Be My Mama

I was in Louisiana. I had just lost my beloved cat of 19 years and was in mourning. I had a large, large yard... about the size of a football field with a 4-foot chain link fence. For 5 months I was feeding 3 feral cats, one mother cat and her two babies. I had been trying unsuccessfully to capture them to take them to vets and a no-kill facility to be adopted.

One lovely summer afternoon, I was sitting in a chair in my yard reading when one of the little ones, a tiny little thing, began to climb the fence! I was stunned. I watched as she struggled to get over the huge fence, falling down several times until she reached the top and fell over on my side of the fence. I did not move! She began to 'waddle' toward me, looking right at me.

About halfway across this long journey for her, she stopped, turned back, and looked at her mother and sibling - as if to say 'goodbye'. They were watching her in stunned silence as she chose to leave her wild family and enter into domestication with a human! What a decision!

She reached me and began to circle me. She did this for about 30 minutes as I spoke gently to her. She then jumped in my lap and began to lick my face! I kept her, needless to say, and she has been my wonderful little "wildcat" ever since. She chose to leave her feral existence and adopt ME. This is very unusual for a feral cat. She is an amazingly smart and loyal cat... my best friend.

   

Story sent in by Patricia Langston/Moran - Pittsburgh, PA... Fortunate mom adopted by a wild cat!