Guess I'd better dust off the baby gates ... again

Yup, you guessed it. #14 and I surprised each other in the barn this morning. The dogs and I headed out to the barn as usual, and I slipped in the door ahead of them to turn on the lights. On a straw bale next to the light switch stood a cat statue, frozen in place, trying his best to convince me he was a figment of my imagination, not really there at all. I quickly backed up to pull the door shut so the dogs wouldn't come in, which of course caused them to race around the barn through the arena door and come pounding down the barn aisle toward me. The cat wouldn't move as long as I was standing there staring at him, so I had to approach the dogs to prevent them from spying and harrassing the cat. As soon as I moved out of sight around the end of the hay stacked next to the straw bale, I heard the cat disappear into the hay.

Tasha instantly caught his scent and tried to find him in the hay, but Pippin and Wookie were oblivious to his presence. I went about morning barn chores, and Tasha eventually got bored trying to find the newcomer and resumed her usual activities. Once chores were finished, I brought all the dogs inside and returned to the barn with a bowl of dry cat food for the newbie. I went back out a couple of hours later and was pleased to see a dent in the food.

This cat startled me not only by his unexpected presence but also by his strong resemblance to Footsie. In spite of KNOWING Footsie was inside, I still had to reassure myself of the fact as soon as I came in from chores. Since the majority of ginger tabbies are male, I assume this newbie is male and almost certainly intact. I also assume this is the same orange cat Joe caught sight of on the driveway shortly before Halloween.

I should have known he was here. Billy, our ever-vigilant farm sentry, stayed out way too long in very inclement weather last night and wouldn't eat breakfast this morning. Aside from illness, the only thing that makes Billy behave in such a way is a feline intruder.

I am glad the Halloweenie found my barn last night. It was cold and windy and leaked a miserable combination of rain and snow all night - weather not fit for man nor beast. The cat found himself a comparatively cozy spot on a fleece horse cooler tossed across a straw bale in a sheltered corner of my barn. Short of sleeping on my bed, it was probably the next best thing. With any luck, the shelter and food he has found in my barn will inspire him to stick around in spite of the necessary intrusions by myself and the dogs.

So now I'll have to sweet talk wildlife services into loaning me their live trap again, and the baby gates and litter box which were so joyfully removed from the bedroom/bathroom just a week or so ago will most likely once again make life inconvenient and messy.

And there will be one more mouth to feed at Shadowood's table.

Laurie