The Memory Box #2 : Spooky the Cat

I have never really been a cat person. It has always been dogs for me.

In fact I had never owned a cat until one day in the winter of 2005.

I was feeding the turkeys in the back barn when suddenly out of nowhere a white cat appeared.

This was Spooky.

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The Memory Box #2 : Spooky the Cat

Spooky was a feral cat, wandering the Welsh hills looking for its next meal and somewhere warm to sleep for the night.

It had sneaked into the barn through the flap where we let the turkeys out.

The cat was very timid at first, backing away when I approached.

I wasn't adverse to having a cat around the place as they help keep the rats and mice away.

So I decided to try to make it feel at home with some scraps of meat and a little milk.

It wasn't bothering the turkeys so I left the food and went back to the house.

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Next morning when I told the children about the cat, they were all keen to see it.

As soon as they were up and dressed they rushed to the barn to look for the cat. Alas it was nowhere to be seen.

I knew it was a feral cat so I was not surprised it had gone.

However that evening when I went to check on the turkeys there was the cat again quietly sitting on a ledge waiting for supper.

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Can you spot Spooky?

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This went on for several days until the cat took permanent residence in the barn.

The children loved it, although it very much remained a feral, farm cat.

Very much a 'here's the latest rat I've caught' rather than a 'sit on the lap, petting' sort of cat.

Because of its all white coat, its ghostly appearance and its original late night arrival, Spooky was the obvious name for the cat.

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Spooky's presence made the children keen to get another cat.

So a few months later we took ownership of a second more child friendly, stroking, petting and purring cat called Mitzi. Mitzi came from a local cat sanctuary.

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Spooky and Mitzi in the snow

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Although the two cats seemed to get along okay, one day as suddenly as he had appeared, Spooky disappeared.

Maybe it was jealously of the attention Mitzi got from the children, or maybe it was just the call of the wild.

We did have another cat join our household a little later.

Then we had kittens.

Cats ruled the homestead for a couple of years.

Until Mani the dog arrived...

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That's my second dip into the Memory Box.

Stay tuned for the next one.

Pennsif

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[ images and graphics by @pennsif ]