Well, what an experience! I am happy to report that Mama and her two kittens have found great homes! Kittens were adopted together and went home Christmas Eve! Mama cat went to her new home yesterday with a good friend of mine. She is reportedly very happy and comfortable in her new home!
Funny story about Mama. She's been here with us for the past two weeks waiting to go into the shelter and for her post spay recovery, etc. We tried to make it work for her to live here, but she just wanted no part of our dog. She was stalking her and spitting at her every chance she got, LOL, and poor dog was beginning to have anxiety.

(I have to say I was very proud of my dog who was great with the cat despite the infractions.)
Now, the strange part. When we first rescued the cats, the name "Belle" kept popping into my head. I knew we just
had to name one of the cats Belle. But as it were, we called the cat Mama, and gave the kitties nicknames based on their appearances, figuring they'd eventually be named by their new owners. When I brought Mama into my vet's for spay, they asked what her name was and I said "Mama Cat". They were

saying "can't you think of a better name", so I said "Mama Belle", which became her official name. I remembered an ELO song called Ma Ma Ma Belle on one of my favorite albums in the 70's so it kind of made sense to me (not to mention the Disney connection).
Friday night on my way to work I called the shelter director to tell her we were going to bring the cat down on Saturday because we thought it was best for her to find a home without a dog. That night at work I worked with an old friend of mine who was actually my children's babysitter when they were young and who's just finished college out of state and come back home to live. It was the first time I'd seen or talked to her since last summer. I mentioned the cat and she without hesitation said she would love to take the cat.

I told her about her, showed her some pictures, and she immediately fell in love with her and could barely contain her excitement. She asked what her name was and I said that "we call her Mama Belle but you can name her whatever you like". She says "Wow, Belle is my middle name, what a coincidence! I love it, I'm going to keep it!" As someone who believes in the power of circumstances, I was like this

Wow, indeed! Belle is a
very unusual girl's name in these parts (and something I never knew about my friend). Definitely "meant to be"!
So my friend's longtime boyfriend/fiance came to pick her up last night and he, too, fell in love with her right away. They called late last night to let us know she was happily purring and enjoying all the attention. They said that she heard a dog barking on the TV and she began to "growl" so that made me feel happy she no longer has to worry about the dog.
Meanwhile, my dog has breathed a huge sigh of relief. She's very relaxed, sprawled out and happy. DH has been singing to her "Ding, dong, the cat is gone; which old cat? The spittin' cat! Ding, dong, the hissin' cat is gone!"
