Zip, Our New Barn Cat ?

It reminded me of when we saw a photo of Fate and knew right away that she was the dog for us.

That’s what happened when Darlene from Salem Community Cats sent us a picture of Zip.

Jon got to it quicker than I would have.  But he’s better on the phone than I am.  I’ve always been good at putting off phone calls.  I find texting and email a blessing.

So the day after Minnie died when I told Jon that not only did I miss Minnie, but I missed having a cat on the farm, he got right to it.

I still look at the wicker chair on the back porch every time I leave or come into the house.  This morning I heard Minnie’s scratchy meow.  That made me water the flower we planted on her grave which was drooping a bit.

“If we don’t get a cat, one will show up,” I said to Jon.

Not only do I miss having a cat, but we need one on the farm to keep the mice population down.  I could do without the dead bunnies on the doorstep, (Minnie and Flo rarely caught birds) but fall is coming which means the mice will start moving in.

Then, there was Zip.

Salem Community Cats is a group made of volunteers who rescue feral cats.  They spay/neuter and vaccinate them, then find them homes.  Volunteers foster the cats and kittens.   It’s the perfect group for us to get a cat from because they don’t insist on the cats living indoors like many shelters do.

We live in farm country and barn cats have their place outdoors just like any farm animal.

For some reason, I had the idea that our next cat would be a male.  I was picturing an orange tabby, like the one I had when I was a kid.  But when I saw Zip’s picture with his black mask and white muzzle, he looked so familiar to me.  I felt like I knew him already.

Anne, who is fostering Zip will bring him to the farm to meet us tomorrow sometime between 9 and 12 she told us.  He’s not always easy to catch.

Zip showed up at Anne’s with his brother.  She was able to catch Zip and have him neutered and vaccinated (he tested negative for feline Leukemia)  but his brother is more elusive.

“Zip is needy,” Anne told us on the phone.

By which she means he will rub up against her legs (he doesn’t like to be held).   That’s why she didn’t want him going to one of the big farms.  I know from my own experience that there are varying degrees of “feral” when it comes to feral cats.

I didn’t want a kitten because we live on Rt 22.  I want a cat who has experience with roads.  Zip is 11 months old but he knows how to keep away from cars.  I know this because Anne lives on a busy road and she said he has no interest in going near it.

So it looks like Bedlam Farm and Zip might be just right for each other.  I’m excited to meet him and even Jon, who isn’t really a cat person, thinks he might be able to connect to Zip.

When one friend saw his picture, she called him a Border Collie Cat because of his markings.  Maybe that’s part of what has drawn Jon to Zip.

Besides his photo, of course,  which we both looked at and said, “That’s our cat.”