AT HOME WITH KAYLA PRICE 2/17: Barn cats

The cat has been hanging around for a few weeks now.  It is a friendly gray cat with white socks.  We had an old cooler that had been used to cover plants to prevent frost bite.  It had blown off and had filled with water.  During one of the cold spells, we saw the cat drinking from the cooler.

Though dogs are often dumped near where I live, cats are more of a rarity.  In the past 15 years this is only the fourth cat that I have seen – two kittens and two young adult cats.

Seeing this little cat reminded me of the barn cats my dad used to keep.  His farm helper would purchase milk which was kept in a refrigerator in the barn.  Each morning he would put out a bowl of milk for the cats to enjoy.

The bowl of milk was fitting since they lived among dairy cows, then later, stocker cows.

From time to time, the cats would all disappear, possibly the result of coyotes.  New cats would start to arrive (probably due to owners no longer wanting a cat) to live out their best rural lives.

This went on for years.  At some point after my dad passed away, we stopped keeping the cats since we weren’t keeping feed or anything else a mouse would be interested in in the barn.

Living in a pasture, one becomes accustomed to keeping mice out of the house.  Between poison bait, traps, electronic devices, good weather stripping below doors and garage doors, and keeping things clean, the mice have seemed to learn their place.  But it couldn’t hurt to have a cute cat hanging around either!

Archie was in a tizzy for a few hours after seeing the cat.  I don’t think he wanted to hurt the cat, but I do think he wanted to play.  I am afraid this may become a nightly routine as the cat has taken up residence in our neighborhood.  Ugh!