A "Tail" of 18 cats

Consider me an animal lover. I have five horses, over 100 head of cattle, five dogs, and now over twenty cats. This is possible because I live on a 2000 acre ranch in Eastern New Mexico, have a large hay barn and two shops. The cattle and horses are pasture feeding through the winter and my dogs stay in a large yard.

Now the issue of my cats. I keep cats around because I have two girls age seven and eight that love playing in the hay barn and shops, most of the time barefooted and ignoring their immediate surroundings. With the ever present threat of rattle snakes, bull snakes, skunks, rats and other pests, my barn cats are worth their weight in gold.

About a week ago I heard a Public Service Announcement that the local animal shelter was overcrowded with lost or unwanted cats and was asking the community for help. Hoping that some would be adopted or claimed by their owners, I decided to wait until the last day to act. I made a phone call and asked the attendant the number of cats they had. He told me they had sixteen, and they were all scheduled to be destroyed if not claimed or adopted by the next day. I told him I would grad a couple of kennels and be on my way. On my way to the shelter I was racking my brain trying to decide how many cats would I be able to rescue. In reality, I probably needed only three or four. When I arrived, I had to wait outside until he called me in.

He led me down the ally and into the cat kennel area where I was able to look at every one of them. A few were sleeping, some were hunkered down in the back of their pen, others were pacing and purring, but they all appeared scared to death. Of course, a few looked me in the eye. Dammit. I took a long deep breath, looked back at the attendant, and told him I would take every one of them. The startled look on his face quickly turned to concern, when he asked how could I could take all these cats. I explained to him I had two work shops, a hay barn, a covered kennel with food, water, and heat lamps and furthermore, I knew other ranchers needing barn cats as well. I said, "Look sir, if I take all these cats, I'm giving them a chance at life and a chance to survive. Otherwise, if I don't take them they'll all get gassed tomorrow." He agreed. I also added, "Hey, if they try to run away once I have them home, then chances are they'll end up as coyote food, but at least they had a chance." He nodded, turned and opened another door behind us, and showed me two more cats. "I guess you're gonna want them too?" "Well of course, Man!" I had too say. He smiled at me in disbelief then help me put every cat in my kennels.

We loaded the kennels containing my eighteen new friends. I shook his hand, and thanked him, but he in turn thanked me even more. I started to step into my truck when he hollered, "Hey wait a minute!" I turned around, as he loaded a fifty pound bag of cat food. I said, "Thank you so much!" He grimaced and said, "I probably shouldn't give you that, but it looks like you're gonna need it." I thanked him again, and headed home.

Upon arrival, I decided to let the eighteen cats acclimate for a couple of days in the confines of a closed in shop. I did not want to just turn them out without allowing them some time to settle down and familiarize themselves with their new surroundings. With buckets of food and water, and a large litter box, day by day they became more content and friendly. Three days later, I cracked open the shop door and one by one they began to filter out into the hay barn. Two of my nearest neighbors came by and each one took two cats each. Those four cats went to really nice homes, and will be spoiled rotten in no time! The others, I see everyday running, playing, hiding in the hay bales, and making their selves at home. Some say that my heart is bigger than my brain, but I look at it as a Win Win, for me and the cats I chose to rescue. A chance of life is a chance at life.