MOTHER

by Linda Weyant
(New Windsor, NY USA)

She was a Siamese and begging food from anyone in the neighbourhood. The guy across the street really wanted her but could never catch her. Well she made her choice and it was us.

One day I caught her hiding in my daughters closet and threw her out the door. That night she came meowing at the front door with a kitten in her mouth whose eyes were not even opened yet. We found a box and a towel and got her settled. Then out the door again, and back with another kitten. This time my husband followed her to see if we had ten more trips or one more. She had only 3 kittens - 2 cream Siamese and 1 black. She was a great mother and great with the kids and really appreciated having a home. We called her mother to start and it stuck.

I think her former owner got her "lost" because she would have kittens as many times as possible. We had a hard time just getting her spayed. She turned out to be the best mannered and loving feline I have ever had. She had the bluest eyes that where a little crossed and the meow that sounded like a baby. She never scratched or bit. Her one crazy habit appeared when we built a new house across the street and moved in. She started bringing to the door little presents like shoes, flip-flops and laundry from the neighbourhood.

There was other building going on near by and families would take off their shoes, etc. because of the mud. I would have to take the "gifts" in a laundry basket around to each house and ask if they belonged to them. She even brought a very expensive track shoe from the guy next door that was part of the athletic program at west point academy!!!

We never knew how old she was when she came but guess she was about 10 to 12 then and we had her at least another 8 years. We kept one of the original kittens and she lived to be 24.

Mother, mother, mother. What a joy you were!