Little Baby Kittens

About a year ago I was driving home from a late night hospice call.  As I turned off of the highway and onto the first gravel road that leads to our road I saw a mound of fur in my headlights.  At first I thought is was an opossum. Because there are deep culverts on either side of the road I could not go around.  I stopped and flashed my bright lights and waited.  Up popped three little heads with big blue eyes.

Onyx...jazz paws.

I paused for a few minutes with several options and their consequences running through my head.  It would be easiest if the kittens would jump up and run away.  I would feel happiest if the Mama cat came and moved them to safety. My heart ached to scoop them up and nurture them.  There lies the consequence. Rick is allergic and not especially fond of cats. And how fond of cats are the dogs?

I put the car in park and opened the door, hoping Mama would scurry in from the farm field and make the decision for me.  The kittens began to stand up. One ran to me, one stayed where he was and one started walking the other way.  I scooped up the kitten walking to me and put it in the car. Next, the one sitting meowed and walked to me and he was put into the car. The third sat and looked at me. He did not come toward me but he did not run away either.  He sat on my lap for the mile ride home.

Onyx resting in the sun.

The light was on in the living room so I knew Rick was up and waiting for me. I called the house from our driveway and instructed Rick to leave the dogs in the house.  I stopped by the workshop and made a little nest, in a box for the kittens. I left a bowl of water and headed up to the house to face the consequences… the dogs and Rick.

The next morning I headed down to the shop.  I created a make shift litter box with shavings, brought ground up dog food and canned tuna.  The little babies ate it all up.  They were so cute.  Rick could see that every minute I spent with these darlings it was going to be harder and harder to give them up.

I made a few “Lost Kitten” signs. Called our vet and began letting people know I had kittens that needed a home.  I knew these were special and I was hoping they could find homes and be indoor cats.  Of course it did not matter how cute or special they were, we live in farm country and everybody has more cats then they need…especially in the spring.  I had a few offers to take the kittens but they would be barn cats.  I e-mailed my sister pictures and she fell in love with them too.  She agreed to take one. 

Slowly Rick began to enjoy the kittens, now named Scamper, Nilla and Onyx, as much as I did.  We trained the big dog Caliber to be gentle and he took it upon himself to be their guardian.  We let the kittens out and watched them carefully.  We were so amused by the lion- like behaviors, the tumbling and chasing and when one was startled and discovered how to jump onto the bark of a tree and hold on we were caught between laughing and concern that it wouldn’t figure out how to get down.  Such arrogance on our part! 

Ellie and Scamper.

A month or so later, Scamper was placed in a small cat carrier and my daughter, her friend Sonja and I and headed to Illinois.  Scamper meowed and meowed.  About 100 miles into the trip we let him out of his carrier. He crawled all over the girls, slept on the back window decking and stood on their laps looking out the window.  I would like to think we made a few weary truck drivers smile as they waved and honked at us. A few rambunctious kids in the passing cars gave their parents a minute or two of quiet as they  saw a kitten “waving” at them from the lap of my daughter.

My sister’s family welcomed Scamper into their home and hearts. Scamper immediately made himself at home. He found the water and food, used the litter box and walked by their other cats as if he owned the place. Being part Siamese he “talked” and played and snuggled right into the lap of my brother- in- law.

Back at home my heart ached to think the remaining two brothers would be sent to different farms to become mousers.  My husband surprised me.  Even thought he didn’t like the litter box and the kittens made his eyes water if he forgot to wash his hands after petting them, he too had grown fond of the little boys. Rick put his arm around me and said if they could be barn cats at another farm they could be barn cats here.  Yippee!

Nilla hunting in the garden.

Nilla and Onyx have kept their end of the bargain.  Our mouse population in the out buildings has been reduced dramatically. The vole population in the garden has shrunk too.  The only draw back is that they think the gravel and sand flooring in the pole shed is the biggest litter box in the world! 

The boys follow Rick around like they are dogs.  They walk down to the mail box with him. They greet him when he comes back to the farm with a trailer full of wood…jumping on the trailer inspecting every piece. They jump into the back of the truck when Rick is unloading supplies. Nilla and Onyx follow Rick into the chicken pen to assist with feeding and watering the girls. One afternoon, Rick had brought a pan of kitchen scraps for the chickens. The cats followed him into the chicken yard and as Rick turned to leave, the cats stayed behind, tails curled, heads down, eating the scraps along with the girls whose feather tails were up and heads were down. It’s funny to me how they all get along.

And it is not just the chickens. Recently we saw the cats and Caliber lying on the driveway playing with a mouse. They batted it with their paws back and forth to one another, throwing it up in the air and tossing it about.  We joke that Cal scored 98% on protective instincts (a film reference from The Blind Side).  When a not so cat friendly dogs come to visit, Caliber noses the cats out of the way and body blocks the other dog until the cats find safety up high or in the barn. It is amazing what relationships can develop.

If only people could get along like this.

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The playground and Cottonwood Park-
now affectionately called Lake Cottonwood.

What a month it has been!  Visitors at the end of March through the beginning of April  (daughter, nieces, nephew, mother, sister in law); Parish Nursing class (passed and receive my certification); a Sweet Sixteen birthday and new driver (passed her test on the first try!); drive to and from Madison to pick my forensian (who scored a 25 of 25 in the category farrago); prom (she looked beautiful); the St Bernard was called for his breeding services ( I received quite a lesson in dog mating!) and nearly a hundred seedlings are growing rapidly in the makeshift green house.   We also had flooding, snow storms and 80 degree weather in the last month.



Yes Cathy, Toby is a BIG dog!

Visiting with my family was awesome! I love seeing the farm through the children’s eyes.  What I have come to see as routine they see with wonder and awe.  My nephew was so afraid of the dogs, and rightfully so.  Standing as tall as a three year old can he stood eyes to big nose and teeth.  By the end of the weekend Richie commanded the dogs to sit and stay and they did.  (With a few secret hand commands from me.) Rick gave us a ride in the small trailer pulled by the ATV all around the property. What a treat!

Granny, Caroline and Jr. on the trailer ride....where's Richie?

Ellie and Maddie are not only fun to have at the farm, they are a huge help. They fed the chickens and collected eggs without any help from me. One afternoon when I had to go to town I found the girls helping Uncle Rick. They prefered to stay and help with the log splitter and stacking wood.  They also help with cooking and washing dishes. All my nieces love making smoothies when they come to the farm.  Caroline’s recipe is awesome.  Along with the yogurt, banana, frozen strawberries and milk, she insisted we add chocolate ice cream….yum!

My oldest, Maggie, could only stay for a few days.  We had fun catching up and comparing nursing school stories. She will make a fine nurse. It was so hard to say good bye.

About a week after everyone had left the farm, I received an unusual call from our dog groomer.  A person had called looking for an intact male St Bernard.  The female had rejected the male picked out to mate with her and the owner had a small window of opportunity to breed his dog.  I spoke with the owner at length and decided I would meet them and “Macie”.  Macie is a beautiful dog and appears to be good with kids. However, after the rejection of the first male, the family was a little concerned about our dogs meeting.  When Macie was led out of the house, my dog Toby was happy to meet a new friend.  Macie wasn’t so sure.  After a lengthy introduction they began to sniff each other and tails began to wag. Toby demonstrated all the behaviors of a pup wanting to jump and play.  Just as his nose got to Macie’s back end Toby put his head down and began to whimper. Of course this is normal mating behavior but my dog did not know this.  He immediately looked up at me as if to say “What is this all about?  Why am I acting this way?”  Needless to say, Macie’s tail went up and … well Toby should be a proud papa at the beginning of June.  I am glad to say there are 6 families waiting to adopt Macie’s puppies. The family promised to call when the puppies were born so I can see them.



Morgan and Ande showing off their not so fancy footwear.
Heels were donned at dinner.



This was a big month for my youngest daughter.  Ande got her driver’s license and attended prom.  The weather was so nasty. The student’s wanted to have pictures taken outside near the Mississippi River. The evening of prom it was 35 degrees and wind blowing at 25 miles an hour. The river was at flood stage. After my class in La Crosse, I met Ande and her friends at the park.  We took pictures and they went on to dinner as I headed home. I chuckled to myself as I reflected back to Maggie’s prom compared to Ande’s. Boys wore tuxes, many kids rented limousines and dinner was at the most expensive restaurants.  Ande was just as dolled up as her big sister…hair, nails, dress, shoes…but her date wore a black shirt and his FFA (Future Farmer’s of America) black pants.  All the FFA kids have black pants for showing their animals.  Their transportation was a farm pick up truck.  I think I saw a stray ear tag for a cow, 3-4 Mountain Dew cans on the floor and though I would like to turn a blind eye, I am sure a saw a Copenhagen chewing tobacco tin on the dashboard.   They went to Old Country Buffet for dinner. Ande said, “Sometimes we are so hick.”

I planted all my herb seeds and a new variety of tomato.  The basil, marjoram, dill, lavender and sage are all sprouting.  Rick helped me set up my workshop as a temporary green house. We have some grow lights and a space heater to keep the temperature about 60 degrees. The smell of damp, warm soil must be the best scent of the spring…..

If spring would only arrive….