Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Meet the Critters: Bowtie




If you have been reading this blog, you know we recently moved from an urban area into a rural one. Our city neighborhood had a large feral cat population. One spring a young cat showed up in our yard. For a while I thought nothing of it as it was typical for cats to pass through. However, she stayed around for a while. I noticed her left ear was clipped. At the time, I thought it was an injury and it was not until I came across a local Trap-Neuter-Return article I realized she was indeed a TNR cat.

She stayed on the property all summer and through the fall. Seems she had left her colony (or her colony dispersed) and she had taken up with our 2 indoor/outdoor cats. (I think the older lady in the neighborhood who had been feeding everybody either passed away or was moved into assisted living).

That fall we were faced with a dilemma. We were moving and what were we going to do with this cat? We are fortunate to have a veterinarian in the family and after LONG discussions on what would be best for the kitty, we decided to bring her with us.

And so we did. Bowtie now lives on a 12 acre farm. She has 3 barns to explore and a heated/cooled building
she stays in at night. She has been with us for almost 2 years now. She still does not like to be handled and is not comfortable in a house but she always comes when we call her and receives regular veterinarian care. We interact with her everyday. She's part of the family now :-)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Ode to a bad cat

I have always had a special thing for cats. I learned at an early age to find companionship amongst animals. And it seems as long as I can remember, I always had a special kitty by my side. Until my husband came along, I thought for sure I was going to be that crazy cat lady up the street everybody talks about. But he has brought moderation. My husband is not a cat person. He tolerates them. Ok, he likes them a little but I would not say he is wild about them.

When we first married, I brought my dowry of four cats. All females. All older. All set in their ways. One of these kitties was Molly.
Molly making herself comfortable
It could be said that Molly was the baddest cat of all the cats that ever lived. I mean there are bad cats and then there is Molly. Our favorite Molly story happened the first week we were married. My husband woke in the middle of the night to a hideous odor. It was smelly cat box odor- something he was not yet familiar with and bad enough to wake him out a dead sleep. So like the smitten newlywed he was, he quietly got out of bed as to not wake his sleeping bride, went to the cat box, emptied it, refilled it, and went back to bed. However, the odor persisted. So up he rose again, this time searching the house from corner to corner trying to find the secret poo-pile. But no luck. So, tired and fed up, he just went back to bed and pulled to covers over his head.
I'm sorry? Did you think we were sleeping alone tonight?
The next morning, I woke up and went to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. And there on the small table next to the door was the pile. It sat perched like a proud little pyramid dropped precisely on top of our electric candle warmer- which was turned to the ON position. Apparently the pile of poo was warming all throughout the night. I knew right away who was responsible. It was Molly. She was the only one who could pull something like that off.
I'm using my CAT-ESP to open that door!
Personally, I was quite amazed at how the cat managed to SHIFT the candle that WAS on the warmer so carefully, how exact her aim was, and how she waited to do this in the middle of the night when no one was looking. However, my husband was not so impressed. Thus was his baptism in living with cats.
I'm gonna find my OWN window!
Molly never pulled this again. I feel it was her way of dealing with the anxiety of the move, this new person in her life, and she was simply making her feelings known. However over the years, she managed to pull a variety of other antics. She was a bit overweight and had difficulty making it into the windows to watch the birds outside. Claw marks in the drywall show her struggles. Once she tried to get up onto a shelf in the bathroom to look out the window and the shelf, unable to hold her weight, fell (along with the cat) smashing into our porcelain sink breaking it into 2 pieces. She had grooming issues. She had projectile hairballs. She had a cat box phobia. And she liked to bite you when you pet her and then scratch you when you stopped. She was a mess. She destroyed things. She was altogether a really bad cat. But I loved her anyway.
Nothing like your own personal heater!
Over the years, she and my husband made peace. When we first married, we lived in the city and she was not able to go outside. I believe most of her behavioral issues were a result of being locked indoors all the time. When we moved to the farm where we now live, my husband made it clear she was not going to destroy this house too! I agreed and for the first time in many years, Molly became an outside cat.
Come on! Let me outside!
And she had a glorious time. She spent her afternoons lounging in the shade, watching for squirrels, catching mice, and exploring twelve acres of freedom. At night I put her in the shop to keep her safe from predators and in the mornings I let her out again. She was a happy cat.

About 5 months ago our friend the vet was out for a visit and I asked her to look at Molly. She had been losing some weight (which I was not too concerned about as she was getting much more exercise now) and it was then we discovered she had a mass in her abdomen. We discussed the options- bringing her in for a scan to determine how large the tumor was, to put her on medications, etc. But  ultimately, I decided against it.
Lounging in the afternoon shade.
I wanted to let Molly live out her final days as she was- outside, prowling the fence lines for field mice, sleeping the days away where ever she pleased. I did begin bringing her in the house at night where she slept in the windows of course.

On Friday, Molly ate her breakfast with the other cats and went outside. I saw her later that morning patrolling the fence as usual. By late that afternoon, Molly was gone. She did not suffer. And she spent the last nine months of her life- one happy cat.
Molly- Companion for over 15 years!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Growing! Growing! Growing!

A summer shower came through this afternoon and as quickly as it crossed over the mountains, it disappeared again. When the sun came out, my daughter and I went out on a scavenger hunt.

Today's theme: Things we can eat! Have a look at what we found!

Tomatoes!


Summer apples!

Blueberries!

Figs!

Mulberries! (at back) foreground= NOT edible!

Fall apples!

Patio Herbs!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Meet the critters: Penny!

Why hello there! My name is Penny! I have been passed off as a spotted Tennessee Walking horse but I am really a mix of cow horse and pleasure horse. There may be some walking horse in my family tree somewhere. I received my name because it is my job to make sure my humans know about everything going on at the farm. The call me the "Penny Press" because I always have something to say.

Occupation: Eater of Grass, daily farm reports
Duties: Lawn mowing, maker of fertilizer, reporting, checking the durability of fences, and creator of farrier bills.

OK, OK. I will admit, I have issues. I came from a rather abusive past and am working very hard to recover from my bad experiences. I am a bit codependent and need a constant companion. I can be stubborn when it comes to working with humans, but if you communicate to me in a nonaggressive manner what it is you expect me to do, I will work with you. I spent my early life with cows and when the cows went away, I was left alone on 50 acres to tend to myself. I had lots to eat- too much in fact and now I have issues related to rich grasses.


I was sent away for training by my previous owner and they were not kind to me. As a result, I am unsure about new experiences but if you are patient with me and work to make me feel safe, I will adapt pretty quickly. It is important to know I have a VERY short attention span which lasts oh, about 30 minutes... beginning 5 minutes ago. (But don't worry- I will be sure to let you know when your time is up. Ask my farrier.)

In spite of it all, I think I am pretty content here at the farm keeping tabs on all my other companions. I have been with these humans for a little over 6 years now. I have learned life isn't so bad after all.

-Penny




Monday, May 27, 2013

Message of Hope

Some songs are for entertainment. Some record the past. Some songs praise. Some deliver messages of hope. These lyrics by Julie Miller do just that.


You've been taken by the wind,
You have known the kiss of sorrow,
Doors that would not let you in,
Outcast and the stranger.
You have come by way of sorrow, you have come by way of tears,
But you'll reach your destiny meant to find you all these years,
Meant to find you all these years.

You have drunk a bitter wine with none to be your comfort,
You who once were left behind will be welcome at love's table.
You have come by way of sorrow, You have take a long way home,
But the love that waits on, you will someday come to know,
You will one day come to know.

All the nights that joy has slept will awake to days of laughter,
Gone the tears that you have wept,
You'll dance in freedom ever after.

You have come by way of sorrow, you've come over a stony ground,
But when love calls out your name, you will lay you burden down,
You will lay you burden down.
You have come by way of sorrow, you have come by way of tears,
But you'll reach the destiny meant to find you all these years,
Meant to find you all these years.