The proud mother cat was a thin, golden eyed tabby with a notched ear and a tail longer than her body. She had a nest made of straw and one of Aya's old flannel shirts she'd used for barn work in 4H. The kittens, ranging from storm cloud grey to an almost white with faint tabby markings, were peeping and nosing around in the hay nest but unable to escape into the larger barn yet.

Dilan got stared at!

And Aya set the carrier down gently just inside the door and grinned. "She used my shirt! I tried to find the softest one..."