My Mother's Fur

MY MOTHERS FUR

My first memory was of warmth, of cozy, happy warmth, and a warm vibration that went through me.

I did not understand I'd just been born. I only knew that warm rumble. I could feel it all through my tiny body-and I was tiny.

I knew I was not alone. From beside me little mews echoed, and I was stepped on,  little warm furry forms stumbling over me. Everyone had their spot,  the trick was finding it. There were others here, little beings of warm, soft fur that crawled over and across, protesting being kept from the warm rich milk of Mother.

And then there was Her. She was Mother. She let the warmth of her purr soothe us, it was the only lullaby I knew.

She kept us comfortable and fed. She washed us and held us between her gentle paws.

I was still too small to see, but I Knew, for I could feel her and hear her.

Sometimes she left us, but I never was afraid. We stayed in the straw, and though I didn't know it at the time, I was watched over by others of the Tribe I was born to. My father guarded our den and was never far away. My mother's sister sometimes came to watch over us, and though we knew it was not Mother, we knew Safe.

It was not until I was older, and I could see, my ears opening first to hear, and then, my eyes that I saw my home. But I knew my home well-a shed with a basket of prickly but warm straw that as we got bigger, we played in. There was me, my sister Rosie, and my brother; White Paw.

When I was four weeks old, I was already bold and strong. We were permitted to leave our nest for little bits of time to play and wrestle. We were also just learning about food that did not come from mother. To be sure, she fed us, gathering us up to her warmth. We purred as we nursed, kneading her softness with our small paws. But now, in the morning there was excitement could feel it. There would be sounds outside, and then the smell of something that made me feel hungry for something more than milk. I could not understand, but then, my mother with a look told us to follow her and we went out of the hole of the shed into Outside.

Outside was both wonderful and scary. There were lots of smells and such sights! I wanted to run and play but Mother kept us close. She would take us by our scruff- the loose skin at our neck, and carry us away if we got too near anything dangerous. Now, though, she gave us a look that said 'come here' and we followed her to where 'my lady'; the person who came twice a day with food. There were several plates of good-smelling tastes and Mother took us to the nearest.

We ate with her on one side, and my father on the other.

At first, we were not sure what to do, but watching her, I soon understood. I scooped up the food with my teeth and it tasted so good. My brother stuck his whole face in it and sneezed. My mother smacked the back of his neck, and he watched her and then, took a bite properly.

Soon we were all full. We sat on the soft grass and Mother washed us with her rough sandpaper tongue. It felt good, and her purr was my world as I gazed up at her. My father sat beside her and now I saw him regarding me as he put his big paw on my head. Then, he, too, groomed me and I felt cozy and happy.

Every day was a happy one-we would get fed our milk breakfast by mother, then after being groomed by her, we would nap. Then the Lady or Man would come with our food breakfast and we would all eat. After that, Mother would bathe us, wash our faces, and teach us to groom. Then came a special time-we could play outside under her watchful gaze.

We learned much. We understood when Mother made a special sound we had to run under or into the shed. She would smack us with a paw if we didn't move fast enough. One day Rosie was playing with some sticks from a tree and did not run to the shed, but continued to play. I had already run back to the hole but then turned when I heard something Scary. I watched as a Big Bird swooped down almost on top of Rosie! But with a  terrible snarl my mother attacked the bird, all her claws out, teeth bared! At the last moment the bird turned, almost as it hit the ground near Rosie; my mother's teeth and claws came away with feathers.