October 29, 2011 update:

I've made embarrassingly little progress on this story over the past year, but I do think I've got a foothold on on it and know how I'd like for the story to progress from this point on so it's not a total loss...

*crosses claws for next year*

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Kaffre’s Birthday

By Kaffre Kitten

“Time to get up, Fluffybutt” whispered Delores Kitten as she gently jostled her sleeping child awake. Slowly, the little cat sat up in bed and peered about the familiar room, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“My butt’s not fluffy!” whined Kaffre as he crawled out from under the covers and sat sulking on the side of his bed.
“I know” giggled the adult cat ruffling her son’s headfur in a playful manner. She knew the cutesy pet-name embarrassed her son, but couldn’t resist teasing him with it every now and then.
Seeing that the kitten was still a bit grumpy, the older feline gently scooped her little one into her arms for some motherly affection. Poor Kaffre couldn’t resist the licking and nuzzling for long and was soon purring blissfully.
Satisfied that her kitten had been snuggled into submission, Delores lowered him gently back down to the floor.
“Do you know what today is?” she asked mischievously.

Kaffre pondered; “Halloween!?” he ventured hopefully. The little cat had been exposed to Halloween-stuff non-stop via television programs and store displays for the last two weeks and was very excited about going Trick or Treating with his friends from Daycare this year.
“That was a good guess” Delores purred giving her son a reassuring pat on the head. “There are still a few more days before Halloween, though.”
Kaffre was disappointed, but decided to venture another guess.
“Cartoons day!?” chirped the excited kitten.
“It’s not Saturday either, honey”
“What is it then?” Kaffre asked warily, hoping it wasn’t a trip to the vet!
“It’s your birthday, silly. You’re turning four today!”
“Oooh!” purred the happy kitten clapping his mittened paws excitedly. Eagerly the little feline began looking around his bedroom expecting to see presents, cakes, and other birthday paraphernalia. Not finding any, he turned to his mommy for an explanation.
“The party won’t start for a few hours.” Delores explained, having correctly anticipated her son’s question.
Kaffre looked disappointed.
“How about some breakfast?” suggested the kitten’s mother.
“Yeah!” cheered Kaffre as Mommy finished unbuttoning his mittens from his sleeves and set to work liberating his tail from the sleeper’s button-on vonk.

While his mommy worked, Kaffre settled into a blissful daydream that revolved around getting lots of gifts and eating unhealthy quantities of sweets.
The kitten’s reverie was soon broken, however, by the sound of giggling behind him. Spinning around Kaffre saw his, now vonkless, tail poofed out comically and crackling with static electricity.
"I notta fluffybutt" Kaffre reminded his mommy as he tried frantically to smooth his fur back down with his paws.
Once she’ managed to stop laughing, Delores extended a paw to her son.
Reluctantly, Kaffre touched his mama’s paw yelping in pain when the little blue spark jumped from his fingertip
“OK?” Delores asked.
“Uh-huh.” Kaffre sniffled shaking his stinging paw.
“Want mommy to kiss it better?”
Kaffre nodded and held up his injured digit so Mommy could give it a kiss.

Delores kissed her kitten’s owie then returned to getting her young one ready for the day ahead. Today, however, was a tad chilly and Kaffre was reluctant to vacate his jammies. So, whenever Delores reached for the zipper at the back of her son’s sleeper, the kitten would turn towards her at the last possible moment giggling happily at the fun new game he’d invented.
The elder cat was, however, an experienced kitten wrangler and Kaffre was soon shivering pitifully on the floor, naked except for the thick white diaper that was taped securely around his hips.
Delores was unimpressed by the kitten’s melodrama.
“The sooner you’re changed, the sooner you can get dressed” she scolded scooping up her son and setting him down on the changing table.
Kaffre sighed with resignation and lifted his legs so Mommy would have easier access to his diaper.
“Hmm looks like someone stayed clean and dry last night” said the female cat, setting the naked kitten back on the floor.
Kaffre puffed with pride, he knew a certain squirrel would be very jealous!
“Why don’t you go and see if you can use the potty while I see how daddy’s coming with breakfast?” asked Delores, helping her child into his t-shirt.
“OK!” replied Kaffre, as he scampered down the hallway.
Kaffre was pleased to see that the bathroom door had been left opened and that the light was on, it made the hum of the water-heater seem a bit less threatening. The kitten shivered a little when his bare paw-pads touched the icy ceramic tiles that covered the bathroom floor.
“I should’a asked mommy for socks!” he muttered to himself as he made his way to the cute, little red and white potty, lifted the lid and sat down.
“Yipe!” Kaffre gasped, the seat of his potty-chair was cold too!

Despite this latest hardship, the little feline was determined to stay on the potty until his parents called him for breakfast. So he gritted his teeth and began thinking about the many new toys he expected to receive today! He hadn’t been imagining long when a soft trickling sound snapped him from his daydream. Looking down, the kitten watched enraptured until the flow of urine had stopped completely then eagerly pressed the little lever on the side of his potty.
“Ding, Ding!” went the bell. Kaffre smiled, he loved that sound! Mommy must’ve liked it too because she soon came running.
“Oh what a good, big kitty!” praised Delores, rewarding her young son by scritching him behind the ears for a few moments..
For his part, the kitten purred happily at the praise and scritchies until his mommy abruptly stopped the scritchies and handed him a pair of training pants from the package beside the potty. Kaffre looked at the pull-up cautiously, he’d worn them during the daytime for a few weeks now, but they weren’t as soft and comfy as his diapers. Plus, he still had some doubts regarding their ability to absorb a heavy wetting.
Kaffre wanted to be a good kitty though, so he put on the trainers like his mommy wanted him to. It wasn’t easy, however, his tail wasn’t going where he told it to and try as he might, he just couldn’t make it go through the slot.
“Umm, I needs help with my tail.” Kaffre admitted, a bit embarrassed at having been outwitted by his own tail.
Delores put her years of diapering experience to good use and soon had her son’s tail neatly threaded through the opening.
“Thanks!” Kaffre chirped, hugging his mommy’s leg tightly.
“You’re welcome.” purred Delores, giving her son a lick on the forehead, causing him to purr even louder than before.

“Breakfast’s ready!” called Blaise from the kitchen as he finished depositing his family’s breakfast onto their plates.
The male cat had barely finished calling his wife and son when the other two felines came scampering down the hallway at top speed. At first it looked like Kaffre would be the first to the kitchen, but at the last moment, Delores playfully grabbed the kitten’s tail and mimed using it to catapult herself into the lead.
“That’s cheating!” Kaffre whined, looking very cross.
“Come on let’s get some breakfast into you!” said Blaise as he strapped the grumpy kitty into his booster seat and slid him a big plate of pancakes.
Kaffre poked a pancake suspiciously with his fork; these didn’t look like his Kibble-Os! Mommy and Daddy were eating them though, so he leaned over his plate and gave his pancakes an experimental sniff. Mmmmm, these smelled delicious! Gripping his fork tightly in his chubby little paw, Kaffre eagerly speared one of the bite-sized pieces his daddy had so thoughtfully cut for him and shoved the sweet syrupy square into his muzzle. Oooh these pancakes tasted even better than they smelled! Kaffre let out a joyous squeal of delight and attacked his breakfast again, purring the entire time.
“These are tasty!” purred the, now quite sticky, kitten showing his daddy the empty plate and hoping for a second helping.
“Okay, I get the hint!” giggled Blaise as he deposited another pancake onto his son’s plate and started cutting it up for him.
“Want some milk?” asked Delores who had just finished her breakfast and was now pouring glasses of milk for her husband and herself.
Kaffre nodded enthusiastically, pancakes made him thirsty!
The kitten thanked his mommy for the beverage then quickly drained the sippy-cup of milk that he'd been given and set to work devouring the rest of the yummy syrup-soaked pancakes.

When Kaffre was finally finished eating his breakfast, he raised his arms so his mommy could set him back down on the floor.
“Aww look at you, you’re covered with syrup!” she scolded. Kaffre flattened his ears and tucked his tail between his legs.
“Don’t worry Kaffre, Daddy will get you cleaned up!” she told the kitten, shooting her pancake-making husband a dirty look.
Blaise, looked up from the dishes with a sigh.
“Alright. Go to the living room and put on some cartoons, I’ll be there in a few minutes” he promised his son before returning his attention to the dishes.
Kaffre ran eagerly into the living room, switched on the television and flipped through the channels until he came to a Pink Panther cartoon. Kaffre loved those cartoons (his mommy was even making him a Pink Panther costume for Halloween!) so he happily flopped down on the soft carpet to be entertained. The little feline hadn’t been watching TV long when his father entered the room carrying a bowl of warm soapy water, a rag, and the fur-brush.
“Alright, I’m ready” Kaffre’s father said sitting down on the sofa and motioning for the kitten to join him up on the couch.
Kaffre bounded over to his father and draped himself over the older cat’s lap, purring in anticipation. He liked getting his fur brushed, just so long as he didn’t have any burrs or tangles in his coat. Those hurt!
Blaise removed his son’s syrup-encrusted shirt and the wetted the sticky parts of the little cat’s fur with the rag before gently brushing the child until his fur was just as smooth and clean as it could be.

“Your winter coat’s coming in nice and thick this year” Blaise commented running his paw through the cub’s luxurious fur.
“Thanks daddy!” Kaffre chirped, blushing at the compliment. The kitten enjoyed all the attention his soft, shiny coat garnered him from the grownups and tried very hard keep it looking pretty. The brush tugged at Kaffre’s fur a bit, but he was very brave and only yelped once or twice the whole time daddy was grooming him!
“OK, all done!” Blaise cheered, setting the freshly brushed kitten down beside him on the couch cushion as the cartoon credits started to roll..
“Petties?” Kaffre asked hopefully.
“Sorry, Kaffie” said the father cat ruffling his kitten’s fur.
“I’d love to pet you some more, but right now I’ve got to help Mommy get ready for your party. Why don’t you go to the nursery and play with your toys for a while?” he suggested.
Kaffre nodded and trudged back to his bedroom feeling very sorry for himself.

In his room, Kaffre busied himself with assembling his plushies in a semi-circle around his bed then climbed up on top to answer the toys' many questions about birthdays. The kitten was fairly certain that at least a few of the toys present had been given to him on previous birthdays, but he couldn’t remember which ones. It was just as well, however, as most of the toys’ concerns revolved around whether or not he, Kaffre, would still love them even with all the wonderful new gifts he was assured of receiving today. Once the Q&A was over, the little feline then hopped down from his bed and went around the assembly hugging each of the toys and reassuring them that he’d always love them no matter what...
“Yeek!” squealed Kaffre as two paws very suddenly began to tickle his exposed tummy from behind. After a few moments of struggling, the kitten managed to pull away from his attacker and collapsed on the soft carpet giggling hysterically. Once he’d managed to blink the tears of mirth from his eyes, Kaffre recognized his attacker as Zee-Zee the happy little squirrel. Kaffre had enjoyed himself greatly at Zee-Zee’s birthday just a few weeks earlier and was glad his bushy-tailed friend had decided to reciprocate.
“Hi Zee-Zee!” Kaffre purred, keeping his paws up to protect himself from another round of tickles, but the squirrel threw his arms around the feline’s neck instead, drawing the feline into a snuggly, heartfelt hug.
“Happy Birthday, Kaffre!” Zee-Zee squeaked causing his friend to purr contentedly and nuzzle with his cheek floofs,
As the two cubs were snuggling, the door swung open and the cubs’ respective mothers entered the room.
“Alright, Birthday Boy time to get dressed!” Delores told Kaffre as she scooped him into her arms. Kaffre was still feeling affectionate though and immediately began nuzzling his mommy in Zee-Zee’s stead.
“We’d better get somebody to the potty too” Zena added noting her own son’s subconscious potty-dance and leading him to the Kitten family’s bathroom.

Kaffre’s mommy sat him down on the bed and set out his favourite red shirt and his best pair of overalls on the bed.
The kitten chirped happily, knowing he’d look very handsome and cute in the outfit his mommy had picked out for him.
“I dress myself?” Kaffre asked hopefully, feeling very grown-up today.
The mother cat nodded her permission, but stuck around to help her son and to offer praise or assistance as necessary.
“Mama Help!” wailed Kaffre, his head and arms entangled helplessly in his shirt. Delores smiled and gave her kitten a motherly lick on the forehead after freeing him from the tangled mess of his own clothing.
Kaffre replied with a lick of his own and began trying to work out how to get his overalls on without falling down.

After several minutes of wrestling with his overalls, the little cat finally toppled over onto his back. This proved a blessing in disguise, however, as he found it much easier to wriggle his legs and rebellious tail through their respective openings from a seated position. Kaffre had no sooner finished buttoning up his overalls when he heard unmistakable sound of little paws skittering across the hallway floor.

With all the feline stealth he could muster, Kaffre quickly concealed himself behind his bedroom door, ready to wreak his vengeance upon the little squirrel in retaliation for the savage tickling Zee-Zee had subjected him to earlier. Much to Kaffre’s surprise, however, the little fur that entered the room wasn’t a squirrel at all, but a fuzzy blue bear cub in green shortalls and a tie-dyed T-shirt.

“MJ!” squealed the kitten as ran up to his friend and wrapped his arms around the confused-looking young ursine. Having recently learned that bears were famous for their hugs and worrying that his little friend might be a bit jaded, Kaffre put forth an extra-special effort – hugging MJ just a tight as he could and being generous with his purrs and nuzzles. After the initial surprise wore off, MJ embraced his kitty friend in the tightest hug he could manage.
“Happy Birthday, Kaffy!” exclaimed the bear cub cheerfully.

Kaffre and MJ basked in the warm aftermath of their hug for a few more moments, waiting patiently for Zee-Zee to return from the potty. Kaffre was too caught up in his birthday daydreaming at to pay much notice to the three little furs who had just toddled into his nursery.
“Happy Birthday!” exclaimed Jerry, Tacki and Yosh-E-O simultaneously, snapping the little cat from his reverie. Kaffre whirled round shaking with excitement, not knowing who to hug first!

After a few moments of indecision Kaffre carefully drew the baby chipmunk into an embrace before doing the same for the dragon and yoshi-duck.
“Good to see you!” he purred happily, not knowing how long it had been since they’d all been together (it had been two weeks previous on Zee-Zee’s birthday, but it seemed much longer to the elated youngsters).

Little Kaffre had no sooner finished hugging his newest guests when Zee-Zee returned from the potty, his khaki shorts tucked neatly under his arm.
“Awww you miss the potty?” asked Jerry sympathetically.
“No!” exclaimed the little squirrel, blushing indignantly. He’d wanted to remind his friends that he was still a big potty-going rodent despite having been thickly padded at his own birthday party due to an unforeseen pull-up shortage…
Disappointed that his clever subtlety had failed to garner him any praise, Zee-Zee sat down on Kaffre’s bed and put his shorts back on.

“What sort of birthday games will there be?” asked MJ excitedly.
“I don’t know…” admitted Kaffre, a bit embarrassed at his lack of knowledge concerning the itinerary of his own party.
“We can ask my mommy though!” he was quick to add.
The other babies nodded and silently accompanied the little feline out to the kitchen where the grownups were gathered around the table drinking coffee and discussing current events. Once the cubs entered the room, however, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and gathered around the birthday boy, patting his head and wishing him a “happy birthday!”

Poor Kaffre tried to be sociable, purring and cooing like he felt was expected, but he was shy around large groups of furs and it was all he could do to meekly make his way through the adoring crowd toward his parents.

“Mommy?” Kaffre asked as he scrambled up onto the older cat’s lap, “What kinda birthday funs will we be doing?”.
“Well, once all of the guests arrive, we've serve lunch then play some games, then cake and presents” explained the mommy cat.
Kaffre was satisfied with this answer and started to crawl off of mommy's lap only to be recaptured so mommy could decorate his fuzzy noggin with a festive birthday hat. The kitten carefully adjusted the elastic on his new chapeau before hopping gracefully from his mommy's lap and scampering back to where his friends were waiting.
“Mommy says we ought to play in my room till the other guests arrive” he explained apologetically.
Much to the feline's surprise his friends seemed pleased with answer and gleefully lined up so his mommy could put party hats on them too!

Once everyone was festively attired, Kaffre led his entourage back to his bedroom where the number of babyfurs had grown precipitously in the few minutes he and his friends had been gone!
“It looks like everyone in town in here!” Tacki exclaimed, adjusting his hat slightly so as to make himself look more presentable.
Kaffre gave a nervous whimper as he looked out over the teeming sea of babyfurs he hadn't thought there were that many cubs in the whole world!
Sensing his friend's anxiety, MJ wrapped the birthday boy up in a warm hug.
“Don't be afraid, Kaffre. You know all these peoples!” he reassured the frightened kitten gesturing toward the crowd with his paw...

(TO BE CONTINUED)