Our cats are tender and loving creatures and for a farm - necessary - at least for me. I do not like surprises, least of all field mice, plentiful in the fields. The cats keep them at bay. Any mouse that comes within our cat boundaries is a dead one. It's not nice, since I love all creatures, but I have nothing to do with it - it's between cat and mouse, and usually death is swift. Alot of people consider cats to be bird killers also, but I 've seen very little bird killings. Birds present a kind of fun stakeout for the cats but due to flight capabilities of birds, they are pretty safe. More get killed each year falling out of nests from on high in our barns. Some chipmunks get caught, but again, rarely because they are tree dwellers. Some rabbits. Some pigeons. But mostly mice and moles, ugh.
We never have any mice in the house and I never see any in the barns. The only time I see a mouse is when a cat brings them to my feet, as if I am a kindred spirit who appreciates their prey. I don't!
Life is good at the farm for all of us, especially cats. It is their ideal habitat because, outdoors there is plenty to hold their interest.
Cats will follow me to the fields to toil amongst the veggies, sit in the cool soil and shade themselves under a zucchini leaf. They are not house cats, except the 10 degree and below nights - where they'll congregate under the woodstove for a pocket of heat. I don't use kitty litter - since I think it is an artificial addition to the earth - I use sand instead. At any given time we have a bakers dozen. These cats came to the farm, in many cases, by the addition of a fertile female cat. All of them get spayed and neutered, but cats will travel and there is always a new one at our doorstep. Right now, our farm cats are Geronimo, Pawnee, Oconee, Oneida, Ottawa, Cheyenne, Shawnee, Navajo, Blue Cloud, Broken Arrow, Two Feather, and Three Feather and Comanche - a recent addition from who knows where - a tom cat that you can't get near.
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