Fifty-five Cats and Counting

A clowder of barn cats ~ courtesy of the Internet

For the last five years as a professional house and petsitting couple, we’ve cared for fifty-five felines.

A one-eyed cat, a grieving cat, sun-loving cats, a cat that sleeps in the shower stall, content cats, avoidance cats, dog-friendly cats, playful cats, indoor cats, and a clowder of twenty-four barn cats, five of which were housebound with cancer.

When we pulled into the driveway of the organic farm, the barn door was open. The homeowners were standing nearby. The woman had a kitten in her arms. When I approached her she held up the wee thing and asked if I wanted to kiss it. I didn’t. I gave it a tap on its head.

In the barn, she said there are 23 cats. We’ve learned since then that a group of cats is called a clowder or a glaring.

“Five sick ones are in the house,” she said.

When we entered their home the stench of cat urine cloaked us. The cats riddled with cancer were milling about waiting to be given their daily mediation. You could refer to this group of cats as destruction. The kitchen island was covered with tablet containers.

I glanced at the lower part of the walls which were covered in pee-pads. She noticed my gaze.

“ We’ve put these up to catch the spray from the cats. They can’t seem to control themselves,” she said. “Let me show you what to do if one of the cats dies.”

She opened the freezer compartment of the refrigerator and pushed apart two packages of frozen berries.

“Wrap the cat in a plastic bag and put it here,” she said. “Or, if you prefer, you can bury it in our cat cemetery.” 

The woman and I made our way through the bushes while her husband took Frank to the garage to show him some of the farm equipment.

As it happened, the owners were too sick to go on their vacation. We considered it a blessing.

We love cats.

A dog-loving cat

We love them more if they’re spayed or neutered. Even more, if they’re litter trained. And absolutely love it when their owners have provided a cat door.

A stuffed cat

“One cat just leads to another.” – Ernest Hemingway