Cher

     The mother cat, Likes 'em Green, came bringing two kittens to our backyard.  Here, food was left out.  Mama and kittens came to eat only.  They never hung around.  Their presence was known to us, as we called the female kitten Cher and the male kitten Sonny.
     Sonny stopped coming.  Cher grew into an adult cat with kittens of her own.  She came to eat and she showed her control as she constantly fought with larger female cats.
     We never really got close to Cher and she was as wild as one gets.  That was until her last days.  Her last days came with much sadness.  It was during those last days that I was able to touch her slender, frail body.  What had happened to her?  We tried different attempts to save her, but nothing helped.  She continued to eat during those last days, though.
     Likes 'em Green, who had had many litters of kittens since Cher, brought her a mouse.  Out of sight, Cher took off with her mouse.  I guess a mother, even in the animal kingdom, never forgets her children. 
     Cher stayed around until her life ended.  Such a vibrant cat and to end at such a young age!  What killed her?  I could only guess.  But she, like so many I have seen come and go, has a special place in my heart.  She was a small cat with long black fur and she had her own personality.  She had come back to where she considered her home to die.  We buried her beneath the pear tree.  She will be remembered.