Find out what this cat has to say about life on the farm [Opinion] | Farm and rural family life

Hello! My name is Cletus, the barn cat. I’m an orange tiger cat who adopted Sue and Dennis about 3 and a half years ago.

They weren’t looking for another cat, but I was lucky enough to show up just a few days after their previous orange tiger cat, Clancy, went missing. I heard that Clancy had been living here for a few years when one night he was unexpectedly pinned down by his dogs, Lizzie and Tillie.

He escaped, but to this day no one knows whether he ran away and was too afraid to return or whether he was injured and died. Either way, I’m always extremely careful with these dogs – and I’m glad they found a good home.

The first few months weren’t very fun. I had escaped from Sue upstairs in the barn, located a small opening in the wall, about the size of a cat, and found myself in what they call the back barn.

Sue closed that little cat hole and then entered the barn through the door from the outside. I ran and hid when I heard her calling: “Clancy, here Clancy”! It didn’t take me long to discover that I was the victim – or perhaps beneficiary – of mistaken identity.

Sue took cat food and water to the barn and tried to get me to come out of hiding, but I avoided her for days. The whole time she thought I was that Clancy cat. Eventually, her food and treats attracted me and she realized I was an imposter. She kept feeding me anyway and finally reopened that little cat hole so I could run upstairs to the barn.

It was already winter and she wouldn’t let me go out. She did her best to tame me – luring me with treats and then trying to hug and pet me. I wasn’t accepting any of this. I was kicked out of the nest of a family of wild cats and I am what I am. A few times I was forced to use my claws on her and drew blood, but she kept coming back.

Then the day came when she approached me with a cat carrier and stuck me inside. I tried to bite her, but I missed. I was scared of what would happen next. She took me to a place where they stuck some needles in me. It didn’t hurt much, but I still didn’t like it.

The next time she managed to get me into a cat carrier didn’t end so well for either of us. My teeth hit her hand, which made her scream as blood ran down her arm. I heard she had to go to the doctor to take care of my bite. As for me, I was taken to a clinic with many other unhappy cats. I remember taking a long nap and when I woke up my back was sore and I never felt the same again.

As time went by, Sue kept trying to caress me and I could only hold out for a few seconds. She would open the little doors at the front of the barn so I could see the sun and get some fresh air. I wanted to leave, but I still lived alone upstairs, among bales of hay and straw.

Several times Sue tried to introduce me to an older gray cat named Zane. We didn’t get along. She said I didn’t play well with others.

After I hit Zane a few times, she stopped bringing him here – but I would see him and three other cats wandering around the farm hunting mice. This made me jealous.

One day, Sue did an experiment. After breakfast, she opened the door to let me down into the barn and then followed me as I explored this unfamiliar territory full of large, furry animals called cattle.

I stayed out of their way so as not to be stepped on by their big feet. Later that day I got hungry and stood in the upstairs barn door. Sure enough, Sue showed up at the usual time with my dinner and I hurried back to my private accommodations upstairs in the barn.

As everything went well, it soon became a habit. Sue would give me breakfast and then let me spend the day outside. Sometimes I saw the other cats, but I mostly avoided them. After all, who wants to fight another cat in broad daylight? I was always on standby at dinner time to take my evening rations upstairs in the barn.

I’ll let Sue tell it from here.

One night, Cletus didn’t show up for dinner, which was very unusual. I hated leaving him out overnight because I knew that was the most likely time for cats to get into trouble.

Although I was worried and Dennis and I searched everywhere for him, Cletus didn’t return until dinner time the next night. Although none of our other four cats seemed in bad shape, Cletus literally limped back with one front paw raised. He had been gone just over 24 hours, but looked thin and haggard.

To be continued.