Farm Cat

Our cat is named Nala.  She came with that name.  We adopted her from a military family that was moving that got her from a Humane Society.  She was about 1 year old, spayed and definitely liked the outdoors.  She spends most of her time outside on our property.  She hunts everything!  She leaves us presents of mice, voles, birds, lizards, snakes, insects, bats and even bunnies.  I wish she would just stick to mice, but how can we train her to know that??

Nala likes attention and she likes to sleep on our couch and beds during the daytime.  Especially in the hot summers.  She would like to be on my lap more, but I'm usually tied up with 3 kiddos and she doesn't get her way all that often.  Still, she has learned that my young kiddos can still be nice to brush up against and get her ears rubbed.  It is the sweetest thing to see her plop down on my 3 year old's lap and purr.  She even lays next to my 10 month old baby and lets her rip her fur and pull her tail.  Just for a minute or two.  Then she is done with that and will seek safety on the top of the couch. and just "watch" the kids.

Come dark however, she does not like being indoors.  She will cry at the back door and disappear into the night and we will not see her again until morning.  She likes spending time near the chicken coops, and with the rodent population- it is no wonder.  In the early mornings it is fun to see her following my husband around the yard as he tends to his birds.  She is just like a dog in that regard- always underfoot and sometimes getting cooped up accidentally.  Yet with all her hunting, she has NEVER hurt one of our chickens or chicks.  Amazing.

I know outside cats tend to have shorter lifespans then indoor pampered cats, but she is happy.  Locking her in would be mean in my opinion.  She is a cat.  Cats naturally like to hunt.  We love her and want her to be her natural self.  We hope she has a long lifespan and we keep her current on her vet check-ups, vaccinations and worming.  But if she perishes prematurely due to her outside exposure, well we at least will know that she lived happy and we did right by her.