Give it a rest, you two. After all it is
Halloween!!
Big Kitty and Pinkerton started arguing as soon as they finished Trick or Treating. Pinkerton says he saw a "real" bear. Big Kitty says it was someone dressed up as a bear. Way out here in the middle of nowhere, where we have NO
"people" Halloweeners, I'm inclined to believe Pinkerton.
We really did think Big Kitty was a female when he stayed in the house for his first Christmas! He moved out shortly thereafter.
Telling the girl cats from the boy cats when they're little is difficult, but it really doesn't matter when they live outside. The males can mark their territory and the females can have a litter of kittens. We introduce new bloodlines, and if necessary, give away females sired by the dominant tom. If there are too many toms, they find a new home or Dr. T sharpens her knife.
Big Kitty wasn't always a stoic looking Tom Cat. Once upon a time he was a clean and fluffy little female who lived in the house. This was the first time we EVER thought of having a house cat.
She was sooooo cute!!
That first Christmas was exciting. New Dora toys for Peyton and a new hiding place for our darling little house cat!
Big Kitty doesn't mind sharing his space on the deck with a bit of snow. He's been around long enough to know that snow comes, and it goes. He's entering his sixth or seventh winter (we're not good at keeping track) and will spend a few days reminiscing about the charmed life he lives at Barn Cat Mansion. He's the only survivor in a litter of four rescued by Peyton in the horse pasture. The mama cat must have been moving the family when a bad old coyote caught her.
Big Kitty heard that the decorations are coming down today.
"Why in the world don't we use them for Halloween" he said.
Timbit got all wide eyed and picked up a front foot as if getting ready to bolt. She said, "If those decorations don't come down, I'm running away from home."
You must be getting old, Big Kitty. Just leave it to the younger generation........
Well behaved and trained by the soft and caring hands of a ten year old, the cat family sat quietly. Big Kitty didn't find a turkey, but a big, fat bag of Temptations seemed to taste just as good. Everyone enjoyed the morning feast. Everyone except Pinkerton.
He says the turkey got away from Big Kitty! He says Big Kitty is a wimp! One "gobble" out of that turkey, and everyone ran home -
Pinkerton included. :/
We had no plans for Thanksgiving until Peyton showed up. She gathered the decorations, assigned a crew to help arrange them, and did her best to train the clan in advance of the "sit down meal".
By starting the fall/winter party season now, she might have everyone trained to sit still when Christmas arrives. Whiskers quickly left the scene when Big Kitty said,
"Real toms don't decorate. We're off to catch us a Thanksgiving Turkey!"
Big Kitty gave up.
He gave up on having his annual quad ride when no one could find just a little bit of gas to get it running.
No problem.
Soaking up a few rays while sitting quietly on the old loading chute is a safer way to spend the day.
So, he just thought about his happy life at Barn Cat Mansion - good food, a warm bed and a family of upstanding cats and kittens is all a Big Kitty needs.
