The Barn Cat Lady Webpages are back and will soon be joined by
The Happy Barn Cat Book
Details coming soon!
Melodi - aka The Barn Cat Lady
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Rest in Peace Maudie -Best Mouser Ever!
About two years ago, our little Barn Cat named Maud announced that after a long career of both catching rats (some nearly as big as she was) and mice; plus instructing every kitten we brought home from the rescue center how to hunt, that she was now retired.
She did this by looking at me like I was nuts when I brought her in to catch a baby mouse, she did this twice in a row and I told my husband, "Maudie has decided to retire." A visiting friend who was a vet then sourced the problem, she had only one tooth left, remarkably, she had probably been like that for quite awhile and had still been spotted teaching the last batch of kittens their hunting skills.
Her many years of good service won her a place on top of the old oven each day for special canned food and often a few hours to walk about the kitchen before being returned outside. Never really pan trained very well, there were occasional accidents, but old people have those two, mostly she stayed outside.
A couple of months ago, we noticed she was loosing weight and despite the best of food, she quickly became a little cat skeleton with fur. I also saw that "the boys" the big former toms outside (she was the last of the female barn cats left) had vacated the hand woven wool rug a friend made for the cats, and they were letting Maudie sleep on it. I'd never thought of Tom cats as being chivalrous, but that more than anything told me Maudie was on borrowed time.
On the other hand, being 15 or so, is like a human in their 70's; not always old but not young either. I was pretty sure the vet couldn't do anything unless she was in pain, so we just kept brining her in and petting her.
Two days ago, she tried to run to me and fell over twice; she'd obviously had stroke though her mind was fine and she was still perky. Moved into the back kitchen conservatory (small glassed in area) she was soon spotted having dragged herself up into the window and was playing bat-bat with the dog, who helpfully barked at her each time she swatted the window. She wanted to go out, but we couldn't let her; her legs would not have taken her far, even if she did make it up into the window.
The little rug was brought in and a water bottle put under it, by yesterday she had stopped eating or even drinking cat milk. Last night, a friend of over 30 years was visiting from the States and spent a very long time holding her. This morning, she was still there but mostly sleeping on the water bottle; picking her up seemed to hurt, so we only did it to freshen the hot water to keep her warm.
This afternoon, on the warmest Spring day I can ever remember here; I found her passed away comfortably in her sleep, on the water bottle and covered by a sunbeam.
She is now buried in the back garden with a tiny piece of amber, a hand-spun ball of wool and a toy mousie; just like the real ones she used to hunt day after day.
Oh, and I forgot to mention what else was special about little Maude, she did all this with just one working eye. The other one was clouded and totally white and had been since she turned up at a friend's homestead as a half-grown stray kitten.
So, never think even a disabled pet may not also turn out to be a working won as well. Not all of them can, but some of them do...
A friend suggested that she is now in a happy place where "mice will run right into her mouth," but knowing Maudie, I think she is much happier chasing and bringing them down herself...
She did this by looking at me like I was nuts when I brought her in to catch a baby mouse, she did this twice in a row and I told my husband, "Maudie has decided to retire." A visiting friend who was a vet then sourced the problem, she had only one tooth left, remarkably, she had probably been like that for quite awhile and had still been spotted teaching the last batch of kittens their hunting skills.
Her many years of good service won her a place on top of the old oven each day for special canned food and often a few hours to walk about the kitchen before being returned outside. Never really pan trained very well, there were occasional accidents, but old people have those two, mostly she stayed outside.
A couple of months ago, we noticed she was loosing weight and despite the best of food, she quickly became a little cat skeleton with fur. I also saw that "the boys" the big former toms outside (she was the last of the female barn cats left) had vacated the hand woven wool rug a friend made for the cats, and they were letting Maudie sleep on it. I'd never thought of Tom cats as being chivalrous, but that more than anything told me Maudie was on borrowed time.
On the other hand, being 15 or so, is like a human in their 70's; not always old but not young either. I was pretty sure the vet couldn't do anything unless she was in pain, so we just kept brining her in and petting her.
Two days ago, she tried to run to me and fell over twice; she'd obviously had stroke though her mind was fine and she was still perky. Moved into the back kitchen conservatory (small glassed in area) she was soon spotted having dragged herself up into the window and was playing bat-bat with the dog, who helpfully barked at her each time she swatted the window. She wanted to go out, but we couldn't let her; her legs would not have taken her far, even if she did make it up into the window.
The little rug was brought in and a water bottle put under it, by yesterday she had stopped eating or even drinking cat milk. Last night, a friend of over 30 years was visiting from the States and spent a very long time holding her. This morning, she was still there but mostly sleeping on the water bottle; picking her up seemed to hurt, so we only did it to freshen the hot water to keep her warm.
This afternoon, on the warmest Spring day I can ever remember here; I found her passed away comfortably in her sleep, on the water bottle and covered by a sunbeam.
She is now buried in the back garden with a tiny piece of amber, a hand-spun ball of wool and a toy mousie; just like the real ones she used to hunt day after day.
Oh, and I forgot to mention what else was special about little Maude, she did all this with just one working eye. The other one was clouded and totally white and had been since she turned up at a friend's homestead as a half-grown stray kitten.
So, never think even a disabled pet may not also turn out to be a working won as well. Not all of them can, but some of them do...
A friend suggested that she is now in a happy place where "mice will run right into her mouth," but knowing Maudie, I think she is much happier chasing and bringing them down herself...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Barn Cat FAQ's Are On My Website
Hi,
This is just a quickie post as it is nearly 3am here in Ireland. But I have just finished updated and re-doing my old website so it is now usable again. If you go to the front page of www.disastercat.com and click on Barn Cats you will get directly to my Barn Cat Lady Frequently Asked Questions Pages. I just copied them from the old site, so there are no recent updates. They are pretty much the ones from my work-in-progress barn cat book, but if I get more either here or at my main website I can add them in later.
Meanwhile, here at Kilmurry, the little Barn Kitties have gotten to where they race down the stairs each morning to go out and play, then race back up the stairs at sunset to get back into the bedroom. After a couple of months of hating them, the older "Uncle" cats have started to like them, Piggy even going outside for awhile with them most days So, we may keep this up for the Winter at least, day outside, night inside. Normally I'd have the babies sleeping in the conservatory plastic Cat huts by now. However the older guys would miss them and at since they are both elderly, keeping them friendly with the kittens is a good idea. Both of them were emergency re-homing/gift cats when their owner had to move to the US suddenly. The vet felt they were too old for international travel, and when their first new home did not work out they came here. Given their ages, there is a good chance that one might go before the other and they have never been seperated. So keeping them friends with the babies gives us choices if one of the young ones turns out not to be a real hunter. Though so far, all three are showing signs of being good working cats.
More photos in a day or two, meanwhile here's a preview:
This is just a quickie post as it is nearly 3am here in Ireland. But I have just finished updated and re-doing my old website so it is now usable again. If you go to the front page of www.disastercat.com and click on Barn Cats you will get directly to my Barn Cat Lady Frequently Asked Questions Pages. I just copied them from the old site, so there are no recent updates. They are pretty much the ones from my work-in-progress barn cat book, but if I get more either here or at my main website I can add them in later.
Meanwhile, here at Kilmurry, the little Barn Kitties have gotten to where they race down the stairs each morning to go out and play, then race back up the stairs at sunset to get back into the bedroom. After a couple of months of hating them, the older "Uncle" cats have started to like them, Piggy even going outside for awhile with them most days So, we may keep this up for the Winter at least, day outside, night inside. Normally I'd have the babies sleeping in the conservatory plastic Cat huts by now. However the older guys would miss them and at since they are both elderly, keeping them friendly with the kittens is a good idea. Both of them were emergency re-homing/gift cats when their owner had to move to the US suddenly. The vet felt they were too old for international travel, and when their first new home did not work out they came here. Given their ages, there is a good chance that one might go before the other and they have never been seperated. So keeping them friends with the babies gives us choices if one of the young ones turns out not to be a real hunter. Though so far, all three are showing signs of being good working cats.
More photos in a day or two, meanwhile here's a preview:
Monday, September 14, 2009
Post to resume shortly
Hi everyone,
Sorry this blog has been quiet, last week I was very busy trying to get thing's ready for a wedding (some very close friends) when I wasn't letting little barn kitties in and out of the house. Kittens are now happy to spend their days outside but still sleeping on Mommy. One of them also gave Mommy an unwanted gift. Mommy went to the people doctor, pointed at her neck and said, "The Big Cat has Ring Worm..." which I do. I think I know where I got it.
Anyway, it may be a few more days before long posts resume because at the wedding there was much dancing and well, DH tried to life me in the air and well...I sort of have a sore tail now. It is very hard for the Big Kitty to sit at the computer and type for any length of time and The Wolf (aka my husband) is doing most of the Barn Cat stuff this week, though I did manage to get the little ones in and out this morning.
So, the blog has not stopped, just been delayed a bit. I hope to get to regular updates on the new and old kitties as soon as I can sit for more than five minutes in my computer chair!
Until then, remember to pet all kitties that want petting and hug them close.
Sorry this blog has been quiet, last week I was very busy trying to get thing's ready for a wedding (some very close friends) when I wasn't letting little barn kitties in and out of the house. Kittens are now happy to spend their days outside but still sleeping on Mommy. One of them also gave Mommy an unwanted gift. Mommy went to the people doctor, pointed at her neck and said, "The Big Cat has Ring Worm..." which I do. I think I know where I got it.
Anyway, it may be a few more days before long posts resume because at the wedding there was much dancing and well, DH tried to life me in the air and well...I sort of have a sore tail now. It is very hard for the Big Kitty to sit at the computer and type for any length of time and The Wolf (aka my husband) is doing most of the Barn Cat stuff this week, though I did manage to get the little ones in and out this morning.
So, the blog has not stopped, just been delayed a bit. I hope to get to regular updates on the new and old kitties as soon as I can sit for more than five minutes in my computer chair!
Until then, remember to pet all kitties that want petting and hug them close.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Welcome to the Barn Cat Lady Web Blog!
Greetings everyone, this is my second blog started in as many days, but this one is very different in focus from my weaving and fiber blog. This blog will be about one of my other hobbies, that is being owned by many cats. Quite a few of them are barn cats or working cats, they are beloved pets but they also have a job to do. Many people don't realize that domestic cats have played a very important role in man's ability to farm, settle down and preserve enough crops to get through the Winter or Rainy Seasons. Cats, along with some small dogs, have been the front line of defense against mice, rats and other vermin that will eat up an entire harvest if not kept in check somehow. Even with modern pesticides and storage facilities, barn cats are still one of the best back up systems a farm or small holding can have to keep down the pests.
In past centuries, there was no humane way to limit their numbers and humans were faced with stark choices such as drowning excess kittens or allowing sickly colonies of half-feral cats to live on the edges of their homesteads. Today, that's no longer required in the first world, as modern spaying and neutering can help a small holder keep just enough cats to keep the mice under control, without endless litters of unwanted kittens as a side effect.
The same thing is true for feeding and general care, fading away is the myth that cats who are fed each day will not hunt. Modern science and observation have shown that in reality a well fed cat makes the best hunting machine. The first domestic cats volunteered themselves as human companions because from their viewpoint there was a lot of good food and hunting near any human settlement. But for most modern cats, a diet of just mice and vermin is not enough to keep them healthy, they do much better with regular feeding from a responsible human. Then, even when no longer hungry they will hunt for the fun of it and because it is their nature to do so.
Not all cats make good barn cats or working cats. Like humans, cats vary in their interests, and those who have no interest in hunting besides a catnip mouse or feather-string are best brought into the house as pets or re-homed with someone who will dearly love them but not need them to work. Also, elderly working cats may need an well earned retirement beside the kitchen stove or a warm out building. But the majority of young and middle aged cats will hunt and can be very useful indeed.
If you mix kindness and petting with regular feedings and basic general care, you get great companions who will work for food and provide a warm purr while you work in the garden or shed. Here at Killmurry House in rural Ireland, we often get people asking us if they "can have a kitten because our barn cats are so friendly." I then have to explain that we get our kittens from the cat rescue center every few years, we then bring them inside, love them to bits and then introduce them to the older cats already in the yard. Over time, the older cats teach them by example how to hunt and we continue to love and pet all of them. We make sure to spay and neuter all of them before they can breed, and instead replace with new cats every few years when numbers dwindle. Outdoor cats in a rural area may have shorter lives than pampered indoor ones, which is another reason we choose rescues for the most part. Some still live to become elderly pensioners, who still often suffer to teach the younger ones the basics of the hunt.
Finally, while many nearby farm yard have large feral barn cat colonies, we keep our numbers fairly low. Five to seven working cats is all most small holdings really need. A few more if you've got more than one set of outbuildings. We have more cats than that (some are indoor pets) but we try to always have about three to five who really hunt.
In the days to come, I hope to introduce the various Kilmurry Barn cats, including our current crop of kittens. We went to the rescue center about a month ago to get two and found a third one in the bramble bushes of our drive on the way home. We call Disa, the little Hedgerow calico "The Lucky Kitten," since about 10 minutes either way and she never would have been found. She and her two "brothers" Kobolt and Tomten are just learning their way about the garden in the day time, while sleeping in the bed room each night. By Winter, we hope to have them living in the plastic "Cat Houses" all night, kept warm with old wool sweaters and bits of sheep's fleece too tangled to be worth carding and spinning.
I'm also hopeing that other people who have barn cats or who are thinking of getting barn cats, or who have questions about their cats will provide comments, e-mails and questions to make this blog a barn cat information center. A few years ago, on a forum I'm a member of, people started asking me and another lady questions about their farm/working cats, and after about three years I discovered I had over 40 pages of single spaced postings on the subject.
Now, a few more years down the road, I thought it might be fun to try and start a place that focused on the subject. General cat questions and stories are welcome too! I'm looking forward to hearing from others as well as sharing what's happening here in our courtyard!
Stay Tune for More to Come,
The Barn Cat lady
In past centuries, there was no humane way to limit their numbers and humans were faced with stark choices such as drowning excess kittens or allowing sickly colonies of half-feral cats to live on the edges of their homesteads. Today, that's no longer required in the first world, as modern spaying and neutering can help a small holder keep just enough cats to keep the mice under control, without endless litters of unwanted kittens as a side effect.
The same thing is true for feeding and general care, fading away is the myth that cats who are fed each day will not hunt. Modern science and observation have shown that in reality a well fed cat makes the best hunting machine. The first domestic cats volunteered themselves as human companions because from their viewpoint there was a lot of good food and hunting near any human settlement. But for most modern cats, a diet of just mice and vermin is not enough to keep them healthy, they do much better with regular feeding from a responsible human. Then, even when no longer hungry they will hunt for the fun of it and because it is their nature to do so.
Not all cats make good barn cats or working cats. Like humans, cats vary in their interests, and those who have no interest in hunting besides a catnip mouse or feather-string are best brought into the house as pets or re-homed with someone who will dearly love them but not need them to work. Also, elderly working cats may need an well earned retirement beside the kitchen stove or a warm out building. But the majority of young and middle aged cats will hunt and can be very useful indeed.
Finally, while many nearby farm yard have large feral barn cat colonies, we keep our numbers fairly low. Five to seven working cats is all most small holdings really need. A few more if you've got more than one set of outbuildings. We have more cats than that (some are indoor pets) but we try to always have about three to five who really hunt.
In the days to come, I hope to introduce the various Kilmurry Barn cats, including our current crop of kittens. We went to the rescue center about a month ago to get two and found a third one in the bramble bushes of our drive on the way home. We call Disa, the little Hedgerow calico "The Lucky Kitten," since about 10 minutes either way and she never would have been found. She and her two "brothers" Kobolt and Tomten are just learning their way about the garden in the day time, while sleeping in the bed room each night. By Winter, we hope to have them living in the plastic "Cat Houses" all night, kept warm with old wool sweaters and bits of sheep's fleece too tangled to be worth carding and spinning.
I'm also hopeing that other people who have barn cats or who are thinking of getting barn cats, or who have questions about their cats will provide comments, e-mails and questions to make this blog a barn cat information center. A few years ago, on a forum I'm a member of, people started asking me and another lady questions about their farm/working cats, and after about three years I discovered I had over 40 pages of single spaced postings on the subject.
Now, a few more years down the road, I thought it might be fun to try and start a place that focused on the subject. General cat questions and stories are welcome too! I'm looking forward to hearing from others as well as sharing what's happening here in our courtyard!
Stay Tune for More to Come,
The Barn Cat lady
Killmurry House, Shinrone Ireland
Picture drawn by Becky Fernis
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