A young mother sits quietly on her bed, gazing out a window as snow starts to spit from the clouds. Her brilliant green eyes squint as the remaining sunlight warms her face.

A couple of weeks before Christmas she was homeless.

She was walking the streets somewhere in Lakewood, and she had four newborns to look after.

Lucky for her, a kind couple took her in-they gave her something to eat, a warm, dry bed, and a stable home that she felt, would be suitable for her young.

She, however, couldn't tell her friends about her babies. Instead, when they thought she had left their home for good, she returned again, and again, bearing each time, a new life.

The couple was honored the mysterious young mother with jet-black hair and green eyes trusted their home enough that she brought in her family, but they knew they couldn't care for the family of five.

So, on Dec. 19, Peppermint and her kittens were introduced to Shari Shiffer-Krieger, the executive director of the Cat Care Society, 5787 W. Sixth Ave., in Lakewood.

"Peppermint knew that her kittens would die if she didn't find them a warm place," Shiffer-Krieger said. "Three of her four kittens, Eggnog, Fudge and Candy Cane are ready for adoption as of Jan. 21."

And as for the fourth kitten, he's already found a home, Shiffer-Krieger said. Peppermint, on the other hand, at eight months went into heat again and had to be spayed.

"She'll be ready for adoption soon," Shiffer-Krieger said. "She's awfully well-behaved, she doesn't get on the countertops, she knows 'no,' and she's very smart."

Shiffer-Krieger, as the executive director of the shelter, knows intimately all 35 cats who temporarily call the Cat Care Society their home.

She loves cats, and it's obvious in the way she greets them, tells their personal stories, and offers each and every one of them a sincere lap to snuggle on.

"Even if they are adopted from here, they can always come back," Shiffer-Krieger said. "It doesn't matter if it's 15 years later, they can come back, but fortunately, they don't often do."

That is why each cat is uniquely named, she said. If they do come back, they can keep their name.

Rarely does the Cat Care Society take in cats surrendered by their owners, but rather they offer a home for stray and abused cats.

Shiffer-Krieger oversees the society's 200 volunteers, who not only help in the shelter, but also in the clinic, the thrift store, and with fundraising opportunities.

Shiffer-Krieger said it costs the shelter about $10 a week per cat for their food and any medical needs.

"Spaying, neutering, the shots and micro-chipping cost about $85," she said. "When you adopt a cat from us for $75, it includes all."

And when the shelter is at its limit of 65 cats, typically in the summer months at the peak of kitten season, the amount of care can get pricey.

But that hasn't slowed down the Cat Care Society, Shiffer-Krieger said. Since veterinarian, Dr. Linda East started taking in stray and feral cats at her clinic, which became the Cat Care Society in 1981, the shelter has continued to steadily adopt out 60-80 cats a month.

I try not to get too attached to the cats because I know they are all going to get adopted, Shiffer-Krieger said. I am really missing Emitt, who would hang out in the administrative building, because he was a clown.

"He was extremely intelligent and always into something, and he was scared of rainstorms because he was a survivor of Hurricane Kartrina," Shiffer-Krieger said. "But he was adopted, and I am always glad to see that the cats find a permanent home, but I do miss them."

If you are interested in adopting Peppermint, one of her kittens or any other cat at the Cat Care Society, call 303-239-9680.