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It was a few weeks before Christmas, and here on the farm,

The grain room was being invaded, but there was no sound or alarm.

Miss Kitty and Mr. Gray were settled in for their evening of rest,

And detected no activity as the rats were stealthily doing their new best.

 

Feed bags on pallets were stacked neatly five feet tall,

Escape was easy, the villains left with mouths full, climbing the wall.

To the top loft they went, feet clambering for quick traction,

The old cats were not roused, dreaming of Fancy Feast, they took no action.

 

When the barn lights illuminated the feed room, the damage was clear,

The rodents had bested our night guardians, they had no apparent fear. 

We needed a plan yet at our stable, rat traps and poison are taboo,

With so many unwanted vermin, we needed a younger cat, maybe two.   

 

To the local animal shelter, we went to find our new patrol partners here,

We adopted two youngsters, Tut and Giza, who are agile, fearless, and dear. 

Will they be good hunters, only time and practice games will tell,

But we all are smitten with their playful antics, things are going well. 

 

Nothing disrupts a good night’s rest in the barn like an invasion of vermin. How can I get my beauty sleep with those nasty creatures dining freely on my upcoming meal? It simply gives me nightmares. This is a troubling problem. 

Ask any horse owner who pays around $30 per bag for quality horse feed. Poison is not a good solution. It can kill unintended wildlife and domestic pets that ingest the bait or a poisoned mouse. We have owls, hawks, and eagles present, but they were not eliminating these pests, and a rodent-free barn is clearly a necessity. 

Five years ago, when we moved to this new ranch to expand our equine rescue operation for Helping Equines Regain Dignity (HERD), two cats were conveyed with the property, Miss Kitty and Mr. Gray. Both were from the local animal shelter. They took vigilant care to ensure we had no rodents living in our barn on their watch. Peace reigned at night. The only winter visitors in the stable were a few doves who roosted in the loft to be out of the elements. 

However, this year, the established cats are showing their age. Most of the time, they are asleep. They cannot contend with this influx of field rats who have moved in to disrupt our lives.

Here is my accessory list of what every swell barn needs: a pest-free feed storage room, a temperature-controlled tack room housing well-oiled saddles and bridles, a grooming area, and comfortable, well-ventilated stalls. Oh, and let’s add lots of clean bedding for those of us who would never dream of sleeping out in the pastures at night. You never know what could be lurking out there in the woods or up in the trees.    

How to address this rat problem was top of mind. Step one was to purchase the old-fashioned Victor wooden rat traps. Well, the only thing that suffered from being snapped in those were a few human fingers. Step two was to order highly rated Tomcat Rat Snap Traps. Even with peanut butter, sugar, and cornbread bait, there were no takers for these traps either. I tell you; these rats are very intelligent. My mistress Heather Freeman jokes they must be Harvard-educated rodents in our barn. 

So, what to do next when none of the internet forums on getting rid of rats proved to be helpful? The answer was clear to me. Go to the local animal shelter and adopt a few cats who need a home. Our barn cats have comfortable bedding for sleeping, and a room of their own to be out of the elements with a cat door. They are well-fed as we are not asking them to eat the filthy rodents. I say, “Please dear cats, just scare the dirty little vermin away. I need my rest. Scampering rats at night are very disruptive.”   

Step three was a trip to the local animal shelter. Heather and her husband Scott Homstead went with two cat carriers in hand. I was not allowed in as the Spokepony of HERD. No equines can enter the visitors’ area. I left the task of choosing the right cats to protect our feed stash up to Heather. She asked the shelter staff if there happened to be two black cats available, as these are said to be the least adopted. 

However, this was not the case that day. Instead, the cats most in need of a home were seven-month-old kittens, a brother, and a sister, who were surrendered to the shelter in June 2024. No one had expressed interest in them. They were housed in a cage out of sight of visitors. Heather and Scott waited patiently in a hallway for these two to be brought up to meet them. Both cats were shy but had very striking coats. “We will adopt these today,” said Heather. She went to the office to pay the fee and sign the papers.

The kittens were given the names Tut and Giza. They look rather exotic, like something drawn on the walls of an Egyptian tomb. They have slim bodies, slightly elongated ears, and regal heads. Once home, Heather posted photos of the new arrivals on Facebook. A friend, Andrew Evans, immediately commented that these cats were a lesser-known breed called Ocicat. He owned an Ocicat and said what first appears to be stripes on their sides are in fact spots, like an ocelot, and their bellies should be tan with black round spots. And this is exactly how Tut and Giza are marked. Unknowingly, Heather and Scott brought home two fancy-bred cats. 

What a surprise, they are just like me, a treasured find! How amusing that our new barn cats introduced out of necessity are truly a wonderful, new and rare accessory.