I first met “Mama Kitty” about a year ago, Oct. 13, 2017, when I pulled into my condo, and saw her running with a lame front paw. I immediately pulled over and tried to approach her, thinking it was a new injury. I offered her a can of food which she gobbled up. I later went back that night with a trap, trying to catch her to take to a vet. The neighbor near where I set the trap informed me he had been feeding her, and she had been limping for over a year. He also told me she had a recent group of kittens, as well as previous litters he said had vanished. So I decided to first trap her kittens to hopefully socialize and get them adopted, then I could concentrate on her. I was only able to capture two of her kittens, though the neighbor said originally he had seen five.

I got them fixed once they reached the proper weight and age. I worked with them from hissing ferals to snuggly purring kittens. That neighbor ended up keeping them, after I had dropped them off for a “play date” that never ended.

After I captured mama, she was spayed and the vet recommended amputating her front leg because she dragged it around and had an open wound. I decided to have that done, and even though they told me she could be released back outside in two weeks (it was January) I decided to keep her longer, till her fur grew back and when it wasn’t so cold. But during that time, she showed signs of trusting me and eventually allowed me to pet her. In the weeks ahead, she came a very loving and trusting kitty. I knew I would be able to find her a home, which I was so happy to do for her after a life of being out in the elements, running around with a bad leg, and having at least five litters that disappeared.

I was thrilled when a friend of mine offered to take her and give her a forever home. I myself have been a foster fail one too many times. She happened to have another kitty who looked very much like her, who also was missing the same front leg! “Mama Kitty” became known as “Toast” and in a short amount of time was able to fit right in. The best part is, I am able to still visit her regularly. She is a very special cat, and I will never forget the first time she let me pet her, scratch her chin, when she first purred, first meowed, first sat on my lap. Those moments are priceless. She will never again have kittens that she has to lose. She will always have a safe loving home.