Emily's new house came
with an unexpected surprise.
Not one, not two, but 16 cats.
"Oh my. Look at them all!"
The cats were feral,
meaning they lived outside,
and they didn't really like having people around.
Emily was a little worried.
Feral cats could sometimes be protective
of where they lived.
What if they decided they didn't want Emily moving in?
If she and the cats were going to be neighbors,
she would need to make 16 new friends.
At first, the cats weren't too sure.
They had their own way of doing things
and didn't like humans getting too close.
But Emily came out to her driveway again and again.
She tried everything to get them to like her.
Until...
they started to trust her.
"Hi, Dusty!"
Emily was finally friends with the cats,
but there was another problem.
They weren't really safe living outside.
The house's previous owner had let them eat in this shed,
but it wasn't the best place for them.
It got cold in the winter,
and it didn't have any doors.
But they couldn't live in the house with Emily either.
They were feral cats who wanted to be free to roam.
Plus, did I mention there were 16 of them?
So Emily came up with a pretty amazing idea.
What if she made the shed into a cat dream house?
She started making plans.
The cats could just imagine the kinds
of surprises in their new house.
Maybe it would have a fuzzy blanket to curl up on,
or two fuzzy blankets,
and bins and bins of catnip.
Maybe there'd be a couch to scratch.
No, a whole scratching wall!
And a whole row of warm laptops to lay on!
And birds to stare at!
Or maybe a fish tank.
Soon, it was shopping time.
The cats wanted to come too, but they'd just have to wait
and see what Emily and her family came up with.
"Oh, that's better than a blanket."
[gasping] "We all get our own bowl!"
"Get some food bins."
"That looks soft!"
"Are those treats?"
"Those are treats!"
The cat dream house was starting to take shape,
but cats aren't known for their patience.
"Why is she perfect?"
"I love her."
After a ton of work and time,
the cat house was complete,
and it was better than the cats had imagined.
They were still free to roam outside,
but anytime they wanted to come in,
they had a bed and a bowl just for them.
(cat purring)
It's hard to believe these 16 cats
were once afraid of people.
Now, Emily loves that they come running up to greet her
when she goes outside,
and they love when she comes to visit them
in their cat dream house.
When Emily bought her home,
she had no idea what she was getting into,
but she's now the proud mom of not one, not two,
but 16 lovable cats and their one awesome dream home.