Left, right, together

Tabby Olga is still in sync with her grown son, Jesse (tabby/white).Jesse is obsessively in love with Olga; Olga is obsessively in love with me. I complete the triangle by being obsessively in love with Jesse.

Son-mama pajama party

Long-time couple Olga and son Jesse (in back) are joined by Homer and his newly tame mom Suzy.Suzy was spayed while Homer was still a kitten, but she has remained feral until recently, when she suddenly wanted me to pet her. Now she's a total cuddler. She's actually more my buddy than Homer's.Below are Homer and Suzy a year ago, when they were both feral and living in a closet.

Have some candy

We're a piece of Daily Candy today.

Still life with tomatoes

The kitties love our tomato "forest" -- tall metal cages overflowing with tomato plants. What the cats don't get is my obsession with this sticky, sweet, tangy colorful fruit.

Puppy poses with Celebrity tomatoes. Jesse is in the background.Alvin does a prim white-glove pose, with Juliet tomatoes (a paste/roma variety) in the background.Cosmo complements the cream of the crop, a Green Zebra heirloom tomato.

Jesse and Homer

Despite the sweltering summer heat, Jesse cuddles up as close as he can get to his belly-up buddy Homer.Homer is one of those rare cats who seems to bring out the best in other kitties. He has befriended shy Jesse, gently teaching him to frolic and wrestle with someone other than mama Olga. This has boosted Jesse's self-confidence and made Jesse more boldly affectionate with me too.

Gruesome twosome

To former ferals Olga and son Jesse, every day is Mother's Day. Jesse (the white-and-tabby one) slavishly follows his mama even to the food bowl, and Olga continues to defend her full-grown baby boy against intruders.

Olga weighs only 6.5 pounds, and when she sleeps on me it feels like a delicate little bird is perching there. But Olga rules the roost -- even the biggest toughest cats are scared of this tiny spitfire.

Queen Olga is displeased

The dreaded Elizabethan collar! Olga has an abscess on her side (a common ailment with us, the result of cat bites) which hasn't healed due to her constant licking, so we had to resort to extreme measures.It's unusually cruel for Olga to have to go through this, because she has worked so hard in the last year to transform herself from feral to darling love cat. Her determination and progress have been amazing. She has forced herself to overcome fear and pursue the human attention she craves. She rubs uninhibitedly on the legs of every person who visits. She prances into my lap and chats and purrs ebulliently. She sometimes sleeps with me, cuddling by my shoulder.Olga has tried to cut the apron strings from her grown son Jesse (above), but he's devoted to his mama and still follows her around. I think Jesse is gorgeous, but he has little interest in my affection.

Tandem sleeping open call

Pierre and Francine have joined the tandem sleeping performance circuit.They aspire to challenge the reigning tandem sleeping champs, Olga and Jesse, who in the past year have turned professional and taken their show on the road. They recently appeared in the backyard shed's winter bedding I've set up for feral kitties.Today I caught Olga and Jesse rehearsing their new act: "Chopsticks" and "That's my hiney, dude."

Lookie there, Pierre

I'm looking already, Jess.

A boy's best friend is his mother

That's Jesse's motto. It doesn't bother him that Norman Bates said the same thing in Psycho.

Free swatches

Insert finger in slot. Jesse will swatch it.

Brought to you by the letter X

Olga and Jesse are still all wrapped up in each other. Jesse is now bigger than his teen mommy.

They're in the last stages of being feral -- they want me to rub their backs and scratch their heads as long as they can't see my hand. When they turn their heads and see me touching them, they freak and run -- but not very far.

Jesse's high-flying solo

Not-so-little-boy Jesse finally untied mama Olga's apron strings and launched himself into treetop adventure.

He set a record for the highest kitty climb in the big dead tree.

Dastardly duo strikes again

Formerly feral mother and son Olga and Jesse are still in cahoots. This photo shows Olga's gamine beauty. She is so tiny and exquisitely fine-boned.I'm constantly amazed at the remarkable Olga and her determination to overcome her feral fears and become a tame lovecat. She comes running when she sees me, lets me rub her head now, and chats like a bubbly teen. Jesse, on the other hand, can take or leave me. He just tolerates my affection.

Olga & Jesse in action

Warning: This video contains explicit images of Jesse's unneutered backside. He's overdue for that veterinary rite of passage. (Olga, though, has been spayed.)

More Olga & Jesse

Here Olga models how they're wearing mother-fixated sons this year.
As headgear:Draped to the side:As a chic choker (not so chic if worn too tight):

Tandem sleeping: Olga & Jesse

Feral mother and son, Olga and Jesse, moved in with me a few months ago. Jesse now lets me love on him, but Olga only lets me touch her back while she rubs against my legs.

They are world-class tandem sleepers. Below are some of their signature positions.Sleepy boxing:The choo choo train:Piggyback-on-mumsy:Parallel parking:
The face lift: