My Outdoor Kitty....

Every farm has an outdoor cat, right?
Or so I've thought. I have always felt that it was a charming idea.

So last fall when I came across a scrawny, tiny,  sweet faced (aren't all kittens sweet faced?) kitten. I was smitten enough that I suggested to Art that the poor little thing needed to be fed.
My husband loves cats and he heartily agreed, and from that point on,every morning for about a week I took a small dish of kitten food out to the barn area where the skinny creature seemed to have made his home. He ate and let me pet him as he rolled around the dirt.
This little guy would be mine I thought. I envisioned that my outdoor kitty would greet me when I came outside, follow me around the yard as I fed the chickens and did my chores. Our farm would finally  have an outdoor cat.

Did I mention that my husband loves cats?
About a week into it, he came in the house with my little black outdoor kitty in tow.
"You know this little guy has a runny eye, and I really think that we should get him some shots to protect my indoor cats," he said.
Hmm, logical enough. If we are going to have animals we should care for them even outdoor kittens

"okay," I agreed.

Hours later, Art came home eye medicine in his pocket and the kitty snuggled under his arm.
" I think we should keep him in the house for a few days while I doctor his eye," Art said.
"But he lives outdoors, right?" I responded.
"Oh sure."
That evening Art said, "Did I mention that the vet said outdoor cats usually are dead within a  year? A predator will get them before its over with.".
He gave me the sad Art face look.
Well long story short, my little baby kitten never went outdoors again, and is now a fat, neutered,  gorgeous cat with a bushy black tail, named Moon Shadow. I didn't name him.

He quickly bonded with the other cats. They all get along great.

Moon Shadow still went outside every day, and within a few days he brought home his brother and sister.
They didn't stay out by the barn instead they boldly came to the backdoor and sat on the deck.
Waiting....
for my cat loving husband to respond and he did. He started feeding them warm milk along with the kitty chow. 
"No way, I am not having a house filled with 5 cats," I said.

"Well, okay these guys will be our outdoor cats, " he said.

 And so Shadow, not to be mistaken for Moon Shadow, and Mr Gay live on the deck.
They wander, as outdoor cats will, but always after a day or two they come back to plentiful food served on glass china and a heating blanket (mine I got two new ones when that happened you can only imagine my angst.) in a tent to protect them from the elements. 

 Really I'm not kidding... So goes the story of my outdoor cat or cats I suppose.