Meet the Border (collie) Patrol. On the left we have Chick. She is
scared to death of coyotes.
She can smell them a mile away, but she doesn't want to. She can hear them half a mile away, but she ignores them. And she could see them when they're close if she wasn't hiding under the deck, or in the Mansion, or under a truck.
Chick is short for Chicken.
Well, not really but the name fits. Never expect Chick to chase a bad guy away. She just won't do it!!
Meet the Border (collie) Patrol. On the right, we have Blue. He's a
big, tough Cat Wolf Chaser.
Blue can smell a coyote a mile away. He can hear a coyote sneeze half a mile away, but he can only see them when they're close.
If those bad dogs pass through the
yard going who knows where, Blue ruffles his hair and uses his gruffest bark to make them leave. If that doesn't work he chases them until they're tired. It looks like a happy game of tag, but its not one bit friendly.
Blue gets MAD. Thank you, Blue!!
We'll talk about Chick tomorrow.
It may be a foggy day, but its not foggy enough to hide two coyotes lurking just up the hill from where the cats are sitting.
Get ready to run for your lives!!
The slightest move from those two scavengers will cause four cats to take flight like a flock of geese in hunting season.
Don't worry kitties! Blue and Chick, the Border (Collie) Patrol Team has spotted them also!
Suddenly interrupted by a commotion below, the Big Kitty prepares to jump!
He was quietly sleeping on top of a bale, outside Barn Cat Mansion. His mind was full of dreams of little gray mice, big fat sparrows and Orangey Tail, the love of his life. An earth shattering
MEEEEEOOOOWWWWW!!
pierced the air and woke the King.
Quickly, he surveyed the situation. On the ground, Pinkerton and Tipster were about to launch the second round of "Wrestlecatmania".
"Oh brother. They woke me up for this? :/
This photo of Pinkerton was taken back on December 9, 2011 when he was a mere 3 months old.
How may cats would choose to put all four feet on the barbed wire instead of just standing on the wooden fence? Not many...
Pinkerton lives on the edge.
With no regard for his own safety, he perched that little body on that wire and looked danger straight in the eye.
Attitude! That's what we'll call it. This cat's got attitude!!
Top shelf: Tipster
Bottom shelf: TOT
TOT is the only Barn Cat Mansion cat that hasn't been formally introduced, and no one even guessed that when asked a while ago.
TOT: Tiny Orange Tom.
When we named him, he was a tiny baby and OOT was still around.
OOT: Old Orange Tom.
Old Orange Tom passed away last fall, before the blog began.
RIP, OOT :(
Dog houses are for dogs.
Cat houses are for cats.
Oh, sorry.
Barn Cat Mansion is for cats.
And Barn Cat Mansion is for horses, dogs, magpies and the odd skunk. But, some cats are thinking they can move into a dog house. Chick thinks maybe one day she might like to live on the "outside" in a real house built for dogs.
Move over, Casper and Pinkerton.....company's coming.
Making a living on the "outside" is all about adaptability. First of all, find a place to live.
That old dog house will fit just fine.
To be a successful hunter, blend in, and to outsmart Cat Wolf, it helps to look like your surroundings.
When Pinkerton is beside the orange cats, he looks pink. When he's out in the dead grass, he's the color of dead grass.
Take this advice, Pinkerton:
"Don't hang out with orange cats if you want to hide in dead grass."
No wonder Pinkerton is successful at everything he does. He has an
intense personality.
Rarely does this cat ever relax and chill.
If he's hunting, he catches.
If he's wrestling, he intimidates.
If he's staring, he doesn't blink.
If his claws are out, he leaves them out.
And if he gets kicked out of the Mansion,
he will survive!!
Tipster is totally exhausted following the last match of Wrestlecatmania. His greatest fear is that Pinkerton will find him hiding beside a rock and challenge him to another round.
With any luck, Hillside Warrior will pick a fight with the Champion.
We all know who the Champion is!
(Don't say anything, but Pinkerton doesn't have a chance :))
Last night, outside Barn Cat Mansion, a crowd gathered to watch the inaugural fight in the series:
"Wrestlecatmania"
First on the Wrestle Card was a match between Pinkerton, Hillside Warrior and The Tipster. Fur was flying and we heard some nasty meows that can't be repeated on this family show.
No clear winner was declared, so a re-match is scheduled for some other time.
After that major mistake yesterday, Pinkerton had a look around outside the Mansion. If the Big Kitty decided to give him the boot, he might need a back up plan.
Behind him, you can see an old dog house. Well, this will make a beautiful home for Casper and Pinkerton. It has an old shag rug and a couple of towels atop a bed of straw on the inside.
Like we said before, no matter how angry Bumble is, he will always let the outcasts back in for food.
Good cat, Bumble Butt!!
At least we know the boys will be well fed, warm and comfortable. By the way, Dr. T is running real late. Maybe she forgot about Barn Cat Mansion.......
Pinkerton just can't leave well enough alone.
He heard a rumor about Casper trying to get back into the Mansion, and decided Bumble should be the first to know, so he whispered in the Big Kitty's ear.
PINKERTON!! Give me a break!
You wild and crazy little pink cat! You're in the same boat as Casper. Too many tom cats create chaos in an otherwise peaceful existence.
Do you really think Bumble isn't aware of your masculinity? Its only a matter of time before you too, are banished to the outside.
Walk away, Pinkerton. Just walk away......
Casper adapted to life outside the Mansion without incident. His new friends are horses and they never judge him, fight with him or want to eat his food.
Life is good!!
But, by the end of April, with any luck, he'll be able to slip back into Barn Cat Mansion without even being noticed. All females who want to have kittens should be expectant mothers by then.
When they don't have to compete for attention from the ladies, the guys get along just fine.
Calling all Fox Farm cats:
"C'mon guys!! Jump in!!"
"I've got the keys and there's plenty of gas in the tank. This Nissan pick-up truck is ready to roll."
"We're going to town because our employer forgot to buy cat food. Cats can't live on mice alone."
Grocery list: Special Kitty
Temptations
Party Mix
Luvs
Cream
Southern Alberta is home to an abundance of wild flowers, the first being the crocus. Sometimes, if its warm enough, this pretty little
purple flower
shows up by April 2, but that always depends on sunshine. This year, the first ones poked through on April 12.
Every country kid around has gained brownie points by presenting a bouquet of fresh spring crocuses to his/her mom and you can be sure that every mom just loves them.
This was looking at us when we opened the back door yesterday morning. And the best thing about it?
It doesn't bite!!
Lately, the wilderness has been closing in on Barn Cat Mansion and the house beside it. We have deer, elk, moose, coyotes, cougars and even grizzly bears around here. You never know who might be looking at you when you don't even know they're looking!!
Farm cats and barn cats have a great life. They are gainfully employed by the people who keep them. The employer supplies room and board and the employee, in this case, the cat, is asked for one thing in return:
If you see a mouse, catch it!
Here we have Socks, another of Suckee's orphans and the only male of the group. He went off to work as usual, and this day was a total success. He didn't catch a measly little mouse. He caught a big fat pocket gopher and played with it all afternoon.
Homer "Chelsea" Simpson has had just about all she can take of Tipster. We all know he's such a mamma's boy, but this is getting ridiculous. Everywhere H"C"S goes, her son goes along with her!
On this particular day, he tried to climb right up on the post his mom was sitting on.
She gave him a little push
and said, "Stay where you are, kid. I've had enough of you today!!
During chores the other morning, most of the cats came out to help feed the horses and bull. Then something totally unexpected happened.
Their feet got cold!!
So, seven kitties got up on the small core of hay and refused to get off. While they were sitting all in a row, we noticed one cat that hasn't been introduced. Can anyone tell which one it is? Oh yea, the young horses will be real happy to have stinky cat feet all over their hay.....
We've been asked a few times if we plan to spay or neuter some cats at Barn Cat Mansion. Two or three males are headed to the OR, but Bumble, Pinkerton and Tipster are not included. We never spay any females and we rarely give any cats away. The reason for this??
Cat Wolf
is an ever present threat to feline inhabitants of BCM. Every precaution is taken to ensure the welfare of our cats, but if they are caught out hunting when coyotes are hunting, they become the hunted.
Sad but true.....
Now you can see why Tipster was "beached" by the end of Barn Cat Mansion's Easter Party. He gathered at least
4 eggs full of Party Mix.
Even if they had stayed, not one other cat had a chance of getting those eggs away from that little hoarder.
He looks pretty proud of himself, doesn't he? Well, the bellyache tomorrow will put that smile on the other side of his face....
Barn Cat Mansion
Fuzz Ball Hunt & Easter Party
Due to windy conditions, the Fuzz Ball Hunt was cancelled. We used about a million staples just to keep the table cloth from flying away.
It was a come and go kind of a party, so after breakfast, almost everyone left,
.....waaaay before they were supposed to.
That's when the colorful eggs turned up, full of Party Mix, and someone ate a few too many.
(not naming any names) :)
Yesterday, Bumble and Chick had an epic game of tag happening in the yard, but it came to a
grinding halt
when Chick tripped over a few branches and skinned her nose. Bumble came rushing over and yelled:
"That's it!! This game is over until someone cleans this yard.
We said: "Hey, Big Kitty! Don't let anything but fear hold you back. You can clean it yourself!"
We'll now have a little game of
"Guess which cat this is!!"
To make this episode easy, you'll get one clue. In future episodes, NO CLUES!!
Here is your clue:
This cat was once described as
"sassy"
Back on November 19, all 9 cats living in Barn Cat Mansion could fit into one
"sleeping tub".
Pinkerton, Tipster, Jovi and TOT were still kittens. Check out poor little Tipster way at the back. He was barely able to keep his head above the sea of cat fur. Its a good thing we added one more tub over winter. Someone would surely drown if they tried this now...
Pinkerton heard all about Casper and saw him living "outside" with Smoke. He snuck out and hung around with Casper for a while, trying to understand the nature of this problem. Suddenly it dawned on him! He, too, is a
tom cat,
What if Bumble Butt knows? Will Pinkerton be banished to the "outside" forever and be forced to join that gang of thugs?
For the time being, Hillside Warrior has chosen to lay low, drawing no unwanted attention, and hiding beneath a wheelbarrow in the Mansion. He's safe........at least until we decide to clean the barn.
As promised, what we have here is a picture of a barn cat, or in this case, a farm cat in a
farm cat bathtub.
First, the cat will find a nice little hollow with a lot of loose dirt and a few rocks, Next, this cat will wiggle and roll and stretch and wiggle some more until every hair on its body is cleaned and fluffed.
Afterwards its so relaxing to just lay there, soaking up the feeling of cleanliness.
Oh, don't worry,
nothing is on fire and nobody is smoking .
Its just Smoke, sitting on a post. She heard that Casper was banished from life inside the Mansion. That's okay, because she could use some company out here in the wilderness.
Maybe Smoke and Casper could start a new gang called "Outcasts from Barn Cat Mansion", or OFBCM for short.
Still no sign of Dr. T, so........stay tuned....
While being taught an important lesson regarding seniority in Barn Cat Mansion, Casper discovered one other important aspect of barn cat law. No matter how much the Lion King hates you, he will always let you come back to eat.
When supper time rolls around, every cat gathers to share a meal of Special Kitty, even Smoke, who also lives mostly outside the Mansion.
Casper thinks this "outside" living is more tolerable than the alternative.
We'll see......
