Alfie the Holiday Cat. Rachel Wells

I am not going to say this again. Dogs are silly creatures, of course they aren’t as clever as us cats, but they are bigger and if they’re off the lead they might try to hurt us. We can’t risk that.’

      As if to prove my point, the dog, Trevor, barked aggressively as he was being led away from the beach.

      We went to join our family. As we started walking on the sand, I turned to George.

      ‘It’s a bit weird,’ I said, not really able to articulate what it actually felt like.

      ‘It’s, like, very sinky,’ George said, as his paws disappeared into the yellow, grainy stuff. It took us a while before we could actually walk properly, but we finally made our way to our families.

      ‘Oh, Alfie and George, I’m not sure that cats are supposed to be on the beach,’ Franceska laughed.

      ‘No dogs aren’t allowed,’ Toby pointed out. ‘I read the sign.’

      ‘Good boy,’ Claire said. ‘But is there a sign for cats?’

      ‘No, no sign for cats,’ Toby replied.

      ‘Toby, can I bury your feets?’ Summer asked, approaching with a spade. Toby nodded and put his feet out in front of him for her.

      ‘OK, Alfie, George, sit down here with us and don’t get into any trouble,’ Claire said, pointing to the blanket next to her. Trouble? What on earth could she mean?

      We spent a very lovely morning on the beach. It was warm but at times there was a pleasant breeze that ruffled our fur. George let Summer bury his paws but then he didn’t like it and squealed a lot. George and I did attract a few funny looks and some people came over to talk to us but Claire and Franceska told them that we liked to go everywhere with them. Some people even took photos of us. And best of all there were no seagulls.

      I lay down to enjoy the sunshine as I kept an eye on the children and my kitten. Aleksy was supervising building a very elaborate castle, Tommy was running down to get wetter sand from further down the beach and running back, Summer and Martha were looking for shells to decorate it, and Toby and Henry were in charge of something called a moat. Wow, I thought, this was really something special. Even George was now getting used to the sand and was only sinking a bit, but that was alright because all the children took delight in rescuing him. As I lazily watched everything going on, I felt as warm inside as it was outside.

      I did feel a bit hot though, something which didn’t seem to bother George, who was basking in the sun. Aleksy was showing off his latest building – it was a sand igloo and he cleverly explained how it was hollow inside. I had to say, with its domed top and entrance hall, it looked quite inviting. While they were finding more wet sand to add to the sides and top, I thought I would see if I could fit in. I wiggled through the entrance with ease. Wow, it was cool, and just comfortable enough. I could hear everyone chattering outside as I lay down and decided to shut my eyes for a quick cat nap.

      A little while later, after a refreshing nap, I opened my eyes but I couldn’t see anything – it was pitch black. I tried to move but I couldn’t, there was pressure pushing down on every side. I wiggled in fear, but I was surrounded by sand. I could barely breathe and I panicked, which made it even worse. The sand igloo must have collapsed, I needed help, now. I opened my mouth to yowl and it filled with sand. As I attempted to spit it out and tried again, I started meowing as loudly as I could, until I was exhausted and my mouth grainy with sand. Finally I could hear voices outside, so I yowled some more, hoping to draw their attention. I tried not to panic any more than I was, as the more I moved the more trapped I seemed to be. I couldn’t even swish my tail.

      I was breathless from all the screeching and although I could breathe, I was feeling more terrified by the minute. Even my voice was sounding wrong as I squealed again. If someone didn’t come soon I might be living in a sand igloo forever, being washed out to sea, possibly ending up in a far and distant foreign land! I heard the voices coming closer and finally a glimpse of daylight through a crack in the sand.

      ‘See, Aleksy, I told you Alfie must be in there,’ Tommy shouted. ‘My goodness, he could be hurt!’

      ‘Oh no, poor Alfie, I didn’t know, I’m so sorry.’ Aleksy’s voice was distraught. They kept digging until I was free, and Aleksy took me in his arms, brushing the worst of the sand off. I slowed my breathing down and the panic began to subside. I had to blink a few times so I could see and adjust to the bright light.

      The children and George surrounded me, full of concern. Franceska appeared with some drinks, while I tried to shake the rest of the sand off my fur and catch my breath. Claire approached with Summer and Toby – they’d been for a paddle in the water.

      ‘What happened to Alfie?’ Claire asked. ‘I turn my back for five minutes.’ She shook her head.

      Five minutes? It was far longer than that, more like hours. Being buried in sand had now been added to my near-death experiences. Others involved a bad man hurting me, almost being run over crossing the road, nearly drowning in a lake, being stuck up a tree – oh and once I was nearly attacked by a seagull. George nuzzled me, whispering that he was so happy to see I was alright. I felt slightly embarrassed; I was constantly warning George of trouble yet it was me who’d put himself in danger.

      ‘He’s OK, he was in my sand igloo and then when we were making another castle, it sort of collapsed. We didn’t know Alfie was in there.’

      ‘It’s usually George who gets into trouble these days,’ Claire pointed out. I rested my case.

      ‘We’re exhausted,’ Claire said as Polly appeared on the lawn. Claire had told us all it was time to go home for a bit to get lunch. I was quite pleased as I was still recovering from being buried alive. Earlier, I had wanted to take George to explore the sand hills, which I heard were called sand dunes, but Claire wouldn’t let us out of her sight now. And although I wouldn’t let my experience put me off the beach, I knew I would be more careful from now on.

      ‘Chasing the children round in the sun has taken its toll but they love the beach already,’ Claire continued.

      ‘And the beach loves us,’ Franceska laughed, brushing sand off her legs.

      ‘Right, well let’s have a picnic lunch out here. It’s a bit dusty in there, although by teatime the kitchen should be usable,’ Polly said, coming over to join us.

      ‘What are we doing about lunch then?’ Claire asked.

      ‘I thought we could get sandwiches, crisps and cold drinks from the village shop,’ Polly said. ‘I daren’t go into the kitchen. Aleksy, do you want to help me? You can also choose some treats for everyone.’

      ‘Yes, I’ll help.’ Aleksy stood up proudly, as he went with Polly.

      ‘Any special requests or are you happy with whatever?’

      ‘You know what the kids like, and I’m happy with anything. Do you want some money?’

      ‘No, I’ve got some. Right, let’s go.’

      ‘Yelp!’ I said. I wanted something too.

      ‘I’ll see what seafood they have for you two, of course,’ Polly laughed. ‘After all, we are by the sea, so they should have something nice.’

      She bent down to give me a pat and I purred. I deserved a treat after my ordeal.

      We passed a lovely afternoon on the lawn. It was too hot for us to go back to the beach, I told George. In truth I wasn’t ready to revisit it just yet, I was still feeling a little bit anxious. We could see so much from here in the shade of a lovely bush. I did ask George why he hadn’t noticed I was missing earlier but he just raised his whiskers and said he was far too busy digging holes, as if that was the most natural answer in the world.

      As we watched, there was even more activity on the beach; children, and people on the water, which had moved closer up the beach – Claire said it was the tide coming in. There were some flat boards that people seemed to be standing on. I didn’t know what they were,