We’ve got mice on our farm. With all the feed around it makes sense, and the fact that we live in the middle of the prairie adds to that. However, I don’t want mice in my milking shed getting into the feed and running amuck. One evening while I was milking two mice fell from the rafters of the shed. While funny, I don’t really want a repeat performance. I told my husband fairly quickly after moving that we were going to have to add at least one more animal, a barn cat. We have had a cat for years, but he’s been mostly an inside cat and has no interest in being a mouser, so another cat would need to be brought in.

One other thing you should know is that I have always wanted an orange cat. I don’t know why but big fat orange cats are my favorite. We’ve had a tiny little gray cat, and now a huge white and brown tabby cat, but I have never gotten my orange cat. Until now!

Sitting on the couch one evening I get a text message from a friend asking if we need a farm cat. I replied, “Actually, we do”. His outside cat had one kitten that survived and they needed to find it a good home. Without knowing anything about the kitten I told him we would take it. He sent me a picture later on, and to my surprise, it was a tiny little orange kitten.

This little one ended up being a male and since he had been outside with his mom he was very skittish. They brought him to us and it took a few days but eventually, he warmed up to being handled and is now the sweetest little cat ever. He’s still a kitten and wants to chew your fingers all day, but when he’s tired he cuddles right up next to someone and sits there purring away. He’s sitting curled up in my lap as I type this post. His name is officially Arnold, after Arnold Schwarzenegger, since we need him to live up to the Predator and Terminator namesake, but we call him “sticky kitty.” My daughter came up with this, when you pick up a kitten and they use their claws to hold on, she called that sticky paws. Sticky paws turned into sticky kitty and we said it so much that it stuck and now his name is Sticky. Kind of silly but so cute.

Sticky Kitty has been earning his keep! Back to our mouse problem. Sticky has taken out three mice in the two weeks that we have had him. The first one I stunned and he finished off, the rest he has taken care of all by himself. If we are in the shed and hear or see anything someone runs to grab the kitten. I assume it’s because he was raised by his outside cat mother, but he is a professional mouse hunter. It’s disgusting but he even eats the whole thing after he has caught it. Sticky is still a little too young for us to feel comfortable leaving him outside all day, so he catches his mouse and then we bring him back in. He does get to stay outside and play for a while during the day sometimes, but we will keep bringing him for a bit to make sure he is used to us and won’t just run away. Plus, he’s adorable and we love having him running around.

It still amazes me how things work out. I think God gives us little reminders or gifts sometimes. I have always wanted an orange cat, and through a random chance, I ended up with one. Now I guess we wait and see how much of the orange cat personality he ends up with. Whatever happens, at least we know our mouse problem is no longer an issue!