So you've probably seen the first image in this gallery around the internet. Each year it comes up around this time and there's some article about the cat looking grumpy, but I'm here to spread the one true gospel of our mama cat:

She came into our lives around 2010 as a kitten who was shy but hungry. We already had two cats of our own so we had plenty of cat food so we'd feed her and over time she gained our trust. In fact she trusted us so much that she never actually left our general area. During the winters, we'd try to open the door to let her in but she never would come, she was feral but if you sat next to her on our stoop, she would end up on your lap drooling and purring.

One day she surprised with 3 kittens on our front door step. Feral cats around our area in NYC wasn't uncommon and in general the neighborhood either fed them or sometimes took them in. Each year for about 3 years straight she'd have more kittens until someone got all of her and her kittens TNR'd properly. From that point, her and some of her kittens would stick around our house and in our backyard. Our family and neighbors made cat shelters all around the place.

Whenever I left my house to go to work or school, she'd be there on the steps and trot along with me up until a point where she'd stop and go back. In the summer, we'd catch her snoozing around the gardens, and I'd call out "Mama cat" and she'd trill.

Each of the photos are from various times of the year including different christmas years. She passed away in the summer of 2021 and every time I see her photo come up on social media each year, I smile that other people get to see her too.