On Wednesday night I was scrunched up in my comforters and blankets safe, sane and sober just after 11 p.m. It was cold outside down in the low 20s but not near as cold as some places. I understand that as a Long Islander near the warm Atlantic. The thermostat is programmed to let the temperature drop in the home after 10 p.m. and not kick in until 6 a.m.

I was wide awake in the dark when the momcat Mister Mittens jumped into my bed and slammed her rump into my left hip over my covers when she stopped pacing and flopped. I reached out in the dark to gently pet her skull, neck and ears. She purred. I had some extra stuff on the bed and laid a lap blanket and part of a comforter over her. She licked my hand with her sandpaper tongue (only cat here that does that) and duffed off to sleep. And I did too.

I woke up in the dark a few minutes after 6 this morning and reached over to snap on the lamp that's on a night table. The first thing I noticed was something up against my hip and the first thing I saw was a clump of comforter and lap blanket on my left with a pink nose and some long whiskers pooched out from the edge. It was the momcat. She woke up and raced downstairs to her feed dish.

I did all the things a man of my age does first thing: stumble to the bathroom, pee, yawn, moan while staring at the ceiling, flush and scratch the old gear. And when I got to the kitchen the momcat Mister Mittens was sitting gently and patiently next to her feed dish. Her son and daughter showed up while I was cleaning the feed dishes and pulling the Friskies out of a cupboard.

I love that feral feline street mom just a little bit. A tiny bit. Next to nothing. I should not be harboring a wild animal in my home. I should throw her out. I'll be thinking about that the next time I have my arm around her in bed and we're both snoring on a cold night.

Momcat was WARM under the comforter didn't want to leave!

She's a tough girl wild animal cat but easy to love. The ancient Egyptians are the first people known to have "domesticated" small cats so that the cats could keep stores of grain free of mice and rats and other vermin.

The cats caught water, good places to sleep, a great food source, affection and a chance to play humans in the future.

Fast forward some thousands of years and you will understand how and why the tabby cat under a roof owns you lock, stock and barrel while remaining a feral feline.