Letter from a Young Mama Cat

I, Ruthie, was driving the backroads near home when I encountered a sign: Free kittens, Stop in.

These were the huge houses on a nearby street, I mean really really large, all surrounded by tall trees, so tall and thickly planted you wondered if the rain could penetrate to the ground. The street is narrow so at nite I often stop my car in the oncoming lights and just pause a few moments till the car goes by.

It is also deer country. We certainly do not wanna be driving fast and encounter a deer or two or three. Nothing sadder than a dead deer at the side of the road.

So I pulled up the driveway and parked next to a red jeep. Someone seemed to be home. I went to the front door and rang the bell.

Doris poked her head out the window.

"I've come to see the kittens," I said. Doris said she'd meet me in the backyard.

Doris let me in thru the gate and I was on the grounds of a truly magnificent property with a huge swimming pool filled w/greenish water and tiny little flower gardens and statuary, all of it fenced in.

A few feet away was a small cage with an opening in which lived the mama cat and her 4 babies, born in June, now 12 weeks old. The mother herself is only a year old.

I promised Doris I would try to find homes for the cats. She shook my hand and said she enjoyed talking with me. We both agreed that Obama had given the best speech of his presidency and neither of us understood all the fuss being made by the troublemakers. I did not go directly home from her house but stopped at Linda's house to see if she'd like a cat.

Except I stopped at the wrong house. Instead a man in green 'scrubs' answered the door. So I asked him if he wanted an adorable kitten. "Us? Take in a kitten? We already have a dog," he said.

"Okay," I said, "enjoy the rest of your day." Then I found Linda's house. Linda was at work. Her mom said they'd think about it.

When I got home, I removed all my stuff from the backseat of my car:

-my backpack
-some raspberry tea Marion gave me when I visited her earlier
-a black dress to try on to see if I should wear it for yet another wedding tomorrow in LI
-and rhubarb cake I'm sposed to drop off at Helene's house but have decided to eat instead
-an AARP magazine Walter gave me when I stopped over

On light blue stationery I found a note written by the mother cat I'd like to share with you. If her writing style is a lot like mine, chalk it up to coincidence.

Meow! Meow! It's not often a mother cat writes on behalf of her youngsters but heed well my words. I've been a most contented cat since living in this neighborhood among kind people who treat me well and make me feel at home wherever I roam. But it's to Walter and his wife I feel I really belong. Something about Walter that brings out the best in me. Originally from Germany, he named me Mush (rhymes w/push) and it was thru Walter I began to feel comfortable both in the house and out of the house.

In my rovings several months ago, in the dark nite, I met a fine older cat. I could've easily gone home, I'm young and frisky, but I was curious to see what it was like being around this older more mature cat who sidled up to me and made me feel so good with his seemingly well-practiced caresses. One thing led to another and I can only tell you we had the most marvelous time together out in the cricket-filled nite with the lightning bugs flashing all around and then just as quickly the elder cat disappeared.

Soon after I began feeling a pressure in my belly, a very heavy sensation as if there were movable pebbles in there. When I walked the little pebbles swayed to an fro. I did have an inkling what was going on and as the pebbles grew weightier I began to stay close to home. Walter and Doris as always would check on me frequently and filled my bowl with special new food.

The kittens are 12 weeks old now. I am so proud of them. I wash them with my paws and my tongue and watch them scamper across the yard. They are brave little darlings. One is gray and white like me, two are calico, and one is midnight with shining green eyes like their dad.

The owners will have them inoculated over the weekend so they will be all ready for adoption. Cats are not as sentimental as humans. As soon as they leave the premises I will all but forget about my babies. There are so many other things to pay attention to. Watch a cat sometime and you will see the role model of living in the present moment, of enjoying every moment of the day, of watching the raindrops drip from the maples or settle into the green water of the backyard pool.

Life goes by fast. Adopt a cat and share the delights of this fragile ever-changing world with one another. Send Ruth an email (ruthdeming at comcast.net) & she'll tell you where to find my babies.