I met Trudy at a yard sale. She and her five nursing kittens had been abandoned in a vacant field. She was horrifically thin, and so were her kittens. So my day’s plan changed. This black and white bundle and her tiny babies became the immediate priority, and continued to be priority for the next two months.

   Trudy was a superb mother. When she was safe and supplied with unending food, she focused on her life's mission, only interrupting her motherhood to eat, and purr thanks to her rescuer.

   It was in training her kittens that Trudy showed unusual skill. She of course moved them several times when they were tiny, not far, but to larger "quarters" in her enormous cat enclosure. One day she decided they were ready for the larger world, and moved them to a safe haven opening to a small garden. Here they learned about plants and trees and kitten play. She never once let them out of her sight. 
   As they grew older and slightly expanded their playpen, Trudy positioned herself accordingly. She watched and spoke and trained. It was incredible to see. Not one kitten wandered from the area designated by mama – ever. Any attempt to do so was met with a soft meow and instant kitten compliance.

   The garden selected by Trudy opens to a patio area, then to a doorway to the kitchen fitted with a cat door. One day I watched Trudy line up her kittens in single file and lead them through that door. As I watched I almost expected her to hum a military march. There was total discipline in the maneuver.    
   In they came, still in that single file, through the kitchen and into a dining area. Trudy jumped on the table, murmured her instructions to her brood, and they played in an obviously designated area. Any crossing of the designated lines met with soft verbal instruction from Trudy. The kittens complied. When playtime was over the kittens were again lined up and led out the cat door. Nap time.

   Trudy’s kittens are in very special homes, with very special people. Trudy and one kitten stayed with me. It was summer vacation time when the kittens went to their own people, so for the first couple months one or another kitten would return to visit while his or her family vacationed. It was joyous to watch the family reunions, the fun the kittens had reuniting and the manner in which Trudy reassumed her mother role. It was puzzling to Trudy to see her teenage children come and go, but it did not appear to be traumatic. She totally trusted me.

   It has been nine months since Trudy came to me. Not a week goes by without a call from one of the kitten’s families to tell me what a special creature Trudy’s kitten is. I know that. Trudy herself was a special creature.

   Trudy died a week ago, at home surrounded by her feline, canine and people friends. Her kitten, now nine months old, hardly left her side that last day. We all miss her, so very much.