Kitty 4!

We came home pretty late Friday after a day in town helping family repair a rental house.

As we pulled into the drive I saw a kitty walking in the neighbor's yard. I had seen him once earlier in the week along the road and thought maybe somebody had a new cat.

The kitty stopped in the neighbor's yard and looked back at me when I got out of the car to open the gate. I said, "Hi Kitty," and as husband was pulling in, the kitty came trotting over.

I gave him a little pet and picked him up since he seemed friendly. He didn't mind being held at all. Then my heart melted when he started hugging me.

I've never met a hugging cat before but that's what this little guy does. He rubs his face along your jaw and puts one leg on either side of your neck before resting his chin on your shoulder. I almost get misty eyed remembering how sweet it is.

He seemed skinny when I first picked him up but not starving. I put out some food and he scarfed it up. I didn't let him into the yard because I didn't want to trap him there.

I set him up with a piece of scrap fleece to sleep on in the little red trailer so he'd be off the ground. I put food and water nearby. I went inside thinking maybe we'd adopt him as a barn cat.

I went out in the morning. He hadn't left in the night. He had discovered a way into the yard and was sleeping under the tractor. He ran right over and followed me around as I did some chores.

I discovered that he was quite skinny and had some mysterious shaved-looking patches here and there. It looks like he may have taken to sleeping in engines and gotten a few close calls.

I would have been content to keep him as an outdoor cat but even more than food he loves to cuddle. He doesn't want to be an outside cat unless we're also outside. I spent a while outside with him but it's been raining and cold.

Husband finally convinced me to set him up in the back bedroom and let the other cats get accustomed to his smell. After a day or two maybe we'll try a furface to furface introduction.

So here I sit in the back bedroom. On a blanket on the floor. Little huggy kitty mostly sleeps against my legs when he's not purring and climbing on me.

Spring Snake Season's Starting

Gopher Snake
Originally uploaded by Beaver w/ a Toothbrush

This is the third snake we've seen on the property but the first that's been close enough to the house and still enough for me to get a good picture.

So far we've seen a red coachwhip, a long-nosed snake, and this gopher snake, based on our best internet-assisted guesses. We also drove over a small rattlesnake on the road the week before last. I thought it was a stick but luckily it was centered in the lane so I straddled it. I noticed at the last second that it was a snake so I swung the car around and shined the headlights on it. That was the first rattlesnake I've ever seen in the wild. It was heading off the road. Since it was facing away and not coiled I wasn't afraid to get within a few feet of it and give it a look. I was impressed.

Yesterday early evening I went outside to go see how the chickens were doing. As I headed down the porch towards the end of the house I thought to myself, "What's that noise? Did I leave something on the around the corner?"

I came around the corner to find two of the cats at the edge of their yard a foot or two away from a loudly hissing snake. I immediately freaked out and started yelling at the cats because I thought this thing was ready to strike any minute. I was a little panicked because at first glance I thought it was a rattler. After a second though I realized that it probably wasn't since it was hissing, not rattling. I still yelled at the cats and jumped in their yard. Pico, the little scardy one ran in when I told her to but Hansel was too curious. He couldn't drag himself away from the hissing snake. So I had to go over there and grab him. After their kitty door was sealed I went in for the camera. The snake settled down right away and didn't hiss at me at all, although I didn't get closer than maybe six feet away. I've been watching where I walk very carefully since then.