. She spent the time between her visits to Star and the kittens looking up kitten-care on the computer and nibbling her nails, wishing the time would go faster.

“I do wish we could stroke the kittens,” she said to her mum the next morning. “I know we shouldn’t, because they’re too little, but they look so soft and cuddly.”

“Mmm.” Jasmine’s mum wasn’t listening properly, as she was trying to work out exactly how long she had to cook the Christmas turkey for the next day. “Do you think we should have parsnips, Jasmine? I can’t remember if you like them.”

“I don’t,” Jasmine said. “Ooh, Mum, we’ll have to take Star some Christmas dinner tomorrow. Just a little bit. Please?”

Mum shook her head, laughing.“Poor Helen and Andy, coming home to find a cat eating Christmas dinner in their airing cupboard!”

Jasmine smiled.“They won’t mind,” she said. She knew how much the Murrays adored Star. “They’ll be so excited about the kittens. It’s going to be such a brilliant surprise. They’re so lucky, coming back to three cats instead of one!”

Mum looked thoughtful.“I don’t know. Three cats is quite a lot, all at once. But I’m sure they’ll be able to find good homes for the kittens.”

Jasmine blinked back sudden tears. She hadn’t thought that the Murrays might not keep the kittens – she’d been really looking forward to having three cats next door now! She didn’t notice that Mum was watching her, a strange, thoughtful expression on her face.

“I’ll just go and check on them all,” Jasmine muttered. “I’ll take Star some more of that special cat milk.” Mum had made an emergency rush to the pet shop yesterday to buy some kitten food and some milk that was made to be safe for cats’ stomachs.