Meet Jack and Colby, our barn cats. I hate cats. Maybe that’s why we have 4. I don’t really hate cats; I hate animals that lay around all day without any purpose. I never had a cat before Andrea. But after moving to the farm, I realized how much we needed them.
Our first real barn cat was Mr. Lucy. OK, we thought Lucy was a girl, but when he wasn’t, we refused to change his name. Mr. Lucy’s life was cut short after a tragic accident. In September 2019, he broke his leg in three places, probably due to a fall. Suddenly there was a job opening.
As fate would have it, two weeks later there was a sign down the road that said “Free Kittens”. Andrea drove down to get ONE kitten. Very clear instructions: ONE. SINGLE. KITTEN! I couldn’t go because a customer was about to arrive. I’m talking to the customer and the phone in my pocket keeps buzzing with texts from Andrea. Andrea couldn’t decide between TWO kittens and wanted to bring home both. I didn’t want to be rude to the customer by checking my phone, so I ignored the buzzing.
When the customer left, I read the texts and reminded Andrea to bring only ONE kitten home. She replies “Too late; on my way home”. Crap. Timing is everything. It turned out to be a wonderful outcome. Thanks to a 5-minute texting delay, we have Jack and Colby. I couldn’t imagine only having one of them. They are true brothers, hunting together, playing together, and watching out for each other.
Jack and Colby are impressive mousers. In the warm months, we hardly feed them but they put on weight. They bring us all sorts of presents, usually parts of mice, birds, rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks. But what is interesting is that they never attack one of our chickens or rabbits, no matter how small. Jack and Colby know what is important to us on the farm and protect it.
Have Jack and Colby changed my mind about cats? Not really. But these two don’t lay around all day. They earn their keep as working animals on the farm.
When you visit the farm, you will probably see Jack and Colby. For being fierce mousers, they will approach you, rub against your leg, and then flop over hoping to get a belly rub. Don’t deny them; they work hard for that belly rub.