Almost immediately after Penny’s death we started talking about getting a barn cat. Not that we could ever hope to replace her with a new cat, but it is very necessary. Since Penny wasn’t actually meant to be a barn cat, she didn’t discover the barn until the spring after I moved in. I will never forget the difference between the mice that winter and the next.
So we started the discussion about getting a barn cat, that would be an official barn cat and live in the barn. Robbie got in touch with a girl he knows who works with a local shelter and fosters cats for a couple local vets as well. And wouldn’t you know, she knew of two feral 6 month old kittens. It seemed that they wouldn’t adjust to living inside, so barn cat status would be a great solution. I was fine with two, it actually made me feel better about them living out there by themselves, and we went to see them last night at the vet.
As we’re walking in, Robbie gets a text that there are actually three kittens there, siblings. We both say there’s no way we’re taking all three. Absolutely not. And then we came home with this –
Oh there are three little heads in there? Shocking. But seriously, how was I supposed to take two and leave one behind??? I would have felt awful, especially knowing that they weren’t going to make it as a house cat. We all (me, Robbie, and the vet) reasoned that they’d be living in the barn, definitely earning their keep, and how much more expensive could one additional cat really be? Needless to say the vet was ecstatic when we looked at each other and said we’d take them all.
Now we have three kittens, one girl and two boys, living in our tack room. Three kittens that I can’t tell apart. Three kittens that already look like full grown cats, and large ones at that. Last night they made the big move from the carrier to hiding behind one of the tack boxes.
I’m sure it’ll be awhile before they settle in and come out in the open. But, they did use the litter box last night, which is great.
And this morning one came out of hiding. Of course he or she then tried to climb up the wall, terrifying me, and ran back behind the box.
Does this look like a 6th month old to you?? The vet swears they are though, they’ve been with them since they were about 8 weeks. I’m guessing that they’ll have many adventures together around here.
If you need more, I could mail you a few!