1.4 - They grow up so fast

Bharu: Mom, what is this? It scares me.

Amy: This is the human's fresh offspring. It appears she wanted her own litter after she saw our family so happy.

Amanda: What to do? Should we kill it?

Katerchen: AMANDA!

Amanda: It could be dangerous! Have you heard how loud it screams??

Katerchen: But it is a cat-sized human! Think of how much fun we could have together if we befriend it!

Amy: And don't forget that it will grow up into our next can opener. I agree, we should be nice to it.

Ava: It's so big for a newborn! Look, its paws are the same size as mine!

Amy: Alright kids, lets get out of here. It seems completely harmless aside from the noise, don't worry too much. 

Amanda: Hey, mom. Don't you think it's a little bit weird that the baby is alone in its cage all the time? I remember when we were that young, you never left our side. 

Amy: Humans are different from us, that's no big news. I'm sure she knows what she's doing and is a good parent for human standards.

Ah, and Lena is indeed a good parent... for her furry babies. 

But no worries! Little Felicia, called Feli, isn't all that neglected either. It is true however, that being responsible for a little human is not what Lena really wanted in her life.

If only she had someone to share the responsibility with... 

Lena got an invitation to a party from a common friend of Kenji and hers. She knows, unless Kenji spoke the truth about moving to Shang Simla, she will probably meet him there.

Success! Kenji looks very surprised to be caught here.
"So, how is business on your llama farm going?", Lena snarls sarcastically.
"Uh, it's, uhh... That's... a long story! Uh, anyway, I'm surprised to see you here, I thought you had a baby..."
"You DARE mention her? After leaving me alone when I needed you the most?

Kenji looks terrified but Lena doesn't stop there.
"Not only did you not take any responsibility as a father, you also failed as my friend. Can you even imagine how hard it was for me with all the cats around?"
"Hey, hey... slow down... Who says that I am truly the father?"

He's not wrong. While she's pretty sure that Kenji is indeed Feli's father, she can't prove it either. For a few seconds Lena just stands there, silently staring at Kenji with an angry, disappointed expression on her face.

Then she turns around without a word and leaves. It's not like she was truly hoping to get any kind of support from this manchild, but confronting him did make her feel better after all.

It's not like Felicia needs a father anyway. Katerchen fulfills the role of a surrogate father just fine, don't you think?
Someone who isn't Lena might have been worried that having a human baby being raised by cats more than by its actual parents could not possibly be good for its development, but so far Feli is quite happy around her feline family.

Ava seems especially fond of the human baby. She would really love to have her own babies one day, but finding a good mate is sooo hard nowadays!

Not a single cat was hissing at little Feli. She's one of them!

Time goes by and not much changes in the Koyangi household. Lena has to go to work every night, leaving Feli alone with the cats and an incompetent babysitter snoring in front of the TV.

And so Feli learns early on how to entertain herself.

Look, I'm a cat! Hiding in a box!

The turning point comes one day when Lena calls an old college friend for some chatting.

"And how is the little girl growing up?"

"You mean Bok Gil? Oh, you should see her, she has grown a lot and looks almost like Amanda now, who she is also best frie-"

"... I'm talking about Felicia. Man, do you even notice you have a human child sometimes? You still live like a college student, but you are a mother now! I hope for the kid's sake that Felicia will be able to say more than "meow" when she attends school soon!"

Katerchen overhears the call and hisses in agreement. Yeah, how about you start really caring for your baby for once? I already have enough kids to take care of!

Later that evening Lena thinks back to the misunderstanding in embarassment. Her friend was right, it's time to become an adult now. She can blame Kenji as much as she wants, but she has just as much resposibility in this.

"Hey, Feli, what do you think? How about a mother-daughter day once a week? Just the two of us? Starting... today!"

And so Lena takes her daughter to the park to have fun and learn how to walk on two legs.

(The clipping, ugh)

It's a beautiful sunny day in the park. Another mother and her son are watching a wild womrat. Until Katerchen comes and murders it.

Bok Gil and Bharu are all grown up now!

And with the two youngsters growing up there comes another change in the household: Lena decides to adopt out two of her cats so she'll be able to focus more on raising Felicia. 

The sisters Amanda and Bok Gil are happy to stay together as they move in to their new home.

Their new human is Felicia's babysitter, so they already know her. Ava says a last goodbye to Amanda, while Katerchen is proudly watching his two daughters. How fast they have grown up! 

(Look at Katerchen's loving eyes in the background! This picture is heart-melting ♥)

With only 4 cats left, it's getting rather quiet in the household. Maybe Feli can finally get more attention now, because she, too, is growing up fast...