The cat story two weeks ago ended with a sad happening. This week’s story is a sadness for me, but a happiness for some other people.
Since we were out of cats, Vikki, Rudene’s beautician, asked her if we would like to have a new kitten. Her daughter, Natasha, had a cat with a new litter and would like to give some away. Rudene was not too excited, but I was all for it. I even asked if she had two that she would like to give away. Luckily, she said yes. She said it would be a few days before they could leave their mother.
One afternoon, Natasha brought two new little kittens to our house. I was excited to add two new members to our family. The kitties were white and gray speckled like most people had when I was a youngster. My grandmother always had one or two who stayed around the barn. They kept the mouse population down and enjoyed a spray of fresh milk on their face any time they could get one.
We had a screened-in porch and that would be their new home. I already had containers for food and water. I closed the cat door to keep them in until they got used to us. I also had a cat bed for them, as well as some toys that kitties like to play with. Now we were all set.
They grew up fast, and I opened the cat door and they had full range of our 11 acres.
They did a lot of exploring and it was not long before they knew the area very well.
The cats looked almost identical but had very different personalities. One liked to stay close to the house and follow me around. He didn’t like to go very far from the house unless I was with him. I think he was a little bit afraid of his shadow. The other one liked to be in the wide-open areas and rambling. He seemed not to be afraid of anything. He would chase a squirrel up a tree 30 or 40 feet high. I don’t think he ever caught one, but he gave them the scare of their life. When I would see him this high in a tree, I would say to him, “Old boy, you will have to get down by yourself, because I have no way to reach you.”
Then we moved to town. We have a small lot and very little rambling room. We have a dog or two in the neighborhood and they bark pretty good. The scared cat would get around my pants leg and stay close. The other cat would be looking to see if could find the dog.
After a few days, my rambling cat left. Every night I put him in my prayer for a safe return. Every morning when I got up, I hoped he would be back. One Sunday morning I looked on the back porch and there he stood. I was very happy to have him back. He still had his climbing ambition and one morning I saw him on the roof of the house next door. I don’t know how he got up there and don’t know how he got down, but he made it.
We had a lot of work to be done on the garage and a room attached to it. The two cats stayed under our feet so much we could not work. Auburn football was coming up and we had no one to keep them. When we lived in the country, we had a young girl that lived up the road from us and she looked after them. So, we decided to give them to someone that would take good care of them.
The man helping me work said that he knew someone in Holly Pond with a cattle farm and he needed some cats to keep mice and rats out of his feed. So, one afternoon we carried the cats to them. I said a sad goodbye to them and then we drove off.
I have asked about the cats two or three times since and they have adjusted to everything and are good pets and guard the feed. It saddens me not to have the cats, but the new owners are very pleased to have them.
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