When we arrived at the new house, the carriers were opened and we were allowed to come out.

There was much more space than we were accustomed to and many places where a cat could hide. But everything smelled strange. We did not recognise the rooms, the furniture, the people or the other cat who already lived there.

Cautiously, we began to explore.

We wandered into the kitchen and a room at the side of the house. Whenever something startled us, we slipped behind or beneath the furniture and watched from our hiding places.

At first, we thought the two-legs who had brought us there would return. Perhaps she had only gone away for a short while. We waited and listened for the sound of her voice or her footsteps at the door.

After some time, we realised that we had been left behind.

But at least we were still together.

There was me, Tami, and my three children: Simba, the big brother; Rockie, the second brother; and Cougar, the little runt of the family.

Even Cougar was growing bigger. Standing together, all four of us made quite a sight—a mother and her three large tabby children. We were a family, and in that unfamiliar place, we still had one another.

We tried to adjust. We explored the rooms, found places where we could rest and began learning the sounds and movements of the new household.

But as the days passed, another problem emerged.

We were given dry biscuits outside, with bowls exposed to the weather and ants. Wet food was given only once a day, and it was not food we wanted to eat.

At the CatsHope™ home, my babies had been accustomed to being fed every few hours, from early morning until midnight. Now, the food they needed was no longer available throughout the day.

Growing kittens need frequent meals. My children were still young, hungry and dependent on me.

But I was hungry too.

When they came to me and tried to nurse, I had nothing left to give them. I was exhausted and struggling to survive. I fought them away—not because I had stopped loving them, but because I could no longer feed them from a body that was not receiving enough food itself.

My babies could not understand why their mother suddenly pushed them away. I could not explain that I was empty, weak and hungry too.

Hunger changes everything.

It turns a mother’s need to protect her children into a fight for survival. It forces cats to leave places where they are supposed to be safe. It sends them searching through unfamiliar surroundings for anything they can eat.

I began leaving the house to look for food.

At first, I stayed nearby. But when I could not find enough, I went farther away. Each search took me deeper into a neighbourhood I did not know.

Eventually, my kittens and I became separated.