Monday, August 28, 2006

House Guest


We've had the pleasure of a house guest for the past several days. His name is Bailey, and he was born last year in our barn.
Sandy and Wes, who live next door, adopted him when he was quite small, and now he's grown a LOT and has developed into a very handsome cat under their loving care.



While Sandy and Wes went camping we kitty-sat. After they dropped him off, he immediately wanted to go outside and meet all those potential new friends he could see when he jumped up and hung from the spring on the screen door!



Surprisingly, he was an instant hit with our barn kitties. They're a friendly lot :) The kittens especially enjoyed him, except when he played a bit rough occasionally.
He had to be on a leash in case he decided to run away. It was trial and error before I found the right spot where he couldn't get tangled in the cosmos planted outside the back door, or break off pieces of the container plants on the back patio. The plants suffered a few casualties in the learning process, but nothing major.



His mother, Sheba, seemed particularly curious about him. I couldn't help but wonder if she somehow remembered him. She played with him a lot, which was rather unusual behavior for her. She's usually more sedate, and just a tad stand-offish.



Toby missed him when he was indoors, and would sit on the front porch railing, looking imploringly at the door as if to say, "Can Bailey come out and play?"



Bailey would sit by the door watching, and 'talking' all the while, as if asking to go out. He's quite a talker, like his mother, Sheba. They both make a pleasant little trilling sound.



I let him out quite often, but we had a rainy weekend and a cold Sunday, so he had to stay indoors some of the time.
He has extra toes on both his front and back feet. See how huge they are? Sheba just has the big front feet.



He amused himself (and us) quite well in the house, and didn't get up to too much mischief. One night however, while I was on the computer, I heard him playing on the staircase behind me. When I looked to see what he was up to, I found he'd ripped off a small piece of wallpaper and was batting it up and down the stairs...having the time of his life! I had been meaning to paste that corner of wallpaper down for several weeks....before the grandchildren's next visit. I thought it looked like a tempting thing to pull. Apparently Bailey thought so too.
That'll teach me to procrastinate!
I think it can be patched...



This afternoon Wes and Sandy came to take him home. He seemed pleased to see his 'people' again, but I think he'll really miss his new friends. I know they'll miss him too, but probably not as much as his substitute 'people'.
We enjoyed having a house cat again, if only for a little while, and got rather attached to the little guy :)



But right now it's dinner time...and that's the all-consuming thought at the moment, I'm pretty sure. I'd better get myself to the barn!Posted by Picasa

19 comments:

Alice said...[Reply]

For someone who doesn't like cats all that much, I'm surprised just how much I like yours.

They all seem to have their own personalities within their ever-expanding community.

I loved these photos so much, you've almost converted me ..... hey, hold on a minute ...

Carole Burant said...[Reply]

What a beautiful cat Bailey is and I just loved all the pictures of him and the other cats! The way he's sitting looking out the patio door is just precious...what a pose! lol

Sissy said...[Reply]

My goodness! I have never seen a collection of such beautiful cats!
Are they all related? Are they some kind of special cat? I am not much on cats, but these seem to have special markings!
If you look at the one to the left, on the last photo, it looks like something out of a zoo!! Awesome!

Janet said...[Reply]

I love cats! The photos of your cats and the visitor are all just so cute. I agree that the one sitting by the patio door is adorable. And the cat on the fence looking in. Love them all.

Janet Whitesell said...[Reply]

Gorgeous cats!!! Bailey and Sheba are especially beautiful, and Toby must be related, too. I liked the picture of all the cats hanging out in the barnyard. I love knowing that there are places like that where cats are safe (from dogs and high-speed traffic).

squire said...[Reply]

The "grey" is a pretty color. Really shines. I think you need a few more, I think I can see a little of you driveway.

Sandra said...[Reply]

Wow, what a wonderful collection of beautiful cats! Good to 'see' you posting again.;o)

clairesgarden said...[Reply]

I am impressed with Baileys feet. he looks a nice cat. thankyou for all your kind comments.

Philosophical Karen said...[Reply]

Love the cat stories. It's interesting that Sheba seemed to recognize him. The photos are great.

sonia a. mascaro said...[Reply]

What a lovely family of cats!
All them look very friendly and adorable! Great photos, Kerri!

Susie said...[Reply]

Looks like Bailey had lots of fun. I wonder if mother cats (like Sheba) ever really forget their kittens?
We had a mother/son cat family, and they were together for about twelve years.
I loved all the kitty photos Kerri!!

Shelley said...[Reply]

You have some very elegant friends! Very purrrrty.

Love all your photos. What a beautiful home you have.


Shelley

Alaska Diva said...[Reply]

Lovely colors! Tortoise shell and granite and streaky gray-black. They're the colors of river rocks!! Alas, we just have the two cats. Some day I intend to have as many as I like. Brooke

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

That was a cute story about Bailey and a story that Sandy & Wes I bet would love to read. Bailey & your kitties are so cooperative in taking pictures. I knew that you had a bunch, & your last picture is very impressive. They're certainly beautiful cats.

Bet you had forgotten how mischievious a housecat could be? They'll find every little loose thing to play with. hehehe

From a cat lover,
Sandy :)

Sandy said...[Reply]

My what lovely kitties you have! Makes me miss my cat. My sons asthma has improved tremendously though since he passed away.

LindaD said...[Reply]

I'd forgotten what independent varying personalities cats can have. I love the 'village' appearance of your 'group'. If I didn't have a terrier, I might consider a cat... I'm sure my dog would drive a cat a bit nutty. Love your photos

Kati said...[Reply]

Oh, I love this cat story! I miss having cats around. My youngest daughter took our two with her when she moved out.

Motherkitty said...[Reply]

Kerri, I loved these pictures. You know I'm a cat person and would have a million of them if I could (husband will only let me have 5 at the present time). The snap of them waiting for you on the driveway was so cute. They're saying, feed me mother, I'm being patient but you're really testing me to the limit. I love the little tortoise with the white toes.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

What a charming and heart-warming cat story, and beautiful photos to accompany it! It must be such fun to have a large group of them around all the time to keep you company.

Off the subject of cats for a moment, in the last photo there are some tall yellow flowers behind some wooden fences, and I wondered what are those called? Forgive my ignorance, I'm hopeless when it comes to flowers and plant names, but I certainly do like the way they look bunched up behind those fences.

And finally, Kerri, thanks for stopping by my site and for your kind comment. I've been very busy too this summer and haven't done much blog visiting, but I'm glad I visited your site today. Talk to you later! :)