CATastrophe

I don't have anything against cats.  I just have never had the desire to have house cats.  I like them and some are really cute or crazy and make me laugh.  Then there are some that come into the clinic that I wonder why people own them because they are so mean.  I really am just a dog person and I hate litter boxes.  That being said we have two cats that I actually really like. 

We have had Juanita since the spring of 2005 when she was just a kitten.  We got her and her sister at the same time.  They came from a farm and they were going to be barn cats.  Juanita's sister disappeared in the fall and it was a really cold winter.  I felt bad for Juanita so I put her in the basement.  She spent the first week trying to escape and then quickly learned that the basement was great.  She spent the rest of the winter hiding in the basement anytime the door opened.  I think she was afraid we were going to put her back outside.  Since then she has spent her life going in and out of the basement as she pleases.  Occasionally if the door to the kitchen is open she will come in, take a lap around the house and then head back to the basement.  She really doesn't like the kids very much.  I think they scare her.  Juanita keeps the mice out of the house and keeps stray cats off the property and for that I love her.

Track is our other cat.  He came here from my clinic with his brother a couple years ago.  They were supposed to be barn cats (can you see a theme?).  Well his brother passed away, he wandered up to the house, and I let him be a basement cat.  That ended up not working because Juanita was mean to him, she wouldn't let him eat and he would hide under the boiler.  Eventually I let him live in the house and go outside as he pleases and he loves it!  He loves the dogs and tolerates the kids.  He will cuddle the dogs and play with their tails.  He will sometimes bite the kids but never leaves a mark, so he usually doesn't get in trouble (most of the time the kids deserve it!).  Track spends most of his house time asleep in one of the kids beds and if he is downstairs he doesn't really like to be pet or cuddled (which I love!).  He is also a really good mouser!  His one downfall is he will trip you until you feed him.  It makes me so mad because I usually end up stepping on him about 3 times a day because he is literally walking between my feet.  He doesn't seem to agree that he should get breakfast after the children get their breakfast!

This past week hasn't been the best for the cats in our household.  Track has been missing since Monday and it took me until Wednesday to figure out he was gone.  He disappears at times for 2-3 days so I didn't think much of it at first.  But here we are over a week later and still no sign of him.  The kids haven't noticed and I haven't brought it to their attention.  Joel won't care but Vince won't take it well.

Then this Monday the boys and I were in the barn and heard a cat in distress.  I was so excited and assumed it was Track.  I opened the horse trailer and Juanita jumped out.  I had gone riding on Friday and had left the living quarters door of the trailer open while I was riding.  Juanita must have crawled in and I didn't notice.  The poor thing was stuck in there 2 1/2 days!  Luckily she was ok and didn't make too much of a mess in the trailer.

After this week I am starting to think I really am not meant to own cats!

The feud

We have 2 cats, Juanita and Track.  One we have had since before Vince was born.  We had gotten her and her sister to be barn cats.  One fall her sister disappeared and when winter came I felt bad making Juanita live out in the barn by herself, so I started letting her in the basement.  She became an indoor (basement only)/outdoor cat.  She is a great hunter and definitely keeps the mouse population low!  Juanita is kind of aloof and isn't mean to people, but doesn't enjoy being held.  You can pet her, but beyond that she really isn't interest, which is fine with me.  To other animals she is a little intimidating.  Our dogs eat in the basement and hang out there when we aren't home.  Juanita likes to tease them and will stand at the top of the stairs and not let them pass her.  Well, Maisy walks right past, but Bristol is a chicken.  Juanita has never once hurt them, but Bristol is still scared.  I have also seen Juanita chase stray cats off our property and into the neighbors field.  Not that I am sad about that either.  For the past month Vince has been calling Juanita, Juanita Renee.  I don't know where it came from and we don't even know anyone named Renee, but he now insists that is her name.  He has me convinced and I always call her Juanita Renee now!

Juanita Renee

Last year, there were 2 kittens (about 5 months old) at work that I really liked and I wanted to bring them home, but I also knew it could be dangerous.  I decided if I kept Juanita in house for a couple days and the kittens in the tack room in the barn we would be ok.  Their names were Track and M.T.  Brad named them, I did not!  For awhile it worked.  Juanita figured since there were 2 of them and they were in the barn, she wasn't going to cause too many problems, unless they kittens left the barn.  Unfortunately 1 of the kittens (Track) didn't make it (not because of Juanita).  So I was back to 1 cat in the barn by itself.  Vince was convince the kitten that was still around was Track, so we changed his name to Track.  Track quickly wanted to live in the house.  I didn't want a cat in the house, so I decided if he could share the basement with Juanita that was fine with me.  Before long it became apparent that the two cats couldn't share the basement.  Juanita had Track living under the boiler and wouldn't let him eat.  Around the same time we were having a mouse problem in the house, so I let Track in the house and hoped things would work out.  Very quickly I no longer had a mouse problem and Track figured out the rules of being in the house.  He loved the boys and followed them around and didn't want to cuddle, stays off the couch and always uses his litter box!  Track doesn't love the boys as much anymore because Joel is a little too loving, but they still get along.

Track

The feud between Juanita Renee and Track hasn't gotten a lot better.  They are both indoor/outdoor cats and Track tries to stay away from her in the yard, but she is sneaky and likes to stalk him.  She gets some sort of joy out of tormenting him.  About 1 month ago she chased him across the front yard, into the road and into the corn field.  They both came back the next morning and no one was hurt.  It is getting a little better though, the other day they were both in the yard next to the swing set and Juanita Renee didn't even try to scare Track.

Juanita Renee stalking Track

I am not counting on them being best friends.  As long as they keep our mice population at a minimum and I am not constantly having to sew up their wounds at work I will be happy!