Beacon July 2022

July 2022 THE BEACON Page 11A
By
Doris
Butt
Community
Correspondent
goodolddays@goBEACONnews.com
Special Pet
Something new is in my
life. For the first time in my
eighty-seven years, I have a
cat in the house, a very special
cat. He came with the name
Mikey, but I just call him
Kitty. He’ll come to my lap
to watch TV with me. Sometimes
we take naps together,
but mostly he sits by the window
in hopes of seeing a bird.
A couple of times he banged
his head against the glass as
though he could get one.
He really took to daughter
Jennie and husband Frank
when they visited. However,
Frank did not appreciate that he
chose to sleep next to his head.
(He has now positioned
himself in front of my computer
screen. Oh well, I need
a break. He just moved on.
Back to my column.)
I enjoy Kitty very much.
Once we had two special
cats at the farmstead. I wrote
about them. They certainly
would envy Kitty’s life. I
found those words.
Ray and I decided now that
we are retired we would be
gone from the farmstead too
often to have any pets, One
problem, we forgot to tell two
cats that have chosen to live
with us.
Several summers ago, we
noticed a long-haired tabby
cat dashing between the barn
and the granary. Ray and I did
not discourage or encourage
her: in fact, we could not get
near her. In the fall, we left
for Florida with no thought of
leaving our trespasser.
The next spring when we
returned, we were surprised
to see her again. When she
started venturing near the
house, Ray began leaving
feed by the door. She soon
slipped up to enjoy his offering.
We wondered about the
history of our new friend that
had a blind eye and a passion
for meowing when she nears
anyone. By fall Ray was able
to pet her. Before we left, we
arranged for our caretaker to
feed her during the winter.
When we returned from
wintering in Florida, we
were surprised when she immediately
greeted us with a
welcoming, “Meow, meow,
meow.” She soon decided she
wanted to be near us and even
made a home in our garage.
She learned the exact height
when the door was opened
enough to enter or leave.
Somehow she always managed
to get in so she could
sleep there at night. Much
to our dismay, she preferred
to sleep on the van. She left
it only after we made her a
comfy spot to rest.
We discovered it was indeed
a “she,” although she never
has had kittens. We named her
Miss Kitty.
We find she has a distinct
personality. Obnoxious. She
loves to jump on your lap.
There she gets so excited
she can’t sit still and tramps
around, then up onto your
shoulders and around your
neck, clawing and switching
her tail in your face while she
slobbers all over you while
constantly meowing. She is
no lap kitty, believe me.
Miss Kitty greets strangers
by rubbing against their
legs while serenading them.
If she is ignored she gets
their attention by scratching
them. But then it isn’t smart
to respond to her, for we have
been embarrassed more than
once when someone has been
attacked when they pet her
under her chin and tummy,
definite no-no areas. The
grandchildren have learned to
keep their distance, although
she seems to enjoy following
them about the yard.
She has her good points.
She is a working cat and
makes us very happy when
she deposits a baby mole by
the door. She loves to tour
the farmstead on the golf cart
with me and supervises my
work in the flowerbeds. Her
coloring is the grays and tans
of nature and I love to see
her sitting about the yard and
especially among (not on) the
flowers in my beds.
She is very faithful. Something
is touching about
pulling into the farmstead
driveway after months away
and being immediately welcomed
home with a meowing
serenade from Miss Kitty,
especially when you know
the poor thing has lived in the
barn and not in the luxury of
our garage. We have grown to
expect her welcome.
During Miss Kitty’s fourth
summer with us, a black and
white kitten arrived at our
door. Ray and I both noted
that his tail had a kink in it.
The next day Ray observed
there is no skin on his tail.
Just bones. I did not look. It
was too much for Ray. The
kitten went to the vet. The
result- he became tail-bobbed
Bobby. “More money than
I ever spent on a cow!” Ray
proclaimed.
Bobby grew and prospered
during the summer. His entertainment
was pestering Miss
Kitty, who responded with a
quick swat that sent him scurrying.
When it came time to go
to Florida for the winter, Ray
and I were determined to
make a special place where
the “cats” could feed themselves
and our caretaker
would have to stop only once
a week. Ray put a closed keg
of feed under the steps of the
granary and filled a large pan.
The next day the keg had been
opened and emptied, obviously
not by Miss Kitty or Bobby.
The pan was licked clean.
We traveled to Pet Smart and
bought an automatic batteryoperated
feeder. We filled it
and put it in the granary. The
next morning the feeder was
in pieces, expensive pieces I
might add. Ray is determined
to outsmart the feed thief. He
boarded up the area six feet
high and made a neat little cat
hole. Same story, all gone
again. The next night I coated
the floor with flour to footprint
the varmint. Coons!
Ray added another board and
a light hoping to discourage
them. Frustrated, we had to
give up for it was time to
leave for Florida. We directed
our caretaker to feed the cats.
When we arrived home for
the Christmas holiday, we were
greeted by Miss Kitty and
Bobby. Plus two dogs. The big
friendly fellows stayed with us
both weeks we were home.
We noticed we had no
problems feeding the cats
when the dogs were around.
Then we thought of a feeding
plan that was sure to work.
We would arrange to feed the
dogs to keep the coons away.
Ray purchased a supply of
Old Roy at Wal-Mart. Our
caretaker would still have
to feed our “cats and dogs”
but not very often. We left
confident we had the coons
conquered. It did not work.
The dogs left when we did!
This spring we arrived
back to faithful Miss Kitty’s
meows. Bobby arrived on
the scene in a couple of days.
I suspect they boarded with
kind neighbors. I thank them
if they did.
We are settled in for a summer
together.
Miss Kitty claims our laps
once more and has returned to
her favorite spot in the garage.
She is frustrated by the presence
of a mother fox that lives
with her two kits in the barn.
The intruder loves cat food
and will venture to the house
for it. I do not always see the
fox but know when she has
been feeding. Miss Kitty is up
a tree! This is the second year
the fox has raised a family in
the barn. I enjoy seeing the kits
playing in front of the barn.
Poor Bobby, he is headed for
another trip to the vet. Ouch.
Every First
Sunday
May - October
Neil Jones is cycling
across the country.
Indiana’s Largest “Antiques & Vintage-Only” Market
Journey of Hope
The gardens in Aurora
look beautiful thanks
to the hard work of
Charlotte Hastings. As
she spent more hours
weeding and watering
than one can imagine,
Charlotte heard a voice
behind her say, “Excuse
me, can I help you
with that?” Shocked,
Charlotte turned to find
a cyclist named Neil
Jones standing behind
her. A Lawrenceburg
resident and member
of the Pi Kappa Phi
Fraternity at IU, Neil is
cycling from Seattle to
Washington DC. as a part
of the fraternity’s Ability
Experience, a project
that supports people
with disabilities. Visit
abilityexperience.org for
more information.
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Upcoming Shows: August 7 • September 4 • October 2
Lawrenceburg, Indiana Fairgrounds - US 50
1 mile west of Exit 16,I-275 (Cincinnati Beltway)
Admission: $4.00 • 7am - 3pm ET Rain or Shine (Earlybirds at 6am)
LawrenceburgAntiqueShow.com
General and Dealer Inquiries: 513-702-2680
SHOP LOCAL and tell our advertisers you saw them in The BEACON!