Last July, this small grey and white cat appeared in my neighbor’s yard. She was so small we thought she might be a kitten.

We tried to catch her— to no avail.

She disappeared as quickly as she came. A few mouth’s later she returned to my neighbor’s house.

But disappeared again.

Two months later, three solid grey tiny kittens appeared on her doorstep. It took about six weeks, but we trapped them.

The first was Mistofelees, now nicknamed Misty, the runt of the litter who always stayed behind when Mama and the others went out hunting.

They all lived under my neighbor’s porch.

We started feeding them, and got a trap as the December nights got colder and wetter.

Misty was terrified and for two weeks lived on our enclosed, heated sun porch.

Eventually, my daughter won his trust and he moved to her bedroom.

The second we nicknamed Smoky. Another neighbor found a home for it.

Fog was last at the end of January— he was so damn smart. We reunited him with his brother in the teen’s room and the two immediately snuggled up together.

I couldn’t bear to separate them.

Fog would not let anyone handle him, but after a while he started appreciating sitting next to a human on the couch or a good chin scratch.

Last weekend, I noticed Mama at the neighbor’s house again and she looked heavy.

I warned my neighbor.

On Tuesday, Mama walked up to the teenager and let us bring her home. She appears to be very pregnant. Someone in the next block has been feeding her.

I made a post on our neighborhood Facebook page but no one claimed her.

We bathed her, combed her, cleaned her ears and gave her expensive flea medicine.

Someone on Facebook recommended someone who has a cat rescue and can get her spayed.

We contacted that person and they can get her spayed today. We asked if we could foster her until the kittens are born as the organization finds them all good homes.

We were told yes.

A few hours later, we received a text that one of their regular foster family’s may take her.

This made us sad.

I feel like Mama wanted to have her kittens with us, because she has seen us raise her other kittens.

But I don’t have the money to get her spayed and her health assessed. Today is my last day of work and I already have too many cats.

So a new life awaits Mama.