Eliza Mae Ezmereld
Sometime between 2001 and 2002, my mom first saw a stray tortoise shell cat hanging around
the area she and my aunt Carol work. Since then, this stray cat had at least seven kittens, all of
whom were caught by my mom except for one who just disappeared.
My mom and aunt tried everything to get "torti mom" as she was called, trapped. Once, she ran
into my mom's trap but the door didn't close on her! From that point on, she stayed away from the
trap now knowing its intent. Mom would try to follow her to see where she was hanging out but torti
mom would always give her the slip and seemingly disappear into thin air.
On December 13, my mom once again set the cat trap. She knew for sure that torti mom
wouldn't be caught but perhaps another stray would be. About 5 minutes later, with food in hand,
mom returned to the trap ready to place the treat inside. Bewildered, mom looked inside the trap
and found torti mom.
Within the week, torti mom was given her real name, Eliza (just like Eliza Dolittle from My Fair
Lady who was a street urchin but became a beautiful woman) and mom decided she was going
to keep her.
Everyday, Eliza learns more about having a real home and a real mom. (Wait until she learns
about having a new sister!
