"Now this is what had been happening to Tom Kitten, and it shows how very unwise it is to go up a chimney in a very old house, where a person does not know his way, and where there are enormous rats..."
Project Gutenberg have a free download of 'The Tale of Samuel Whiskers' which was perhaps my favourite book when I was too young to read for myself and I had to beg other people to read to me. Select the html version which is the illustrated one.
Its written in a fairly sophisticated style. The first half is about a mother cat investigating the disappearance of one of her kittens, and uncovering a series of clues.
'It was an old, old house, full of cupboards and passages. Some of the walls were four feet thick, and there used to be queer noises inside them, as if there might be a little secret staircase. Certainly there were odd little jagged doorways in the wainscot, and things disappeared at night—especially cheese and bacon.'
Eventually Tom kitten is discovered under the floor in the attic, tied up and covered in pudding dough, but still alive. The second half of the book flashes back to the events that lead him to this pass.
ETA - I also want to say the story ends with the two girl kittens growing up to run a successful business: 'They go out rat-catching in the village, and they find plenty of employment. They charge so much a dozen, and earn their living very comfortably.'