Kitty Love

I spent my early years on a farm with a barn full of cats. My sister and I looked forward to searching for litters of kittens tucked between the bales of straw in the hay mow of the barn. We'd watch for mama kitty to come out when we'd bring food to them and then go searching.

Sticking your hand into the dark hole to feel for kittens was done with trepidation. You knew eventually the kittens would sense a stranger and start hissing. They were harmless but had an instinct built in to scare off predators by hissing. The sound was intimidating and would make us quickly pull our hands out the first couple of times. We'd laugh and eventually realize it wouldn't hurt and start pulling out kittens one by one. They were each little presents. What color were they going to be? What patterns would they have? How many were there?

It didn't take long before the kittens eyes would open and hours would be spent playing with them and making toys out of sticks and twine string. SisterJ and I usually had scratched up hands and arms from playful kittens. What great memories.

Now we take care to make sure our barn cats are spayed, neutered and vaccinated yearly. They also know about life indoors since on cold nights they get to stay toasty warm in my office. Crash (a.k.a. Little Man, Itchy and Ouch!) & Burn (a.k.a. Sissy, Naughty McSnotty and Tweetie) are our two outside cats. They usually come by my office door and meow to come in for a visit and to play with their bowl of toys.


Here's some kitty love for you. Having a bad day? Feeling stressed? Blood pressure on the rise? Hit play on the video below and listen to the kitten's purr. You'll be breathing normal in no time...