As a “city girl” I was not a fan of cats. Really, not a cat person at all. They usually get grumpy as they get older and just hack up hairballs and make a mess. {please note: I use city girl loosely. Out here you are either from the country or the city. Technically I am from the suburbs, but you get the gist.}
When we got married I wanted a dog. Living out in the middle of no where, a dog helps me feel protected. And we had a dog growing up, so getting a dog was a given in my mind. But no cats. No thanks.
Then one night I was sitting at home with my baby while my husband was out working in the fields. We had been married just over a year, already had a baby, and I was staying at home full time with her. Baby girl and I are hanging out in the living room watching some late night TV, when out of the corner of my eye I see a large black “thing” run across the floor of the living room and out into the kitchen.
Yes, I did exactly what you can imagine. I stood up on the couch, holding my baby, screaming into the phone for my husband to get home right away. At that moment I did not care that he may have been in the dead center of a field driving a tractor that moves 15 mph. I wanted him home N.O.W. There was no way I was walking around to see where that mouse may be. I could step on that thing!
And so cats entered my life. We now have a fabulous “mouser” named Oreo. She earns her keep by catching all kinds of rodents, and I’ve kind of fallen for her. She is still very friendly. And she also happens to be extremely fertile. She literally quits nursing her babes when she gets pregnant again. 3 years old and she just had her fourth litter. Every time we are going to have her fixed we are too late. So, anyone in the area looking for some cute kittens?
On the plus side, the cats are great for our girls. They love to play with them, push them down the slides, put them in their bike baskets. And bonus, the girls have some chores to do. But my favorite part is watching them love the kitties. We have never found the babies when they still had their eyes closed. But with this litter we found them before they were two days old. Eva literally just sat there and squealed. Absolutely adorable.
So my advice for any city girl moving to the country would be to save yourself the screaming, standing on the couch experience, and get yourself a mouser. Ask around, paying for one is not necessary, usually someone has a few they are willing to part with. 🙂 And bonus, you may get to snuggle a few tiny kitties.
Have a great night, with no dreams of mice running through your head,