Ricky and Racky

My brothers, sister and I were waiting for the school bus at the bottom of the hill.  Our house sat atop the hill.  A gravel road ran alongside the house.  It split our property.  With the house on one side, there was a stable on the other side.   My Mother was milking a cow at that very stable that particular morning.  We could see the bus in a distance.  It would make several stops before arriving to pick us up.   But that is not what caught our attention.   Instead, there came running as fast as it could a cat being chased by another cat.  We recognized our female cat.  She was in the back.  The cat in front was one we had never seen before.  But it was much larger than our cat.  It led us to believe it was a male.  Why was our cat chasing another cat?  The answer would come later that day after we returned from school.

“I was milking the cow,” said Mother.  “Susie liked to be by my side as I would squirt milk at her to drink.  But Susie heard something in the loft of the stable and took off running.  I was close behind.  Susie had, had her kittens.  She had made a bed for them between hay bales.  But upon arriving in the loft, there was something blocking the only entrance to her kittens.  I pulled back a bale of hay to expose a male cat over her kittens.  He took off running with Susie close behind.  I think if she had caught him that she would have killed him.  I looked on to see four little kittens.  There were two dead and two alive.  But I could tell the two alive had injuries.  If it had been any longer before we got there, they too would have been dead.”

In the days to follow, the two small kittens seem to fight for survival.  They had problems, but would survive.  They were both male kittens.  We named them Ricky and Racky.  One kitten was blind in one eye.  The other would be a cripple.  Ricky, the one eyed blind one, got around good.  The blind in one eye never stopped him in his playful nature.  Racky, though, wasn’t as lucky.  He was slow to get around.  He gained weight and was such a soft kitty.  We gave both special attention and love.   And rightfully so; they deserved it after the ordeal they went through.

Instead of living in the stable where they were born, we moved them to the main house.  Mother cat apparently agreed with the move as she never tried to move them back or anywhere else.  We did have dogs and other cats.  And being it was a farm, they had the run of large open spaces.  They never had any crucial conflict with other animals.  They got along with everyone.  They were content to stay around the house though.  Although their lives started with tragedy, they did live lengthy lives even with their handicaps.

I never knew some male cats kill kittens.  There are reasons for that given in books written.  But to experience it first-hand, it leaves a forever lasting memory.  With so many predators out there, even among their own, for the cat, how do so many survive?

The Guard Cat

T.C. was a long haired black tabby cat.  She had tinted red within her black hair.  She was one of three born to Squeak.  The other two were male (Tiger and Peanut Butter).  T.C. was spayed.  The two males were not neutered.  All three cats were both indoor and outdoor cats.  But the two males would wonder off when outside.  T.C. stayed in the front yard.  She literally lived on the front porch.  She apparently never went anywhere else, or at least she was never seen out of our yard.  She liked the outside better.  T.C. seemed to like people too.  But yet, she never allowed any stranger to pick her up.  She allowed only her owners (the children) to do that, but yet not often.  She wasn’t a cuddly cat.

The first time I saw T.C. display a special type of behavior, I found myself laughing.  T.C. was no male cat, but yet she had marked her territory.  Although we had a leash law, very seldom did neighbors obey it.  Dogs ran up and down the street with no collar.  The ownership of the animal was seldom known unless the dog lingered in a particular yard for some time.

Here comes a dog and off the porch T.C. jumps.  She walks down the front part of our yard as the dog approaches.  Amusing as it is, she does it where my property ends.  That dog does not enter the yard at all.  How she got away with it, I don’t really know after all she is a cat.   But she guarded the front yard and allowed that dog not to enter.  She never had any intention of running from that dog.  He continued his journey up the street.  She had managed to intimidate him.

It was appropriate as when T.C.’s life ended, it ended on our front porch.  There she lay near the front door one morning.  She had made it seventeen years.  She was guarding my property until the end.  In the backyard, she was laid to rest in what we called our Pet Cemetery.

Cats are known to be this way and that way in similarities.  But yet, they are so different.  Children can be raised in the same house and have a different personality.  Are cats really any different as they too develop their own personality?  T.C. had two brothers from the same litter.  She was the only one that became a guard cat.  I have not had another cat to show such behavior.

Cats come and cats go.  It is the cycle of life.  And who is to say, they don’t have their purpose on earth too?  When a stray dog crosses my yard, I still have T.C. crossing my mind.

“If T.C. were still alive, you’d be finding another route.” I shout.  “My guard cat would be sending you on your way.”

            And then; a smile crosses my face.  

TC chasing a neighbor's dog.