Jubilee and I planned to ride this morning, but the horses were out and it was already hot and steamy. We decided to try again at sunset.
So, what did we do? We played with the barn cats.
We have two house cats. We love our cats and their independent spirits. Some days they love us back.
Fuzzy, our Russian blue master of the house was born on Ruth’s 21st birthday at my cousin’s water well shop in Jacksboro.
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Fuzzy’s momma was feral and only came in for food and to deliver kittens. She did not tolerate being touched.
Oh, the difference a generation can make.
The new trainer, Liz, brought three cats with her when she came to the barn. (Liz is a college history instructor at Weatherford College.) They balance on the precipice between house cat and barn cat.
Shadow is a slighter duplicate of our Fuzzy with a gentler temperament and a quick purr. Her kitten is a spritely calico pounces on anything that moves. Crystal has bold black and white markings on her long lean body and Crystal is the most conflicted of the three. She knows she is a barn cat so tries to be standoffish, but she sorta likes being loved on. Conflicted.
The other two barn cats are tabby cats. Lobo, who has been around for years, got fat when he transitioned from feral cat to barn cat. Lobo doesn’t tolerate, Lobo LOVES the occasional belly rub and indulges us with a deep rumbly purr. Always on his terms. Lobo has his dignity to consider.
Notch the smaller tabby has a beautiful golden brown belly. Notch arrived feral along with a half dozen of his closest friends. Nah, they were not friends. They came from an organization that rescues feral cats, notches their ears, then matches them up with rural locations to be mousers. Notch is the only one who stayed.
Notch is also conflicted. Notch is transitioning to barn cat. Today Notch allowed me to scoop him up into my lap. He could have avoided me, but he deemed to tolerate me if I was willing to put out the effort and commitment towards catching him.
We sat together, Notch in my lap, his sharp claws ever so gently embedded in my knees, waiting for Jubilee. He never totally relaxed but when I lifted his paws he did not protest and he retracted them making us both more comfortable. Reconciled to some expert ear rubbing and he almost purred. Notch hesitated before jumping down and scampering off when I stopped rubbing his ears.
Mostly feral, Notch is moving towards barn cat.
Notch got me to thinking about various people in my life.
Hmmmmm?
Which ones are house cats?
Which ones are barn cats?
Which ones are feral?
Who is moving towards?
Who is moving away?
I don’t have any answers.
Cherie arrived with Sonny Grace so Jubilee and I indulged ourselves in some baby time. Sonny Grace is definitely a moving towards kind of gal and she isn’t six months old yet. Jubilee and I were so happy!
House cat.
Barn cat.
Feral cat.
People.
They ALL scratch.
Be careful.