They don’t do it intentionally- try to puzzle, baffle, frustrate or thwart you, but sometimes you have to wonder!

Early this morning, our phone rings. It’s our neighbor. He has a cat in his barn and the cat is crying to get out. However, he CAN’T find this cat. He can hear it- oh can he hear it- but where in the world is this cat in distress?

I turn on the light and glance at the clock. It’s 3:00 a.m. I didn’t ask Frank why he called me now. Why is he out in the barn at such an hour, I know why, his cow is sick. I struggle into my clothes, gather my trap, carrier and other gear and head on over. Mike is still asleep. I swear, the man can sleep through anything.

When I arrive, I find Frank wringing his hat in his hands looking worried. The vet was out caring for Buss their cow. Frank said not even the vet could find the cat. I’m not surprised, vets can care for cats, not find them in a massive barn if they are stuck somewhere. I told Frank to go get some sleep and I would poke around and see what I can find. He heads off to the house and I get to work.

The barn is still at the moment. The horses and cows are munching hay, the chickens are clucking but I don’t hear any cat. Popping open a can of cat food, I wave it in the air so the smell will travel- then I do a quiet kitty call and I hear the response. A very muffled meow.

This barn is massive. It is full of farm equipment long past its prime, hay bales, old tires, I know one place I can rule out, the stalls. I doubt any cat not familar with the livestock would be stuck inside a stall with a cow or a horse. I start searching in grids calling, waving the food and trying to find the kitty in question. I can tell by the cry that it is a young kitten which makes the search worse. Kittens can get into any tiny space and so I go low and squat and try to figure out where the crying is coming from. It’s not easy but at 4:05 a.m. I emerge triumphant behind the stacked tires with this little kitty in my arms. He had been found inside the tire up against the wall of the tire and he was tired and hungry but he seems just fine.

I popped him into my carrier. I have no idea where he came from- where mom is and how he ended up in the barn. But for now, he has been bathed and dried and is upstairs getting warmed up and he has food and water and Shell’s blanket for company. I’ll call Frank in the morning, but I think I will wait until the sun is up! By the way- I am calling this kitten Barney! Actually, Mike said he acts more like a Barnaby- so Barnaby he is. When I first found him I thought he was pitch black, but he was just a dirty bird-