Scrawny

Scrawny is lithe and slinky, skinny and bedraggled, a black cat with a large heart full of love. He meanders his way around The Freakshow bunking down in any of the trailers he can find a comfy corner in.

Born in London Town, Scrawny lost his mamma when he accidentally got stuck on the milk pram as it drove off on its rounds. He’d clambered aboard via a cartwheel to have a sneaky drink of milk and couldn’t get down again. The last he saw of Mamma was her looking around everywhere and miaowing, dragging his siblings towards her in a panic.

After a few days of wandering through unfamiliar places, Scrawny followed some street cats and found shelter in a dilapidated, boarded up theatre. Here he met an old cat who was battle worn and scarred. Old Morrow was a friendly old moggy who gave the young kitten the time of day and a few laps of milk from his hipflask. He took Scrawny under his paw and taught him right from wrong. It turned out he was a vegetarian cat, a trait he instilled in the young kitten. Old Morrow lived by the ethic that it was better to be friends with everyone, rather than eat them for dinner.

Scrawny stayed with Old Morrow until his passing at a ripe old age. By this time, the kitten had gone and Scrawny could hold his own in the world. It was at this point Scrawny had an encounter with the ringmaster from the travelling freakshow. Being at a loose end and with only himself in the world, he took the opportunity for work and lodgings. He just had to find a way round the ringmaster’s strange stance on cats eating mice…