Shades of Gray, Little Pussy Division*

There's a reason why I'm not a veterinarian. Consider:

• The little gray cat is a voracious eater, hoovering up his entire plateful of food every time we put something out for him.

• The little gray cat has been putting on weight--noticeably--so my brother and I decided to be more careful how much we were feeding him since we both have a tendency to put food out, often when the other isn't around, and we found we were feeding him maybe four/five times a day between us.

• The little gray cat has suddenly lost a lot of weight. Way too much weight, way too fast.

Conclusion: The little gray cat is not a "he." He is, in fact, a "she." Of course, we came to this conclusion only after finding the kittens. Good thing I didn't name "him," yet.

My brother found four kittens yesterday outside under a stand of bamboo in a corner where the house and garage intersect. They seem way too big and fluffy to have fit in the little gray but she was still "fat" just two days ago so they can't be any older than that. They are all variations on mom ranging from charcoal briquette to cold ash. The ash one is the strangest; it's head is dark gray (looks purple in the right light). Two of them have mom's socks on their front feet. A couple of them have ringed tails which they must have gotten from the father.

My brother transferred them all to a box with a blanket in it which he put on a couch in the lanai and half covered with a cushion. Little gray seems to be a good mom. She's in the box with them on a regular basis. And, of course, we're feeding her as much as she can eat, now.

So not only are we running a feline hobo house, we're also operating a home for wayward kitties.

And we're now outnumbered six to two. (although my brother has been showing pics of the kittens to his friends and claims we will be able to give them all away as soon as they are able to go.)

When I informed Bartleby she is now an aunt, she hissed at me.

*What, exactly, did you think this was going to be about?