Black Kitten

The Black Kitten is a feral stray that hangs around in my yard. It has unsettling amber eyes which watch silently from some hidden spot. But it will meow plaintively at the patio door at meal time.

I haven’t ascertained the Black Kitten’s gender. It is very dark under there and what feral cat would submit to such indignity. However, if I am able to identify it as female I will have to get her fixed. I just wish I had set aside a little money to perform sterilization on animals who wander into my yard. But alas, I haven’t.

I read once that feral kittens, alone in the world, could attach themselves to domestic cats. The Black Kitten attached itself to a friendly but homeless cat. A male who I named Lonely Boy. For all of September the Black Kitten has kept up with the older, more active Lonely Boy. If Lonely Boy wanders off for a little while on his own the Black Kitten seems to miss him and wont eat. Which, of course, I interpret as it not wanting to eat Lonely Boy’s share. I am always happy to see them reunited. It has been Lonely Boys tolerance and generosity that has kept the kitten alive as much as any cat food I’ve provided. I guess it is really just Nature’s way.

Now you might well ask, why don’t I just go ahead and name this kitten Shadow and have done with it. Well, Shadow was the name of my sister’s much beloved dog, now gone, and I have to consider that name retired. So I guess I will call it the Black Kitten until I start calling it the Black Cat.

- Addie from VA

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