Keeping up with the Jones's: Katie's Rat

We have raised baby ducks and chicks this year, which means we have chick food that we keep in our barn. It is the kids responsibility to feed and water the ducks/chicks twice a day. And about that same number of times daily we yell at the kids to put the lid back on the food and clean-up the spills. With the threat that if they don't we will get mice or rats in the barn. We went though this routine for a few months and then the unthinkable happened, we got a rat in the barn. How did we know we had a rat?

Well.......about two weeks ago, Jason and all the kids were all out working in the yard. Katie runs over to Jason screaming, " Theeere iiiis sooomething in the barrnnn, and it loooooked aaattt meeeee!!!!" She continued to inform us that there was a huge rat in the barn and in looked right at her and opened its mouth trying to eat her and that it was black and white. Then the PANIC continued.

Jason went into the barn looking to take care of this deadly creature that looked at his daughter. And Nate, the protective big brother, ran in the house to get his BB gun. That rat had better run. All this time I am in the house listening to my ipod and going about my regular work. As Nate runs in to get his gun, I pause to look and then go about my routine. I figure his dad can handle this one. They all come in the house twenty minutes later. No rat, thank goodness, but I got the run down of the fun.

The very next morning the kids go out to feed the fowl and they come running back in the house. I hear the screaming and think, of course Jason is not home now. What am I going to do about a rat? Yikes!!! This is not part of my job description. The kids came and and said there was a kitten in the barn and not a rat. A kitten is something I can handle, or so I thought. We went out together and found the tiniest little kitten you have ever seen. His attitude was much larger than his size. He hissed and growled and we tried to catch him. That little guy was fast. Finally, we cornered him. I reached to pick him up despite his warnings and earned a bite right into my finger. It actually drew blood. But when I face attitude be it from a cat, a kid, or any other living thing, I react with even larger attitude. (I'm working on it.) I grabbed that little guy and locked him in the bathroom. That'll teach him a lesson.

We kept him there over night. He hid in the cabinet and only came out for food. The kids wanted to hold him, but I couldn't risk it. I am already thinking about the rabies treatments I am certain to need. The little cat is possessed. His hisses, he growls, and he bites. What am I to do? My sister in law is coming into town that afternoon? She has two kids. I can't let the demon cat, named Darth Vader because he hissed so much he sounds like Darth Vader breathing, attack her kids. Not to mention the smells from him making a mess all over the bathroom.

Our guests arrive and I tell them to avoid that bathroom for fear of the insane cat. I share the tale of this drama to my neighbor who says to put him in a crate, nothing like a little sensory deprivation to calm him down. I also think this is a good idea. Need to watch for signs of rabies right? After a couple of days of being in the crate he only hissed, not nearly as much growling. The kids would go check on him through the grate of the crate. Moya and her cousin set in on making this guy a pet. They sat with him for hours and he slowly becomes more and more calm. He let them pick him up and he purred like crazy. A week later and he is part of the family. I am still nursing my grudge about the bite a little bit, but he is the cutest cuddly little kitten ever. He lets Katie sling him around, Moya snuggle him, and he loves to play chase with Nate. Moral of the story.....put a lid on the chick food, you may end up with yet another cat! I worry about the kids sprinkling the food around to see what other pets they might get.

What a ferocious animal.