Meet Mr. Kitty

Handsome, he is NOT. He isn't used to having his picture taken; I think he rather liked the attention this morning.

Almost two years ago, our neighbor's house burned and they temporarily moved into town. That left their outdoor cat, Mr. Kitty, to fend for himself. He could do that very well, but he would sometimes supplement his diet of mice and baby rabbits with dry cat food from our barn. He's a homely creature for sure: the neighbor tells me that somebody across the road threw hot grease at Mr. Kitty's backside when he was a kitten, and that's why he has such a skinny, pathetic excuse for a tail. And then there's the way his big old tomcat head sits on a body that tapers to downright skinny toward the end. By the time the neighbors moved back out here, Mr. Kitty had taken to hanging around our place most of the time. I still call him the neighborhood cat, but I guess he's ours. He can often be seen crouching far out back in the pasture, waiting for a passing mouse. I'd be willing to bet that he catches more mice by himself than all the other cats combined.

Oh, we inherited Marvin's old "neighborhood rooster", too.