I almost blogged about this situation this morning, but I figured I should at least try to get some stuff done around the house after a whirlwind trip to visit my SIL in Denver this weekend, and before I go back to the metro area for a doctor's appointment with MIL tomorrow.
Then hubby came home and told me that I ought to buy a small, cheap bag of cat food while I am in town for Eva's piano lesson today.
I guess I should start with I am NOT a cat person. I had a cat growing up, and that was fine...I'm fairly allergic to cat hair these days, and I hate the feeling of cat litter under my feet. I am also a city slicker, transported to a farm. Farms have cats. Not because in some romantic sense Old McDonald had a cat on his farm...they serve a function...to kill mice.
No cats came with our house, and I thought "great! no problems with mice!" Thankfully I have not seen a live mouse yet (when I do, I am moving out...I've warned hubby that I can't take mice...) but hubby found a whole lot of dead ones in our shop yesterday. Turns out the reason there wasn't a mouse problem is that the relatives that lived here before us used poison. Not really recommended with a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a pug. Then, when they came to clear stuff out of the fruit room, hubby's uncle mentioned that his wife had been storing some decorative Indian corn in there, and there was no corn left on it...and there was ummm...evidence... that mice had been in the fruit room.
So, we need farm cats. Being from the city, I believe in spaying and neutering cats, which are seen as pets. The family (doesn't that sound like I am part of the mafia, rather than part of a big farm family?) tend to leave the cat population alone, and then take them out with a shot gun if there is overpopulation (or, in the case of my MIL, she tends to run them over fairly frequently...not on purpose...I would personally stay out of her way if she's coming at you with her vehicle!)
Well, my little BIL's house DID come with cats...lots of cats...and he has kittens the right size to catch...and he's about to have more kittens...so it appears that some time in the next 24 hours, I am going to be a cat owner (against my better judgement) and in a couple of weeks I will be taking my farm cats to the vet to be spayed or neutered...because I just can't turn into a real farm wife that quickly!
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4 comments:
Ack! But you must leave at least one female cat who can take on the noble name of "Mama Kitty." Every farm has one, and she is a much loved and important part of farm culture. :)
You shouldn't need to worry about litter, and when kitty is older s/he can earn his keep.
And, the girls will love having a kitty around!
Elizzabelly...that would imply that I would have to be open to the idea of kittens....my theory is let the other houses be the cat breeders, and we will have two cats at a time (can't have one, it might harass me...)
And Whimsy...that is my biggest fear...that the girls will love having a kitty around and try to get kitty to come into my house.
I wish the pug were smart enough to catch mice...
There's no difference between a big farm family and the mafia. You just don't dress in fancy suits.
Second, and more importantly, *something* is going to get those mice. I don't know about you, but I'd rather a cat get them than a snake.
Finally, as my dad always used to say, "cats are a renewable resource." He was right about that one.
PS I second the requisite "Mama Cat."
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