A small calico cat, Patches, lives in a loving home with a girl she adores, but when she suddenly feels the need for a special place she escapes through a faulty screen and ends up lost just three blocks from home. She spies what looks like a perfect special place when she sees a dog house, but it belongs to Gus, the meanest dog in town. Both a mouseling and a squirrel a bit more worldly than Patches warn her about the dog. Still, Patches slips in and gives birth to three kittens. It turns out Gus isn’t really scary—he’s just lonely. He falls hard for gentle, clever Patches and her kittens, and when it’s time for them to leave, he doesn’t want to let them go, growling, “Mine.” But Patches is determined to get her kittens back home. This companion book to Little Dog Lost is written in short verse lines with a humorous voice that speaks directly to the reader. The story ends happily, but not before Bauer builds narrative tension that keeps sweetness restrained and readers on the edges of their seats. (Ages 6–9)