Since moving, we’ve had a black cat that’s been lurking around our house. Mostly, we’ve seen it out in the pasture, patiently waiting for a vole or mouse to come scurrying out of a hole so it could make a meal of it. I assumed that it was one of the neighbor’s cats since farm cats aren’t always content to stay where they ought to (thank goodness our cats have learned not to cross the road and instead, spend their time in the forest or barn out back). It seemed kind of coincidental that the black cat decided to officially welcome herself to our house.
At first, Hercules, Snickers, and Nova weren’t exactly happy to have another cat hanging around. We heard lots of yowling and hissing but no one was ever up for an actual fight, thank goodness. Three against one isn’t great odds for the poor stray.
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| Kate wants to pet Binx soooo bad. |
In the spirit of the movie, Hocus Pocus, we’ve named the cat Binx, deciding the cat is probably a stray or belonged to the former owners. She doesn’t look like she’s in good shape–her hair is wiry, she’s rail thin, she has fleas, and she’s desperately hungry. Luckily, I keep flea powder on hand and what’s one more mouth to feed around here? Between Kate and Claire, Binx has been getting plenty of love. Although love from a distance. I’ve forbidden anyone from petting her until I give them the all clear. The last thing I need is for our cats and dog to get fleas. That mandate is practically killing the kids. She’s already looking much better and given a good month of eating regularly, she’ll be as fat and sassy as our cats.
As for the other cats, they’ve slowly warmed up to the idea of having Binx around partly because they get an extra mouthful or two of food when Binx gets fed. Snickers by far is the most grumpy about it but even she is learning to take change in stride. So, Binx may be a wanderer for now but she’s found her niche on the farm.
