One of the barn cats at the ranch where I board my horse was particularly friendly today, and climbed all over my car (iPhone photos attached), talking to me the whole time. I think she might have been chastising me for failing to bring her any cat noms, when she’s seen me bring horse noms and treats for the ranch d*gs every week.Anyway, it got me thinking that barn cats frequently aren’t given the respect they deserve. Horse barns are always plagued by rats and mice, and here in South Texas, where there are rats and mice, there are also rattlesnakes. No one wants to deal with rattlesnakes in and around the barns, so cats that keep the rodents in check are worth their weight in gold (and then some … I hate dealing with rattlesnakes, and sometimes they’re very aggressive).Next time I go out to the ranch, I’ll definitely bring some special noms for the barn cats.
I am sorry to say that I don’t know the lovely cat’s name (we have not been properly introduced, despite having boarded my horse at this ranch for 4 months now). There wasn’t anyone around to ask today either, since it wasn’t feeding time for the horses (and all the caretakers were indoors, since 42F and windy is freakin’ cold for most South Texans).
The feed store where I buy horse noms also has a wide selection of cat treats, so I’ll buy some special ones for my ranch visit on Wednesday!
A drizzly, warm, and oppressive day here, with a cold front on the way, and every mammal at the ranch is crabby, except for the barn cat. I still don’t know her name, but I call her “La Reina” for now (not very creative, I know). She was very appreciative of the treats (Blue Buffalo Kitty Yums, Savory Seafood flavor), and in fact climbed into my car several times and tried to come home with me. She is unusually friendly for a barn cat, and apparently loves to be petted and held, judging from the purring.
I gave her the noms on top of my car at first (and you can see what 14 years of Texas sun does to the paint job on a Honda Accord, even when it’s parked in the shade or a garage as much as possible). Then, seeing that the ranch d*gs were otherwise occupied pestering the farrier, I put some noms on the wooden tie rail under the tack barn overhang, which is a more rustic Texan setting for photos.I included the out-of-focus photo because it’s just funny.
The barn cat now follows me out to the paddock/barn where my horse lives (there are several such barns and paddocks at the boarding ranch, plus a number of pastures). She sits and watches while I clean out my horse’s run, or while I groom my horse. At one end of the run there’s a feeding barn (shared by 4 other runs/horses), so the horses that share a paddock can be separated for feeding, and so that they have some shelter from inclement weather. I’ve attached a photo of the cat in the paddock, and another inside the feeding barn, eating crunchy chicken-flavoured noms. Horses and cats generally get along quite well.There’s at least one other cat living in the tack barn, but I’ve just heard it, and not yet seen it. “La Reina” is still climbing into my car and trying to come home with me. Two of my dogs would love for this to happen – they had feline friends while they were fostered as puppies.
It’s definitely tempting to leave La Reina in my car and drive home with her. However, the horse caretakers and their families live in houses at the ranch, and it’s very possible that one of them considers the barn cat to be a pet, or a valued co-worker. Her friendliness is consistent with that.
A friend of mine once tried to take home a barn cat from the busy polo barn where I kept my first Thoroughbred. She named the cat Chicken Bones, because that’s what the horse caretakers were feeding it (!) Anyway, the caretakers were angry with her for even suggesting such a thing, and she had to settle for sneaking food and treats to the cat, playing with it and petting it whenever possible, and giving it some basic preventative meds. The politics of barn cats is tricky, and people can get very possessive of them.Anyway, it’s nice to have La Reina’s company while I’m doing horse chores, as long as the weather is decent and we don’t both get soaked or buffeted by the north wind.
Very nice story. Yes, ‘La Reina’ looks suspiciously plump for a cat which presumably normally survives on barn mice.
Oh, so you’ve taken some theology along to read in the dentist’s waiting room, have you?
Ha. If that was a nerve killer I think PCC would not need the root canal – he’d be numb all over!
Lovely story. Thanks for sharing it.
🐾🐾
Lots of roaming, ferile and otherwise outdoorsy cats have no use for be if inside with people. I suspect by her behavior La Reina is not among them and is communicating that. She would have been coming home with us had she climbed in our car!
I think it would be great to ensure that La Reina has at least been vaccinated, or to get her vaccinated otherwise. It doesn’t seem she would mind going to the vet (or bringing the vet to her)
The ranch probably has a vet who makes house calls. Maybe the vet can vaccinate the cats?
That area of Texas has quite a few rabies reservoir species. The cats should at least be vaccinated for that.
I know; plenty of wildlife that can transmit rabies. I think FeLV is also of concern, as she probably comes in contact with feral cats and it is very easily transmitted. Hopefuly the people at the ranch take care of this.
What a great story and nice pictures. I hope we get further pictures and updates on occasion!
“La Reina” (Queen). What a nice name for such a beautiful cat !
Rattlers can be a real hassle.
I surprised a very cranky eastern diamondback once in my grandmother’s garage.
That rattle is the most unnerving sound in the world when it is emanating from between your feet.
Yay! La Reina and her noms! Thanks, PCC (and sorry that you have to have a root canal).
I’ll try to find out whether she’s had her vaccinations – the equine vet for the ranch also has a small animal practice in the nearby town. The last time I was out at the ranch I kind of resigned myself to the fact that La Reina was going to get into my car, so I just sat behind the wheel with her in my lap for awhile. I really can’t just drive off with her though, and definitely don’t want to offend the people who feed and water my horse. I’ll try to get a photo of the cat and my horse together.
Yes, at the barn I frequent, all the animals get their shots, including the cats, when the horses get theirs. Well, a feral cat moved in once, it may have taken a couple years before that cat got its shots (it was probably weeks before we knew it was there). But barn cats are important and honored (at least in some barns) and I suspect get more petting than the average house cat. At least in a bigger barn, where so many are in and out, most people have at least a little time to pet a cat.
And, I’ve a friend who keeps chickens that love car rides. They’re forever getting into visitors’ cars and pickup beds. Sure hope this doesn’t mean they want to be adopted.
Looking forward to pictures that include your horse!
I believe after you have named the cat, taken pictures…it’s your cat. That’s the law.
Great story.
Farm cats/barn cats can have good lives as they do their jobs as live-in exterminators.
Very pretty and cute kitteh!
Sadly, Jerry, you will have at least 3 nerves killed (both my molars had 4 that had to be executed). I hope your root canal went better than my 5 hour painful ordeal last summer – the event that kicked off the domino effect of bad health luck!
Why do humans assume we have anything better to offer any species?
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self – contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their
sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the
mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived
thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole
earth.
-Walt Whitman
O my, my … … my, my, my:
soooo, so TRUE = this prose.
Thank you, Mr Whitman.
Thank you, Mz gretchenwhite7
for posting the poet’s precious Truth!
“ … … long and long” re animals —
Blue
Orson would disagree. There was an open cup of cherry yogurt, and not only was he dissatisfied that it was not being shared he whined about his yogurtless condition until he got his taste. No placidness, and no self containment. Yogurt was his due, and he demanded his fruit flavored dairy tribute.
Perfectly said, Walt!
Beautifully apt, Gretchen, thanks! Can’t beat Whitman.
I enjoyed this story and photos very much, especially the blurry one! Thanks, Dr. B.O.
La Reina is an exceptionally lovely cat!
“The politics of barn cats is tricky, and people can get very possessive of them.” A friend and I spent a week at a horseback riding camp. They had two wonderful cats who had nothing to call their own. Even though it was quite cold out there, the owners said the cats were perfectly happy and wouldn’t want anything like a cat bed or special treats.
We, of course, spent almost as much time with the cats as we did with the horses who loved the attention. Midway through the week, we brought them two warm and durable cat bed, a better grade of dry food and treats. Cats immediately took to the beds and couldn’t decide which they liked best.
We too, were very tempted to stage a catnapping of the friendlier of the two, but they would just get another one and they did take excellent care of the horses, and did take the cats to the vet regularly at least.
I’ll throw in a personal story here as well.
Fully agreed with being nice to the barn cats.
I had one on a piece of property I bought. She was sweet as can be. I could pick her up and hold her, she would purr and snuggle.
Obviously, she had never been to a vet. We decided to take her to the vet.
I picked her up and was doing my usual scratching, she was purring away. When my friends came into view with the cat carrier, she exploded (they were a good 50-60 feet away still!)
I was left with a shredded shirt (no kidding), lots of scratches, and four full-depth kitty cat canine tooth wounds in my forearm! (When you pick up a hot pan by mistake, you should immediately drop it, not try to hang on!)
After working over my wounds with soap and water, then iodine and packing the tooth wounds with betadine, I vowed to not bather that cat anymore. Luckily no infections; but I went directly into the house and treated the wounds.
She came with the property — I did not bring her there. She was a prior resident.
… not bother her …
We fed her for a while; but she moved off. I was only there intermittently and so could not look after her.
If your thing is gone and you wanna ride on.
Novocaine.
For those WEIT readers interested in an update on Barn Cat, I found out today that she has a very important JOB. I drove out to the ranch earlier than usual this morning, and discovered La Reina’s “occupation”: she appears to be a tack guardian for a room full of rather fancy Western saddles, blankets, and bridles. Rats and mice will chew leather tack to pieces and ruination, and they love the bonus of salt from horse sweat. People who board their horses at the ranch can pay extra for rack space in these (locked) tack rooms, in the barn where I always find La Reina. My own saddle is English style and therefore smaller, so I just keep it on a rack in my garage at home, and put it in the trunk of my car when I need it. So, I don’t have a key and I couldn’t let La Reina out of the tack room this morning, even though she wanted her noms and was meowing at me (she appears to have food and water in the tack room). At least she has a lot of comfy perches and window seats in her office.
Thanks for update!