You may know from a previous Catnip Chronicles story that I have a house full of rescued cats. One of those cats, a very pretty long-haired calico we call Mamacita, had three litters of kittens before we got her to the veterinarian. With the generosity of the local Humane Society chapter, we were able to have her spayed.

Mamacita belonged to a family across the street, but they never did anything other than put food out. She needed shots, grooming, and other vet care, as well as to not live outside near two very busy streets. In the first known litter was a huge kitten named KittyKong that she chose to have in our carport shed. I discovered her little secret when KK was about a month old and quite feral. My daughter Dana and I worked daily to earn KK’s trust.

By the time KK was 8 weeks old, Mamacita was pregnant again. We tried to catch her and bring her inside, but she hid out under a vacant house across the street. One day, a few months later, we looked out the window into the carport and saw that Mamacita had brought four kittens over to the shed. Dana and I risked life and limb to capture all four of the very feral, month-old kittens. We did get very scratched up, but we captured all four of the kittens, and took all of them, their mama, and brother KK into the bedroom left vacant when my son moved out. To say my indoor cats weren’t pleased would be a gross understatement, but I couldn’t just leave them out there. When they grew old enough, homes were found for three kittens, and we kept Tortilu, who is still mostly feral even today.

The plan was to get Mamacita spayed and shut down the kitten factory. She kept cycling in and out of heat, and we could not get her spaying done. As cats will do, she sneaked out and was gone for a couple of weeks. Of course, she came home pregnant, but we were ready this time. I made her a basket and kept her food, water, and toys in one room. She actually did have those babies in the very basket that I set out for her.

There were four beautiful kittens in that litter. One was a petite calico that looked like Mamacita. We christened her Juno-Calico. Two kittens were silver brothers, one was a tabby and the other was a silver frost with a black face. Our son Mason claimed the silver boys and dubbed then Yang and Yun. Dana wanted to keep Juno, so that only left the little red tabby cat we called Eric the Red, to place in a loving home.

Gayle, an on-line friend, expressed an interest early on, when I posted the kittens’ baby pictures. She hoped that we could place him with some of her family members, if we could get him to New York State. Later, when we found that her family could not take him, Gayle expressed the desire to take him herself. That seemed like a real long shot to get a kitten from Abilene TX to Apalachin NY. Gayle and I both are on disability and cross-country travel was a luxury that neither of us could afford. We hoped that we could find enough friends through the Care2 network that we could ferry him along across the US through different people.

In the meantime, Eric was growing into this absolutely gorgeous, soft, snuggly kitten. He was very playful and he liked to take things from my dresser or headboard and hide them away to his little secret places like a squirrel or a packrat. My whole family became attached to this little guy, and of course he was bonded to his mama, his sisters Juno and Torti, and giant KittyKong, who played with him and showed him the ropes of our household.

Gayle and I posted a picture of Eric and the story and a few donations for the cause rolled in. This went on until Eric was almost 6 months old. At that time, Gayle’s friend, Christian – Care2 member, contacted me. He said that this had gone on long enough. Eric wasn’t getting any younger and I should book a round trip flight for Eric and me to go to NY and stay at Gayle’s house.

The price of fuel was soaring, so I got on it and found a flight with a minimum of layovers and the plan started to unfold into reality. Other people from Care2 started making donations and next thing I knew, my daughter Dana was driving a tranquilized Eric and me to a hotel next to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

We spent a night at the lovely Westin Inn. Care2 member, Patricia S, came to meet Eric, and took Dana and me for a late dinner. Poor Eric was still woozy from the medication, but we had to know whether or not the tranquilizer would work for the next day’s flight.

We were at the airport at 3:30am the next day. I hadn’t flown since the 9/11 tragedy, so it was quite the experience. We flew to Philadelphia and had a layover. Then we flew to Binghamton NY. Eric made the flights like a pro.

We arrived at Gayle’s home that afternoon and I stayed there for a week. I met three more Care2 members during that time, and spoke to several more on the phone. What a great collaboration! It was a real team effort to get us to Eric’s forever home.

As soon as I left, he adapted very quickly. For the week that I was there, Eric slept with me. He spent a lot of time on the towel that I had brought from home with his mom’s and sibling's scents on it. We also had his food from home, water, and a little kitty box in the guest bathroom that I was using.

Eric was skittish with new people. After a while, he came out and took up with Christian. Gayle gave him lots of time and space. She met him on his own terms and he liked that.

I knew that Eric would warm up to his new home, especially when he didn’t have me to run to. By the last day of my visit, Eric’s little kitty box and food dish were next to the big kitties’ things.

He was very taken with all the kitty toys, furniture, and the view of the bird feeders. We knew that he was still kitten enough to want to run and attack the cat trees and various toys.

I knew I would miss Eric and I did, all the way home. He had been sleeping on my favorite satin pillow with me for the last ten weeks.

I swear there is something very special about that cat. From his freckled nose to his giant fluffy squirrel tail, he’s an amazing kitten. If I’d had any doubts, I wouldn't have left him. He's family. I still send him big towels with our scent on them and kitty toys. If, for some reason, Gayle could not keep him anymore, we would gladly drive from Texas to New York and get him.

Lorelei Lantz is a retired minister and secondary-level educator from Texas. She is presently a Logotherapist, married with 2 grown children, 11 rescued cats, 2 rescued dogs, 2 Ball Pythons, 2 Bearded Dragons, a Moroccan Uromastyx, a rat and a mouse.