Oona!

The kittens’ mother Oona is a glamorous cat. Long and lean with a languid graceful way of moving, she reminded me of a 1930s starlet. But as beautiful as she was, Oona was a completely feral and ferociously protective of her kittens. The first few times we tried to put out food for her in the backyard where she’d set up her nursery, she would rush as us to keep us away. But we persistently wooed her, putting out food for her and the kittens until she came to trust us. All of which made me feel even more guilty the day we betrayed that trust and trapped her kittens so we could bring them inside, tame them, and find them homes.