Ida Floreak, an artist from Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been in New Orleans for approximately ten years. Ida has grown to love the location she now calls home and has met some interesting folks along the road. Cats, too.

A stray cat began lingering around the artist’s residence at the beginning of last fall. Floreak has a cat of her own, and she realized it was most likely her cat that invited the visitor over. In any case, she dubbed the regular visitor Salami and shown real hospitality to her.

“[My cat Bruce] is a Siamese who is about twice her size and is 7 years old. He is big and often wild, however I adore him. Floreak told Bored Panda that Salami too.” is the reason she started coming. Floreak said. “I would let him go out for a while and the two of them would stay together in the backyard and groom each other. It’s very beautiful.”

As Salami spent more time with Bruce, Floreak sought to gain her trust and get near enough to trap the fleecy cat so they could get her fixed and vaccinated. Floreak discovered Salami was pregnant before she was comfortable enough for that.

“One day, Salami started meowing insistently at my door at 5 a.m. I had started feeding her at this point so she knew to come by, but she had never been so insistent and certainly never so early,” the artist explained. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do to keep her babies safe, and Salami probably didn’t want hers to grow up on the streets. So she asked for help. “Salami came inside and just meowed at me for a few hours so I figured something was about to happen; she was so round at that point.”

Floreak allowed her in, and she began giving birth at 8 or 9 a.m. Floreak had expected her to be away for a few of weeks once she had them, so this caught the woman off guard.

Floreak did everything she could to assist Salami, providing blankets and making the bedroom a peaceful haven. Four small kittens joined this world after a while. Floreak expressed her apprehension at seeing everything because she had never seen or done anything like it before, but it was evident that Salami knew precisely what to do, and everyone survived the harrowing ordeal.

“Salami now lives with me,” Floreak explained. “I was able to get her fixed and vaccinated, and she and Bruce now spend the most of their time together.” She’s settled in nicely and is a really sweet and affectionate little cat. The kittens have all been adopted by friends: one is in Mississippi, and the other three are in my neighborhood. I’m delighted I’m still able to communicate with them.”

The artist continued, “This was a really lovely quarantine diversion when things was extremely stressful and unclear at the beginning.” “There was an additional motive for me to stay inside the home, and it was something positive.”

The anecdote also serves as a reminder to have your cat or dog spayed or neutered. Visit The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to learn more about these methods.