The Psychic, by Kitty

A beautiful purebred black Persian named Mister joined Mama M's family, coming by adoption from Greenville, S.C. He was an active and loving son. Actually, he was the only cat at home during his life there.

One of his favorite pastimes was to sit on the counter of the lavatory while Mama M washed her face. Mister would playfully bat the stream of water coming from the faucet.

But the most memorable trait was his ability to know where he was going. 

If Mama M was going to take him to visit family back in Greenville, she would pack her suitcase, put Mister in his carrier and into the car, back out of the parking space, and drive out to the highway. Mister would not utter a sound. 

If Mama M was going to take him to board at the vet's, she would pack her suitcase, put Mister in his carrier and into the car, back out of the parking space, and drive out to the highway--exactly the same routine and route she would follow when going to Greenville. Mister knew the difference. He would me-ow loudly the whole way!

Simeon Joins the Family, by Kitty

A huge Snowshoe Siamese, orange and white, joined the crowd of cats in Mama M's carport one afternoon without invitation. He was excitable and ready for a fight. Unfortunately, he chose Tiger as his opponent. Poor Tiger began to look dogeared; he was never able to win bouts with Simeon.

Mama M borrowed a trap from the Humane Society, put cat food inside, and, bam, Simeon took the bait. While Simeon ate, Mama M locked the door. She then put the trap with Simeon inside into the trunk of her car and drove directly to the Humane Society shelter. Simeon was accepted, and Mama M returned home happy that Tiger would finally be safe.

A couple of weeks later, someone from the Humane Society called Mama M and told her that a lady wanted to adopt Simeon, who by that time had been neutered. "He's really a nice cat now," the caller said. "Will you give permission for him to be adopted?"

"OK," Mama M replied, "but not in MY neighborhood."

However, it wasn't two weeks before Simeon appeared in Mama M's carport again, eating out of the cat bowls with Little Bit and family. At first horrified, Mama M discovered that, yes, Simeon was a nice cat now, gentler, no longer a bully or a fighter. He purred when petted, loved to rub against Mama M's legs, and looked after the smaller cats.

Soon he was allowed in the house, where he became a constant companion to a black-and-white longhair named Masque, due to the shades around her eyes and over her head between her ears. Simeon also found his way into Mama M's lap.

Cats Band Together, by Kitty

One year Little Bit, Babe, and Babe's little sister Fluffy all had kittens within about two weeks—five each, all white. They first laid the babies under the bushes beside the carport.

When Mama M looked out the den window soon afterward, however, she realized that the three cats had moved their litters to hide them under the hosta bushes that lined the kitchen wall in the back yard. Fluffy's kittens were near the back porch, Little Bit's were in the middle, and Babe's were near the side corner. 

And sitting in front of the hosta patch, spaced like their litters, were Fluffy, Little Bit, and Babe. The three white cats were staring in one direction, the cold, "don't you dare come near" stares that only cats can muster. They were all looking at a male cat sitting at the edge of the garden on a hill above the back yard.

The tom didn't hesitate long before turning tail and running.

The mother cats had learned the benefit of joint forces. 

A Horrible Nightmare, by Kitty

Little Bit and Babe each had several litters of kittens a year, usually as many as three. And each litter invariably contained five kittens, usually white like their mothers.

One year a pack of dogs roamed the neighborhood where Mama M lived; no one claimed them and no one could or would fence them in. Animal services were not even successful in nabbing them.

Mama M saw Little Bit's five babies under the bushes beside the carport one afternoon, petted them, and began to plan how she would find homes for them.

That night, from inside where she was grading student papers, she heard the wild dogs bark and the kittens yelp. She rushed to throw open the kitchen door and chase the dogs away. Too late. They had batted down and killed all five balls of fur, in Mama M's most horrible experience of nurturing cats.

The Babysitter, by Kitty

Soon after she began eating in Mama M's carport, white shorthair Little Bit had kittens in the laundry room. Five of them, three white plus Patches and Tiger (see last post).

Three weeks later, Babe, also a white shorthair and obviously Little Bit's daughter, also had kittens; but Mama M could not find them.

One day soon afterward, Mama M heard mews coming from the back yard next door. Knowing the neighbor would not object, she went looking for the kittens. She found them in the well protecting a basement window: five tiny white babies. In their midst was taller, larger orange Tiger. Babe had plucked him from Little Bit's litter to become her babysitter. 

Neighborhood Cats Loved Mama M

Mama M's house was on top of a high hill, with a narrow flat front yard that suddenly dipped and ran downhill to the street. The yard was covered in grass and trees, mostly tall pines. The driveway was also steep and required quite a bit of effort in walking. So Mama M would stop at the mailbox for the day's post before driving up and parking in the carport next to the kitchen door.

A family of cats lived by the Oconee River down below and just beyond the house catty-cornered across the street from Mama M. They found the kitchen carport to be quite a restaurant! When Mama M would stop at the mailbox, they would come running from the river and up the drive. Their heads would pop up over the top of the grassy hill as they waited for Mama M to drive up and park. Then they would gather under the front of the car to wait for dinner.

The old mother, Little Bit, a white shorthair, never let Mama M touch her. She would back under the front of the car whenever Mama M got near. But she did love her daily allotment of canned food, always fish flavored. And she enjoyed sunning herself on the grassy lawn whenever Mama M was at home.

 

Only two of the cats would dare let Mama M rub their heads: Patches, a dark torteshell, and Tiger, an orange striped. Patches would even run into the kitchen, but then right back outside. Tiger, however, became an indoor-outdoor pet, a lap-sitter with Mama M and a companion to later house cats.