Count Catula's Manorhouse

Northeast of Cat Tree City, far from the Kingdom's villages, in an old creaking house, lives Count Catula, an old tomcat whose chin trembles and whose teeth click. His great age has earned him a reputation for immortality. No one knows whether he is an eccentric playing a part, a real Hooting Kitten or something even worse.

He takes in the Kingdom's rare Hooting Kittens who have nowhere else to go, Kittens whom a strange ailment keeps from growing as well as from aging. They see him as a father. His house gives them somewhere to sleep through the day, out of the burning sun, and another place to party when night comes.

Walter is afraid of the Count and does not provoke him without reason. The Count obeys every common law and never protests, for a reason no one knows. Despite the manor's isolation, the royal guard always manages to find a Kitten there to send into exile when Walter gives the order.