"The New Improved Feline Care Program"
Posted on 15 Jan 2026 @ 7:56pm by Commander Suzanna Batenburg & Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD
1,512 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Lathira Shoreleave
Location: Sickbay on Arawyn
// The Cat Room :: aka Isolation Room #2 //
"On Mittens, you are too cute. Just because you are a little bigger does not mean you get an endless bottomless bowl of food. You are gonna just roll around on the floor in here if you eat more," said Amy Carter, the current volunteer seeing to the separation of Suzanna's cat and Baylee during feeding time. Baylee was fast approaching the point where Riah could do the surgery to correct her cleft palette, but until then, she had to be separated from Mittens so she didn't try to eat the pate offered to Mittens. Crewman Avery from the Science Department was in charge of feeding Baylee through her tiny feeding tube, which took a quite long time to get enough nutrition into the little runt. But she was growing and thriving, and particularly liked to play with Mittens.
Riah Amberlyn stood in the doorway, playing a gentle version of "soccer-kitty" when Mittens got too close to exiting the room. "Amy, you know what we need? A feline care committee. I know for a fact there are 6 cats aboard this ship, 6 that we know about. I'm sure some are left alone a lot, when officers are on 24 hour duty for whatever reason. That group of cat people need to be in touch with one another."
"That's a great idea. What are we gonna do with Baylee when she gets well after the surgery?" asked Amy.
"I think we will have no trouble finding her a home."
"Can she just stay and be a clinic cat?"
"That's not a good plan in the long run. She'd be confined to this little room that we can decon. She really needs an officer's quarters. Now perhaps she could be the Counseling Cat," said Riah thoughtfully. "I'll have to talk to Dr Vettalin. They don't have the kind of extreme clinical hygiene we do. And she is so affectionate with everyone,/i> she'd be a good therapy animal."
"That's a great idea, Doc. Let me know, because I'd rather she go to one of us that has been taking care of her than to someone brand new. Kelly, Nadar and Freesia from Counseling have been handling her from the beginning. Baylee would know them right off," added Amy enthusiastically.
"I talk to Dr Vettalin. Gotta run. Thanks for taking care of Mittens."
"My joy!!" said Amy.
// Commander Batenburg's Office //
Riah had gone straight from the Insolation room to her office and made an appointment with Cmdr Batenburg and gotten a time late that afternoon. Riah tapped on the doorframe of the open office. "Still got time for me, Commander?" she asked.
Suzanna was going through the department reports since the anomaly and the disappearance of the ship through the rift. There was just nothing, no way of knowing if they arrived as they should have, and no evidence they were ever here, apart from our memories, and the information we gathered while they were here. She hoped that they had returned safely. There was much information that she needed to process still, not just the raw data. She looked up when she heard the tapping and Amberlyn's voice. "Of course, Doctor." She gestured to the couches on the side of the office. "I am due for some tea. Would you like a drink?" She stood up and got a steaming mug of hot tea and sat down on one of the couches.
Riah had brought her own cuppa coffee and sat down as the Commander had indicated.
She placed the mug on the coffee table between the two couches and looked at Riah, "How may I be of service, Doctor?”
“Well, I come about a very important subject… Mittens and Baylee. Best of friends,” Riah replied with a smile.
Suzanna's eyes lit up briefly before neutrality returned, "that is good news, Doctor. That is agreeable to hear!"
Riah took a deep breath. “I think Baylee is about ready for her palate repair - you may remember she has a cleft palate - and once fully recovered from that, she will need a home. But she is used to having someone around 24/7. She can’t be forced to go live a life of isolation from her friends: people or feline. That brings me to my question of how can we provide for ALL the cats on this ship. There are 6 that we know about.
"I think all the Cat People should rally together and develop a program so that cats, who, mostly, don’t prefer isolation over some degree of social contact. Some of the cats on this ship are alone for hours and hours, while their people are on duty or away missions, etc. People are making some effort to care for them in their absence, but wouldn’t it be great if all the cat people had an organizational structure to help each other out, or even provide some kind of Feline Day Care program? It will also help us to keep track of the health needs of these animals, vaccines and such. All that is sort of going on under the wire at the moment, I’m sure, but it would be to the benefit of the cats and their people to make it an above board, outreaching program. What do you think?”
Suzanna thought for a moment. “For Bailey's specific case, I would volunteer to take her so she and Mittens can keep playing together, I believe it will be good for both of them." Suzanna considered the alternative about the day care the Doctor mentioned, "I do believe that is a good idea, especially when someone is assigned to an away team, it can be unpredictable to specify a return ETA. Do you have any specific ideas beyond this?”
“I have a couple nurses in the Infirmary who I think would jump at the chance to make it happen, but I think we need some kind of permission from someone to carry this out to its full potential of a Cat, quote, Day Care, unquote, kind of thing. That’s why I’ve come to you. If you can offer or arrange for that permission, I can set my two women to work at it,” explained Riah.
Suzanna considered it for a moment, "I do not believe it to be a problem for you to proceed. I will mention it to the Captain as a formality so she is aware of it. We have to ensure that all crew, including the feline morale officers are looked after.”
“Absolutely. Thank you. I think I have a lot of offers for taking Baylee. She can’t stay in the Infirmary permanently. Once her palate is repaired, she will be like any other kitten: wild and crazy. She’s extremely affectionate having been handled for feeding all her life and she’s very trusting. I’d thought of letting her be the Counseling Clinic Cat if Dr Vettalin was interested, but I’m a little afraid to turn her into a therapy cat. People in genuine need of a therapy animal can be unpredictable in how they approach and treat animals. Cat’s generally don’t put up with that sort of thing. Dogs are better in those cases, I think. So perhaps a home with Mittens would be the better option, though I know people will be disappointed that she’s no longer a public cat. I guess I’ll see how she responds to the surgery before promising her to anyone. But you are first in line. If we had a location, an empty office space or storage space we can turn into the Day Care, she could be a permanent resident there. She has a lot of friends in Counseling and Medical,” Riah laughed.
"I am sure there will be a space available to use, I would suggest you check with Ops, perhaps an unused set of junior quarters, that would also be relatively centrally located." Suzanna replied, "and it would have minimal facilities, like bathroom and replicator, for whoever is looking after the felines.”
Riah all but cheered. “That is a great idea, Ma’am. Thank you. Yes, I will set my people on that. I’m sure several are on Shore Leave, but when they get back, that will be among their more pleasant tasks to attend to. Thank you for considering this and helping make it happen. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but the more I thought about it ... the more I thought of the cats, I became convinced it was worth pursuing. I’ll keep you in the loop, if that’s acceptable, so the powers that be know this has command approval and oversight. I think Mittens and Baylee and plenty of other cats and their people aboard this ship will be very grateful.”
"I am glad to be of service," Suzanna replied.
LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, XMD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Arawyn
Cmdr Suzanna Batenburg
XO USS Arawyn
Everything fits, otherwise we'll make it fit!
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