Shiloh will be a year old next week. Yup, she was the runt of the litter and her mother took special care of her. Mister Mittens would feed her three male kittens while her tiny girl kept trying to get to a good nipple. Jeez, she was tiny but she fought for milk. Most often the runt didn't get much milk. After the three male kittens went to sleep with bellies full of milk the momcat Mister Mittens would snag her runt girl by the scruff and drag her off for a private feeding while carressing her into her belly.

Fast forward almost a year. Two males are gone by adoption and the large mummy tomcat is here. The runt is a young adult now but every now and again she lays into her mother's belly for a nipple. The momcat Mister Mittens is dry as a bone and kicks her daughter away and bites her ears and throat but when her daughter keeps coming back for the milk that isn't there Mom sometimes just lies down and lets her daughter have her way on a dry nipple.

I'll get back into the Marine Corps as a 63-year-old infantry sergeant on Social Security before I ever understand how cats work things out in their heads.