May 2, 2014

The Catchers


Catches chipmunks, baby rabbits, squirrels, and rocks.


Catches bugs, mice, birds, feathers, and carpenter bees.


 Catches naps.


Seriously, he also catches mice, rats, shrews, rabbits, and chipmunks.

A homestead needs a few good cats. Wouldn't you agree?

The Catchers © May 2014 by Leigh 

17 comments:

Su Ba said...

I love your cats, Leigh! The one who catches naps has a number of relatives over here on my farm. I've tried to explain how we all have to carry our weight on a homestead, but they think warming our laps and purring is sufficient. Um, perhaps it is! Cheaper than therapy or Prozac.

Michelle said...

Such beautiful photos of your homestead helpers!

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

yes indeed ! We only have one at the moment, Dixie, who will tolerate dogs, but not other cats so we just have just her at the moment. She is a famous rabbit catcher in our village. She catches them from other people's gardens and then brings them into our bathroom to eat them!

Crustyrusty said...

Absolutely. That's why we have 11. The really good mouser died last year, though :-(

Bootzey said...

I bet those rocks put up 1 big fight....

Mom at home said...

We have one too! His name is Lazer and he catches snakes, rabbits, birds, moles, voles and brings them to our front door. He has been known to bring them in the front door alive! We chased a baby rabbit through the house one morning. Snakes have been alive too! All this and he doesn't even have front claws. He was suppose to be an inside cat until he drove us crazy to be both inside and outside. He is napping right now on the couch after hunting all night in the city.

Renee Nefe said...

Not sure that I'm all that happy about your boy kitties catching rabbits, but I suppose that you don't want rabbits turning your place into a mega salad bar either. ;) But I do think that Sam needs to work on his hunting as rocks aren't really that big of a problem.

Rosalyn said...

They look lovely Leigh. I'm torn about having a cat with a "job" when we move to a larger homestead (we don't need one here, I just keep the chicken feed in our house and we don't seem to have any trouble). As much as I appreciate the help they can give getting rid of mice, and I also appreciate their nature, I hate the thought of them catching songbirds. So I seesaw between having a cat that is strictly a house cat, and a cuddly cat that we can have for a pet but who can also take on some responsibility. If it would only promise to catch mice/voles/rats and that's it, I'd get one right away. :)

DFW said...

I agree! And, your cats are very handsome!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Pretty cats. I like the one napping! We use to have a cat and she would leave her mouse prizes on the back step or what was left of them! We just have a dog now. Nancy

Woolly Bits said...

I think Riley has the right idea:) and in principle I agree - but not in our house, because Dobby the dog is queenbee and does not like other furry intruders:) be it of the canine or feline variety - they can come up to the gate - and then there's war if they dare venture further!! luckily we don't have chipmunks etc. and the rabbits don't like her patrols in the garden. only rats and mice have a chance - but you can't win them all....

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

Every farm and homestead needs a cat or cats to help take care of the little critters.

thewovenspoke said...

You have a beautiful bunch of helpers.

Leigh said...

My apologies to everyone for not answering comments sooner or doing return blog visits. We have a deadline for finishing the chicken coop; Zoey is due to kid on May 11th and I need to do some goat rearranging to move her to the kidding stall soon. So I've been working hard on getting ready to move the chickens.

I do love your comments and cat stories! Interesting that so many of you have the same problem we do, i.e. cat's bringing their catches into the house, live or otherwise! I agree that I hate it when they catch birds (Katy usually) but there's no way to break that. My dad refused to have a cat for that reason. Still, the other destructive critters make it worth it to have some control. I suppose it's always a balance, isn't it?

Cat Eye Cottage said...

Sign me up! I'll take them all! Just kidding. They are beautiful.

Leigh said...

Candace, I was very happy to see you have a new feline family member!

Me said...

Cute cats!

When we moved to our new place last summer we "inherited" three outdoor cats and I was very surprised at how useful they were in keeping the animal population at bay. Imagine my surprise when I saw the small one carrying a squirrell that was half her size. We were especially pleased when we watched the same cat hunt and kill the mole that was ravaging the yard and landscape near the house.

I do wonder, do you ever have trouble with the cats bothering the chickens? We are looking at a small flock (6-8) of year old chickens coming in the next few weeks and I hadn't really thought about the cats. I guess barn cats are pretty common but I am wondering if there are any particular steps I should take to let the cats know the chickens are off limits?

PS - Love the blog. You have a wonderful collection of useful information!

Katie @ CookGardenSew.com