Mama-San's #1: Ivory [5]

Betsy says: Mama-San is a beautiful feral Siamese cat that wandered into our neighbor's yard in late 2007 and gave birth to her first litter beneath their shed in April 2008. We named the kittens Callie, Greycoat, Oreo, and Spreckles. She had a second litter of six kittens on July 4. We managed to rescue all six from the second litter and two (Greycoat and Callie) from the first litter. Mama-San was extremely elusive, making it difficult to trap her until after the second litter was born. She was spayed shortly thereafter, as were all of her kittens when they were old enough. (The remaining two from the first litter, Oreo and Spreckles, were never caught, although there's a black-and-white cat roaming our yard lately who looks very much like Oreo.) So at one time we had Mama-San, two kittens from her first litter, and all six kittens from her second litter, plus our two resident cats. Good thing we have a separate space for the kittens or it would've been disastrous! We have a vintage trailer from the '50s where we house our foster kittens. My husband had planned to turn it into his art studio where he'd work after retiring. But then along came all these kitties and we've had to change direction. Since these two litters, we've had plenty more that we've fostered during the summer and fall. Now that spring is here, it's kitten season once again, so I'm sure we'll have another supply coming in shortly. :-) We still have Mama-San and another semiferal named Sophie who are still living in the trailer.

Ivory is one of the kittens from Mama-San's second litter. Her name came from her solid-white nose. Ivory had the sweetest disposition and the most expressive face. She would often look either guilty, sorrowful, or angelic, depending on her mood. She was also quite the little climber, and we'd quite frequently find her hiding in a lofty spot, overlooking her domain. The couple who adopted her in September made a special trip across town just for her, having seen her photos on my Web site. We talked them into adopting Callie, Ivory's half-sister, so that Ivory would have a companion. Ivory, who has since been renamed Misty, has a new favorite pastime -- stuffing herself into the Kleenex box, shredding tissues one by one! Both she and Callie have adjusted well and are much loved by their new owners.