Charlie & Hank

No, this isn't Charlie or Hank. This is MooMoo. I know, strange name for a cat. She reminded me of a Holstein cow with her black & white coat. When she was just a kitten I started calling her our "MooMoo kitty."

MooMoo has been the sole cat figure on our little farm for a number of years. She spends most of her days in the barn or in the woodshed doing what cats do best; sleeping and eating. I wish she would step up a bit in the rodent control department. But I think she's a bit on the lazy side.

Our barn was being overrun with mice! Some of the dogs sleep out there in their crates and oftentimes they wouldn't finish their food. Prime mouse snacks. And they were helping themselves! Many times I would walk into the barn and come face to face with another little furry creature! And my hay! We rearranged some bales one day and I thought deer had eaten big chunks off the edges, but no! It was the mice! This had to stop!

So I went looking for backup for MooMoo. A little reinforcement.

I checked with several shelters and found one in our local town. They have a feral cat program; catch, neuter and release. Some of the cats are able to be tamed a bit and these are adopted out to homes. But some cats are just too wild. That would be Charlie. And unfortunately, the shelter workers were having a hard time working to tame the other cats because of him. He wasn't about to let anyone near him or the others. Charlie needed a barn home. And I needed a barn cat.

Hank was another feral boy. Not near a distrusting as Charlie, but still wild. So both boys came home with me.

For now, they are still in confinement. They need to realize this is home base and make the adjustment. Thankfully, we have a covered dog kennel in the barn that works perfect for this situation. They have boxes to hide in, a litter box, and food and water. After they've been here about a month we'll let them have some freedom and hope they stick around.

"Oh, little mice, there's some nice cat food in that bowl. Just help yourself." ;)

"Hank"

Isn't he pretty? I wish I could pet him:)

And there's Charlie glaring at me from the back of the box.

Charlie doesn't like when you put your hand to close to him. I know this from personal experience.

Happy hunting boys! MooMoo sure needs you. And so do I!