Just One More Cat Tale

We have a new baby. Her name is Bella. She is fluffy and delicate, full of sugar and spice and everything nice and with extra-long whiskers to boot. She's divine.


She grew up here, in the loft of Jim's parents' barn. In those bales over there to the right.

The kids went to the farm several times this summer, and the girls, Grace especially, spent a lot of time in the hay, searching out "kitty holes" as they call them- spots that look like a nice, cozy hole where a Mama Cat may just choose to keep her kittens.

It was actually really entertaining to watch. On one occasion I came along (I was usually working.) I observed Grace and Patience climb the precarious stairs to the loft, huge flashlight in hand, in search of "baby kitties". They'd survey the bales, showing me the places that looked good, places they'd already "tried", and places that were, in fact, full of kitties.

How did they know there were kitties? By reaching deep inside the hole, of course. One girl would hold the flashlight steady, while the other reached in shoulder deep, Indiana Jones style, to feel around for kitties. Quietness was also important, I learned, to keep from scaring the Mamas, and to be able to hear the mewing.

This is one little jackpot of babies they found (I think with Grandpa's help). I was there for this one. Farm fresh baby cats are really, really cute, people.


When the girls found some kitties, they took it upon themselves to gently remove them from their nest, take them out (gently) to a nearby bale, and herd them up for some lovin' and tamin'. Grace, especially, spent hours with kitties this summer. One day I couldn't find her outside anywhere with her sisters, and sure enough, there she was, up in the loft in a quiet corner, keeping several little fuzzy mewers corralled on a bale, while she held them, one by one, and sang quiet little songs to them. Seriously. Slay my heart. I listened for about 5 minutes before I let her know I was there.

We didn't know she'd be ours at the time, as we had other kitties that we'd adopted, but that's Bella up there, in front, several weeks ago.

In case you're wondering, and I'm wondering how you came to read this entire post, as I'm sure you're wondering if I'll ever stop posting about cats-

Bebo instantly claimed her as his own, and they have a wonderful relationship. Bacon, jealous for Bebo's attention, is learning to love her, though he hates all these fuzzy things coming in and taking his best buddy's time away from him.

All three sleep in a heap frequently.

And we love our second-chance kitty.