At Least I Know

That's somewhat of a relief.
I'm not left to wait, and wonder.

But.... 

I do keep waiting, and gazing out to the barn.

Maybe I'm wrong?

My head tells me what happened,
but my heart does not.
I so want to be wrong about this!

Sunday morning I took a walk around the "neighborhood". I've been doing this lately, trying to get more exercise. As I crested the slight hill in front of our house I noticed a dead kitty on the road. Awww. But....wait a minute. Is that our kitty? My heart was in my throat. Between cars I made it across the road to get a closer look. I didn't really want to look. But, the cat is the right color. The face has no white. There is a bit of white on the feet. And...oh, no! The dead kitty has a clipped ear. Just like my sweet Stormy.

Before I got back to the kitty to take care of her, to bring her home and bury her, she was gone. A hawk? A coyote? The farmer across the way? Was it really my kitty?

I kept my eye out for Stormy throughout the day. She is usually very close to Malachi. She loves that horse. But I never saw her near him. But she does go off,  sometimes.

Stormy is feral. If I don't surprise her she might warily hold her ground about 25' from me, but not any closer. She doesn't come out if I call her. She doesn't meow when I talk to her. Today, she wasn't in any of her usual haunts. Not under the flat bed trailer Not on the hay bales. Not snoozing in a patch of sun in the run-in. Even though she doesn't connect with me.... I am feeling an empty spot in my heart.

Rest in peace, sweet Stormy. 

You were the best barn kitty. 

I shall really miss you.

Trapped

Upon returning home in the fall I discovered that we had a cat in the barn. I named the cat, "Stormy" because the first time I put all the pieces together and knew I had a cat in residence was when I could see the kitty prints in the snow after a storm. Stormy is truly feral. He loves hanging around the horses, in fact, he follows Malachi around the yard, and bats at Malachi's muzzle when he eats. But, he runs from me. Mr. Dreamy caught the first picture of Stormy using a long lens. 

I surprised Stormy when I went to get hay one morning. He stared at me, trying to decide if I was a threat. I was able to snap a picture with my phone before he dove behind the hay.

I call Stormy a "he" because the majority of yellow tiger-striped cats are male. The gene for yellow tiger stripes is located on the X chromosome. A female cat would require the gene for yellow tiger stripes on both of her X chromosomes, whereas a male only needs one.

While we were traveling our house sitter sent me information that Stormy had kittens. Oh my! Stormy isn't a he, he's a she! Sadly, all kittens died. But, I realized that my little Stormy needed to be spayed so we didn't end up with unwanted cats. 

There is a wonderful agency in Denver called the Divine Feline (formerly operating as the Feline Fix program). They provide traps for people who are interested in having feral cats in their area spayed or neutered, with the understanding that the cat will be returned to his or her environment and released. 

I used the services for several barn kitties I have had in the past. If the cat is a pet, the agency charges $40-$50, and provides vaccinations for $10. They paint tattoo ink on the incision of female cats, so if anyone else takes the cat into a vet or similar agency for spaying, not knowing she was spayed, the vet will see the mark and know the surgery had already been performed. If the cat is feral, the surgery is performed for $20, which includes vaccinations. The ear of the cat is tipped so even from a distance one can tell that the cat was fixed. My previous cats were treated as pets. Stormy will get her ear tipped, since I don't think she will ever be a pet.

I drove into the city last week to pick up a trap. I took away Stormy's normal dry food and water. I've been putting yummy, smelly food and water in the unset trap for several days, moving it further back each time. Stormy is a sucker for gourmet cat food! She went into the trap each time and cleaned up the food. 

Traps at the Divine Feline

Wednesday evening I set the trap, and within 45 minutes I had a cat! She was not a happy cat. She growled at me when I came in and covered her. Thursday, she had a date with the doctor.

This is one mad cat!

I set out early in the morning to make the 30 mile trip into downtown Denver to drop Stormy off. 

I received a call when Stormy was ready to be picked up later that day. 

The volunteer reported that Stormy was a sweet cat but was very frightened. 

She was spayed, received her vaccinations, and her ear was tipped. 

The vet told me that Stormy was in heat.

It was a good thing we were able to catch her so quickly!

We returned home and after a night shut in the garage to sleep it off, I opened her kitty door and had a brief kitty "sighting" later in the day. 

Mission Accomplished!

Another Mystery

I find it interesting to see how the pieces of a puzzle come together....

The first piece of the puzzle was the plastic I had taped over the hole leading into the hay storage area of the barn. It had been shoved out of place.
"Darn...(well, the words were a bit stronger than that)!" Dreaming commented to no one (or at least she thought it was no one.) "The *#&*^%) pigeons have been trying to get in there to nest."

The second piece of this puzzle was the dead mouse. I have had a huge mouse problem in the barn, so seeing a mouse was no big deal. But, a dead one? Gypsy had it. She had shown renewed interest in peering intently into the hay and sticking her nose under the hay pallets. Had she somehow caught a mouse?
"Hmmm," Dreaming thought to herself, "a mouser dog. Ain't that something!"

The third piece of the puzzle were the tracks. After our first storm I saw muddy tracks in the snow. Sure, the tracks could have been bunny tracks. Lord knows, we are overrun with the little critters. But, I saw the prints from four distinct pads. Usually the prints from the bunny rear legs show their whole lower leg.
"Well," Dreaming thought, "maybe bunnies 'tip toe' through the mud and snow."

The pieces came together when Mr. Dreamy asked if I had seen our "new cat"! He saw the cat outside the barn. Just a quick glimpse, but enough to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. We have a new barn cat!

I've named the cat Stormy, since we first actually saw him after one of our big snow storms. He is very elusive. We also call him the ghost cat. I've put food and water out for him, trying to encourage him to stick around. I've found bits of kill here and there. He is a good barn kitty! He is totally feral. We've seen him from a distance, but I've only seen him up close one time when I cut the baling twine on a bale of hay that he was hiding under. I only saw him for an instant as he took off in a flash!

It will be interesting to see if he ever gains trust in us.

Our one photo of Stormy, taken with a looonnngggg lens!

Proof positive!