Cat Crossing: The Romance of Judith Stanton

Cat Crossing

Welcome to my 'cat gallery'! It's here that you can meet the cats who give our farm, Cat Crossing, its name.

Grace, Mercy, and Redford came from the same farm sixteen and thirteen years ago. They were all kittens needing only all their shots and neutering.

Grace

a true tortoise shell, was totally wild and terrified. Now she is the kitty of my heart.

Mercy

a glamorous tortoise shell and white, was easier to tame and for many years reigned as barn queen. Now deaf as a post, she recently had major dental surgery and enjoys eating again.

Redford

is blond and gorgeous like the actor he was named for. He is somewhat shy.

Dundee, Fancy, and Max, all now 5 years old, came to me as very young orphans of different mothers at 3 1/2, 4 1/2 and 7 weeks respectively. Dundee had to be hand fed a special formula in a syringe for a couple of weeks before he could eat solid food on his own. Fancy caught on a little quicker.

Dundee

loves to play with his food. The soccer player of the family, he bats his kibbles all around the kitchen.

Fancy

Fancy is like a bunny rabbit with her soft fur.

Max

Max chose me; he jumped out of a tree and right into my heart.

Darla was a desperately ill kitten found in the middle of a busy highway and brought to me by a friend who "just knew I loved cats." What the friend didn't know was that I was already taking care of seven cats, and didn't need to try to fit another cat into a too-large population. Dancer and Pudge wandered up that year too, making my cat family even larger.

Darla

rightly named after the only girl in the Little Rascals, is bold, friendly, and fearless. She appointed herself barn queen.

Dancer

...is a law unto himself. He takes it on himself to defend the barn and has paid the price. He lost a toe after a puncture wound (read: cat fight bite) abcessed.

Pudge

Pudge looks a bit like Morris the Cat, but he'll eat anything (and obviously has)!

Slim
Slim, a beautiful solid gray and white male, refused to pose for the gallery. He's too people-oriented. The instant I point a camera at him he comes over to be petted.

Multiple cat households
Cat lovers beware. The more is not the merrier. Kitty politics in my house and on the farm are major affairs of state. Even after all cats are spayed and neutered, hostilities still arise, pecking orders are established, and cats get hurt. It takes a lot of experience and patience on the people's parts to keep everyone in line-or out of the line of claws and teeth. It also helps if the people become skilled at recognizing signs of abscess or other injury and at giving emergency and long-term treatment to hurt or aging cats. You can count on becoming very good friends with your vets!

Dundee

at 3 1/2 weeks on his first day in his new home

Irresistible, you think? Think 12 to 18 years of cat food, kitty litter, and vet bills before you commit yourself to your next kitty. They have to be your passion. And one purr will tell you they deserve it.

Introducing new cats
is always dicey and often fails. Kitten adapt better than cats, and it's easier if the existing cats are used to newcomers. A five-year-old cat who has had the run of the house, barn, or farm all her life will not easily accept strangers. When I do take on a new kitten, I guard it carefully until the grown-ups become accustomed to its presence and its scent. When I take on a new cat (which usually means I have failed to chase off a stray-they always come back after they learn your feeding schedule), I find myself interrupting cat standoffs and cat fights on a daily basis for months. With neutering and winter weather, most cats settle in.

If you decide to expand your cat population, invest in a good thick veternarian's guide to cat care. And save all your pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. You're going to need it!

This is not a cat!
Winston

Horses are my other passion.

Winston

is hale and hearty at 27 years old. And yes, that is quite old for a horse. Few make it past 30. A native Iowan he came to NC via Wisconsin, where we met and SC where we also lived. He still loves snow.

Gossip

is my 18-year-old thoroughbred and chow hound, retired after a long career on the Hunter A-Circuit. If the name makes the mare, well, she is just a bit "witchy."

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