In a land, far from city life, there stood a rescue house. It was full of feral cats! And they would sleep in the bushes of Critter Manor.

They all got along, except for one. Her name was Isabella.

Isabella never fit in with the other cats. Her eyes were big and she had a knob-shaped tail.

She was a Manx cat, but the other cats did not know that. They were used to long-tail cats.

The other cats would make fun of Isabella for her short tail and bunny hop. They would even keep her away from their favorite napping spots.

But the old lady of the house noticed and would let her sleep on her couch. And when she dreamed, she dreamed of nothing but love.

(Picture of Izzy sleeping.)

One day, Isabella was playing near a tree, far behind Critter Manor. She was sniffing around the roots, smelling something weird.

Jumping back, Isabella was shocked. A little rat was sticking his head out from under the tree.

“Go away, mighty beast,” the rat squeaked. “We will not be your feast.”

Scrunching her nose, Isabella asked, “Why would I eat you?”

“You’re a cat!” The rat wiggled his whiskers and ran back into the hole.

“Izzy!” The old woman of Critter Manor yelled from the house. “Dinner time!”

Isabella ran from the tree and returned to her home on the hill. 

And through the door, she ran past the kind woman to eat in the barn.

Cat food was everywhere: in huge bowls, in automatic feeders, and even on the floor! Feeding 50 cats is more than a chore.

And the five volunteers that helped the woman take care of the cats, sat down to eat their own delicious snacks.

During dinner, Isabella looked at the other cats eating. “What do we eat?” she asked everyone.

A cat looked up from her bowl, rolling her eyes. She told Isabella, “What does it matter? It’s tasty!”

“I don’t want to eat a rat,” Isabella looked down at her food. “I don’t want to eat a chicken. Not a cow. Not a dog.”

Walking out from the barn where they ate their meals, the confused Isabella walked into the backyard.

She walked up to the old woman’s garden and sniffed a blueberry bush. They smelled good.

But her tastebuds forced her to spit them out the moment she grabbed a few. And she walked sadly over to another bush.

"A cat eating fruit?” someone asked from under a nearby root. “What next? A cat with wings?”

Isabella looked down at the ground and saw the same rat from earlier. “I don’t want to eat you,” she said quietly.

The rat looked up at her surprised, and said, “I don’t want you to eat me too!”

Running out from under the root, the rat ran in front of the sad cat. He sat near her paws, and asked her, “Your kind eats animals. What will you eat if you refuse to?”

Isabella looked around the yard and saw a dead bird lying on the grass. “I can scavenge,” she shouted. “Like you.”