Taking In Kittens Part III

 MANDI, JAKE, AND SHYLOW lived harmoniously in my home, in my lap, in my heart and soul, and in my bed for six years. They snuggled together in winters in one of their several baby kitten beds. One female, two males, all spayed and neutered, well fed, the bills mounting. Cat caregivers all across America's fruited plain perhaps wonder whether corporate cat food will simultaneously become pleasant for cats to eat, reasonably inexpensive,and nutritious. The answer is probably no. Corporate monopolies have us by the short hairs. Jake and Shylow wanted out, Mandi did not. Most of the time both males were quite content to be inside my house;their  urge to roam around was not constant, but only intermittent. The males, though neutered, expressing their innate urge to roam. At one point Shylow escaped and was gone for four months, even though he knew exactly where he lived. For me, four long months of hell, driving around, wondering, searching. He returned one December night, and we were happily reunited. On another occasion he snuck out,too quick for me to catch, and was gone one month. he came home hungry,but not underweight, screaming at me from my backyard. He kept screaming at me after Iured him into m laundry room with food.He crouched the washer and dryer while I sat down, did nothing, and waited for him to figure things out. He did,and sat in my lap,purring. A month or so afterward he got sick, and died  from liver  failure. I still wonder whether he might have drunk somebody's anti-freeze. He about six years old. Jake lived to be about eleven and a a half, got sick, and died from what the vet said was multiple organ failure,and perhaps some cancer. I wept hysterically in the veterinarian's  lobby, but I got about twenty hugs. No, he said, there was nothing I could have done. The ashes of both Jake and Shylow will remain above my fireplace, in their place of honor. We humans do strange things to console ourselves. Mandi must now be twelve an a half.I know I won't have her much longer. She remains very energetic, demanding, bossy, with especially high culinary standards. Over her life , she has not been outside since she came to me as a green blazing eyed stray kitten. I have always wondered whether the three were from the same litter, and whether as feral cats they had acquired viruses and bacteria which limited their health. Outside, there was no less excitement.A lovely little stray grey an black tabby female with all white feet (Cassandra) who lived in my garage and in my lap for two years, then died of kidney failure after a long struggle with machinery and medication.  She is buried in my yard, perhaps illegally. Soon after sweet Cassandra's death I noticed a pair of pretty white kittens running around the neighborhood.