N is for Never Numbering Not Many.
No barn cat or stable dog is ever sterile, no matter what
the vet says. Maybe it’s something in the soil. Perhaps pasture life
contributes to canine and feline fertility. Possibly, someone left the barn door open and we're pointing fingers at the wrong cat or dog.
For whatever reason, barn dogs and stable cats seem to
multiply like rabbits. And some of these critters surprise us, even after they’ve
supposedly been fixed.
Our own house cat was a barn surprise.
We adopted the wee kitten, after she was abandoned in a barn in our area. The starving little urchin (see photo - below) was found atop a hay mile, mewing like nobody's business.
At the kitten's first vet visit, we discovered that several other litters of Maine Coon mixes had appeared in local stables. The search began for an unfixed male Maine Coon, who had apparently been barn-hopping.
Did I mention we also have a dog who was born in a barn?
Yes, our mixed-breed family dog came to us as a pup, after spending her first two months of life in a stall. It took DNA testing to figure out who the father was.
Our own house cat was a barn surprise.
We adopted the wee kitten, after she was abandoned in a barn in our area. The starving little urchin (see photo - below) was found atop a hay mile, mewing like nobody's business.
At the kitten's first vet visit, we discovered that several other litters of Maine Coon mixes had appeared in local stables. The search began for an unfixed male Maine Coon, who had apparently been barn-hopping.
Did I mention we also have a dog who was born in a barn?
Yes, our mixed-breed family dog came to us as a pup, after spending her first two months of life in a stall. It took DNA testing to figure out who the father was.
The Mane Point is participating
again in the April A to Z blogging challenge, posting daily with alphabetical
entries.
For this year's A-Z event, a month of posts will offer Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship, with all due apologies to the original Murphy of Murphy’s Law, which basically said, "If anything can go wrong, it probably will."
Horse lovers may have heard some of these uncannily true, yet often ironic, statements in various forms in the past. Or not.
For this year's A-Z event, a month of posts will offer Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship, with all due apologies to the original Murphy of Murphy’s Law, which basically said, "If anything can go wrong, it probably will."
Horse lovers may have heard some of these uncannily true, yet often ironic, statements in various forms in the past. Or not.
Image/s:
Cat at Mounting Blog by MontanaBW
Creative Commons Licensing Photos
Maine Coon Kitten
Photo by Linda Ann Nickerson - all rights reserved.
Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship
Adapted from public domain clipart
Cat at Mounting Blog by MontanaBW
Creative Commons Licensing Photos
Maine Coon Kitten
Photo by Linda Ann Nickerson - all rights reserved.
Turfy’s A-Z Rules of Horsemanship
Adapted from public domain clipart
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Looks like these barns could use a "microchipping and sterilisation 2 for 1 deal" day! :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I've never known a barn dog or stable cat that was neutered to then have babies. The problem I've seen in the area where I live is that the barn cats are generally feral and can't be caught to get to the vet. One barn was over-run with cats until nature took its course and the coyotes dealt with the situation. They are starting over with one remaining cat who just had a litter of 4 kittens. Anyone looking to add a kitten or 2 to their family?
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat blog challenge to participate in! All of our kitties are fixed but when we lived on a farm, there were always new litters of kittens.
ReplyDeleteWe had lots of kittens on our farm growing up:))
ReplyDelete