Catherine Friend
Catherine Friend

Snip, snip!

Fact: We love our three barn cats, Emmett, Pumpkin, and Maisie. 

Fact: Two feral cats have been living with them, Brody for two years, Little Guy for less than a year. This hasn’t bothered us until now.

Brody hasn’t been a problem, but now that Little Guy has matured, Emmett has begun showing up with bloody ears. 

Not okay! Emmett is my baby. Time to catch the cats and have them fixed. I despaired of this ever working.

Melissa loves a challenge. We caught our three cats and put them in this massive dog kennel.  Poor babies. I wanted to let them out every day, but Melissa held firm. 

Melissa set a live trap for Little Guy, and caught him! Little Guy had taken the tuna bait. 

Melissa called the vet (I was in the Twin Cities helping make a double batch of limoncello—another story). Ann the vet came right over. She gave Little Guy a shot and they waited until he seemed drugged enough. But when they opened the trap, the cat/oppossum shot out and was gone.

Grrr.

Meanwhile our patient cats remained in the kennel, looking at us with confusion. Melissa set the trap again. The next morning, there  was Little Guy again. (He’s cute, but not terribly bright.)

The vet came and de-balled Little Guy. One down, one to go.

Our cats were free for a few days, then Melissa imprisoned them again. One and half days later, Brody took the bait. Here’s Emmett reassuring him that all will be well.

Now both feral cats are fixed. Yipee!

There will be some adjustments. Today mild-mannered Pumpkin nearly chased Little Guy all the way off the farm. Hope they can all learn to get along, since it’s freakin’ cold here, and I don’t want anyone out on their own.

What a relief. Now the only real testosterone is our new ram, as yet unnamed. So many things to do…

5 Responses

  1. I’m so glad to see a post. I love living vicariously through you two. I’ve read all your sheep books and gained a new appreciation for wool. Thank you, thank you! Keep writing, please.

  2. I’m so happy to see a new post. I missed reading about all the happenings on the farm. I hope everything works out with the cats. Keep us updated!!!

  3. I’m glad that I don’t have any ferals living with me now. Over the years we’ve had several, but my resident cats have never accepted most of them and eventually run them off. I’m not opposed, but my kitties apparently have very high standards for anyone wanting to take up residence in the barn. Go figure.

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The Big Pivot

About Me

After twenty-five years on the farm, I’m adjusting to the adventures of city life. Part of that adjustment is figuring out what I want to write about now, since sheep are no longer part of my daily life. I’m challenging myself creatively by painting with pastels and playing the ukelele as I seek my new writing path.

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Catherine Friend is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.