This original essay, published here as an A+ exclusive, also appears in our new mini-book collaboration with everyone is gay, YES CATS!, which you should check out. 

The Incredibly True Adventures of the Backyard Bobbis
One unbearably steamy summer Sunday in New York City, my girlfriend Stacy and I found five feral kittens in our backyard. They were terrified of us and bolted every time we opened the door — but they kept coming back. It took almost a week for us to understand that their mama was a feral cat we'd been feeding for a year, a black and white tuxedo we'd named Bobbi Jean. She came to the sound of our voice when we called out to her when we were walking down sidewalks or getting off the train, following at a distance and ...