This is the true story of how Momcat and her kittens came into my life. Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people and cats involved. This is a story of terrible feline suffering and incredible feline bravery, but it all turns out OK in the end.

In the summer of 1996 I was living at my sister's house while I was looking for a place to live myself. My sister had a number of cats, and in particular there was a cat known as Dinky who hung out there a lot. She was tiny, skinny, and malnourished, but still had amazing character and standing in the feline world. The other cats all made way before her even though she was the smallest of the lot. She would spend hours on top of my computer while I worked, and was always charming and personable.

It came to pass that we noticed that Dinky was pregnant. Now Dinky technically belonged to a family next door, a family characterized by screaming, fights, and frequent visits by the police. Not a nice scene nor much of prospect for raising a proper batch of kittens.

In a perfect world there would be authorities to deal with cat owners such as these, but unfortunately we do not yet live in such a world. Knowing that Dinky's kittens would be in great danger in this enviroment, I resolved to spirit her safely away. I asked around and my good friend Danette agreed to harbor Dinky if I could only get her there. Knowing the nature of these neighbors, this was a scary prospect, we could hardly just ask them for the cat. And we feared if they ever suspected anything they would exact retribution on my sister's cats.

So I laid my plans carefully and discussed them with Dinky. She agreed it was her best chance for a better life and she would go along with it. The morning I moved out of my sister's was the time. I carried all my boxes to the car. In the very last box I placed Dinky, and carefully instructed her not to make a sound while I carried her to my car. My heart was pounding as I sauntered down the stairs. These people were capable of anything, I did not want to be caught "stealing" their cat. I knew from a previous unfortunate experience that a judge would not allow the testimony of a cat.

Fortunately Dinky didn't make a peep and I made it to the car safely. She went straight to the vet where he confirmed she was clinically malnourished but otherwise healthy. After a flea bath she went to Danette's and quickly bloomed into the sleek and fine Momcat that we all know and love. She eventually had five kittens in Danette's bed, including the now famous Fungus Bug and his sister Beanie. But that is another story...