I have a lame joke whenever my mom says something like “I’m a pretty good mom, right?”
I say “Sure, if you don’t count like 4,479 other moms,” often going through a list of mothers we know, including her friends, and ranking her below all of them.
But of course she knows I love her wholeheartedly and consider her the best mom, not “just” out of love but also recognition that she had a very difficult job as a single mom to my brother and I. It couldn’t have been easy raising two idiots like us.
My brother turned out to be a good dude, a well-respected member of the community and someone people look up to, and I turned out to be…well, me, but she shouldn’t hold that against herself. One out of two ain’t bad!
Moms make the world work. To be a good mother is to be utterly selfless, to always put your children first no matter how tired you are or how bad of a day you’re having. Moms give of themselves to ensure their children grow up happy, healthy and with a decent shot at life.
From nursing us and wiping our behinds as helpless babies, to soothing us when we scrape our knees as toddlers, to guiding us as we discover the world as kids, tolerating our insistence that we Know Everything as teenagers, and reassuring us during moments of uncertainty as adults, moms are always there for us and want the best for us.
Cats are extraordinary mothers to their kittens, and they don’t have it easy, especially if they are strays or ferals. Their love for their babies is so strong, they’re willing to run into raging fires for them. I’ll never forget a story one reader told me about her adopted stray, Snowy, who delivered kittens shortly after securing her new indoor home. Snowy died defending her babies from a pair of dogs who tried to get at them while they were on a back porch. The woman kept Snowy’s daughter and found good homes for the other kittens.
I’ve blogged about this before, but while I do not call myself Bud’s “dad,” and prefer to think of us as best pals, enablers, and co-conspirators in our ridiculous plots for world domination, I do have parental feelings for my Little Buddy, and consider it my privilege to be his caretaker until the day he finally hits mythical felid maturity and turns into a hulking and fearsome tiger. (Do NOT tell him it’s not going to happen, he is absolutely convinced it’ll be any time now. He’ll be yuge and orange, just you wait!)
But of course he would not be such a fine young Buddy if not for his feline mom, who may not have smacked him upside the head as much as was probably warranted, but nonetheless admirably prepared him to take over his forever home and install himself as King.
So to all the moms out there, human and feline, we love you and we’re eternally grateful for your love.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Pain In The Bud 
What adorable pictures! Happy Mothers’ Day to all the moms and cat moms and dads out there!
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Isn’t it great seeing cat moms and their babies? I always like those images. Happy Mother’s Day, Leah, I hope your pride of beautiful cats make the day special for you just by being their awesome selves.
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I’ll bet you anything you like that your Mum is really really proud of you !
My Mum was the best Mum in the whole wide world.
My lovely sister whom I love very much is perfect, really!
But my Mum said to me just before she died , ” we really are alike aren’t we? “
And that was the best complement I have ever had 🙂
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That is a wonderful compliment and a great memory of your mom, and I’m glad you and your sister get on. It’s great to be close to siblings as adults.
Yes, my mom is proud of me, self-depricating humor aside. She has even come to like Bud even though she’s not a cat person. Tomorrow she will see her feline “grandson” for the first time in weeks so I expect him to be on his best behavior lol.
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Little Buddy was a beautiful kitten. Now he’s a great, big ferocious Buddinese Tiger. And you have a beautiful heart, so your Mom did plenty right when she raised you! Thank you for your wonderful and entertaining writing. I look forward to your essays.
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Thank you for the kind words, Jean, it means a lot to me. The Buddinese tiger got locked out of the bedroom for a few hours last night and was furious haha. That hasn’t happened in ages! Happy Mother’s Day, I hope it’s special whether you spend it with your feline or human kids!
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This is beautiful. Tux’s mom placed him in the attic to protect him from the cruel humans that were killing his siblings. That’s a great mom. I would have loved to meet her.
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I should have mentioned Tux’s mom too. Poor little guy had such a traumatic start to life but won your family over by being a handsome and charming young tiger, like Bud. I haven’t forgotten Batman BTW. Still planning to run that story.
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HAPPY FURMOMS DAY!!🌸🌸😻
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Happy Mother’s Day, Gilda!
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“Snowy died defending her babies from a pair of dogs who tried to get at them while they were on a back porch. ”
(Have I said how much I hate dogs – and dog owners?)
I often wonder what both Ramses’ and Brandon’s mothers were like. We will never know but we are glad they gave birth to such amazing sentient beings.
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I used to dislike dogs, owing mostly to my friend’s demonic Chow, but my brother’s dog, Cosmo, was an awesome little dude and I would not have Bud if not for him. He didn’t have an aggressive bone in his body.
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We got Snoops from a shelter after she had given birth to a litter of kittens behind the shelter. Kommando appeared in our window well a few weeks later. She was about four weeks old. Snoops adopted her immediately and taught her how to be a cat. It was hard on Snoops when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge a couple of years ago.
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That is special though, for a mom cat to raise and stay with a baby, adopted or not. I think about Bud’s mom sometimes, and if we do right by our cats by not trying to keep them together.
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I think that several safe homes is better than being out in the world by themselves.
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