The wife laid out piles of cat food while I was catching the getaway race at Belmont Park. All of the cats were here to eat, including Nasty Mom and Sad Face. But not the gorgeous Ginger.

Ginger was born here via Nasty Mom and Sad Face back when the cats were still fertile. I got them all trapped and neutered in the spring of 2017.

Ginger is "special". She gave birth to a litter of four in a cat condo when she herself was still a kitten. Her white kitten was born dead and she pushed it to the side while nursing three. Her sister Emily gave birth the evening before behind some bushes out back and walked away. She didn't want to be a mother.

I found Emily's litter of five. Two were dead with their mouths full of dirt - they died trying to nurse on dirt. Two were wiggling and I cleaned the dirt off them. I figured another kitten was dead but I held it in the palm of my hand and kept rubbing it and all of a sudden it twitched. But what to do?

I laid the three survivors into the cat condo where Ginger was nursing her three surviving kittens. It was late in the day. I figured I'd be back in the morning to dispose of more dead kittens.

Next morning Ginger was flat-out exhausted and down hard from nursing six lively kittens. Lordy, the wife and I loaded Ginger up with good food, milk and fresh water around the clock. She was under a year old, a kitten herself and an outstanding cat mother. One cat later died but Mr. Orange, Garfield, Bosco, Catty Patty and Tuxedo all owe their lives to Ginger. And it was Tuxedo out of Emily who flashed that weak spark of life to me in the palm of my hand that got him a second chance at life with a new mother.

I'm not worried about Ginger. She is too well-fed, smart, robust and healthy for me to be worried about her not eating a dinner here tonight. I am certain that she has a flop and good food available from a neighbor nearby.

Dining else where?