Mama cat chose to adopt me

I guess I would have been called the cat lady back in the day because I once owned 14 of them at one time. They were not in my house but lived outside. Over a period of time I would say I probably owned at least 24 cats. My story today took place when I was 14 years old so I have no original pictures. The cover photo, however, is an almost exact replica of my "Mama cat," If you have read any of my recent pet stories then part of this tale will be familiar.

I was living with my grandma and great-grandmother in Blue Ridge Va. It was springtime and my cousins who lived a few blocks away were clearing their land to make a garden. In order to get to their house, I could walk east along the road about a block then turn south and walk down another road. I could also cut through the field and enter through their back yard which cut the time in half. One afternoon while the tractor was plowing at my cousins you could hear the brusk crackling pretty loudly.

Not long after this, I opened the back screen door to find a multicolored cat and 4 kittens meowing at me. I recognized my cousin's cat right away and noticed she was expecting another litter of kittens. I was amazed that she did not simply go to the front of my cousin's house and sit on the porch. This cat had walked past 3 other houses and chosen me. As she meowed she looked straight into my face as if to say she was choosing to adopt me.

Mama cat and her brood remained with me and they slept underneath our back porch which was large. We had a cherry tree next to the house and another tree near the front. Across the field in between our house and their old home was the location of a house my family used to live in. It was grassy and at some spots, there were a lot of bushes. The cats would disappear sometimes in this area and we would only see them when it was time to eat. I kept their food and water dishes near a large shrub in the backyard.

My cats recognized the sound of the can opener so even when we were opening a can of food for ourselves they responded. They would come running and jump on the screen door and meow until they were fed. My brothers liked to wait until Mama cat was feeding her kittens and then open a can of food. Mama cat would jump up with the babies swinging from her breasts and run to the back door looking for something to eat. We all had a good laugh over this but I marveled at how the cats were so smart.

I was honored that this cat somehow knew to come to my house. I love animals and had a special fondness for my cats and dogs. I loved petting them and caressing them and making sure they had food and water. My mother would laugh when I had to separate the kitties at their food dish. Sometimes there were too many of them and they would be standing on each other. I make sure they each were able to eat.

I never knew how Mama cat got pregnant after she came to live with me because there were no Tomcats in the area that I knew of. Perhaps she mated with one of her boy cats who grew older. All I know is that she had at least 3 more liters of kittens while she lived with me. I dont ever remember having contact with Mama cat when she belonged to my cousin. I think I saw her at a distance a few times but had no contact. In spite of this, she knew, instinctively where to run to when she sought refuge for her 4 kittens and her unborn babes. Mama cat had been a stray when she showed up at my cousin's house and I'm glad this stray came to stay with me.