Metaphorically speaking, the cat turned into a dog.

In last week’s column about my love of newspapers, I wrote that I had once smuggled home a kitten from day camp even though my mother was afraid of cats.

A community of feline parents lost no time in asking an important question. What happened to the kitty that I hid in a newspaper-lined box?

Here’s the scoop:

My mother, born and raised in a small apartment in the Bronx, didn’t know from house pets. But she was particularly scared of cats due to an unfortunate incident when she was a teenager. Briefly, a short cat with long hair leaped at her — “from nowhere,” in Mom’s words — rendering her feline averse forever more.

Being as crafty as a cat, I convinced my preteen self that surely the sweet little kitty that I had rescued from the beach that day would be the exception. However, it didn’t happen — not even close. What did happen is that my mother bargained me into a trade.

Sandy, the beach cat, was relocated to a humane society and my brothers and I were allowed to adopt a pup. Mom wasn’t thrilled, but at least she wasn’t terrified. It was part of the deal of leaving the city for the suburbs, leaving an apartment for a house on a street where almost everyone had dogs.

Now it turns out that the morning newspaper delivery boy, on whom I had a crush, had a reddish brown terrier named Rusty, who was about to become a mom. Since my mother was also a friend of the mother of the cute delivery boy, we were promised first pick of the pups. It softened the blow of having to give up the kitty, and reduced my mother’s guilt of denying her children. It also gave me a reason to talk to the delivery boy, albeit briefly, as he whizzed past on his bike, newspaper in hand.

Soon, a reddish-brown double of her mama became part of our family. Named Susie, she was soft and sweet and open to the idea of newspaper-lined boxes. When she looked up at us with big brown eyes and those cute terrier hanging ears, we fell in love. We children, Mom not so much, but at least it wasn’t a cat.

Thanks to all the readers who wouldn’t allow me to casually mention that I brought home a cat to my horrified mother, and then left them hanging, curious as cats.

Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net. Follow her at Patriciabunin.com.