09/14/2026
A little over one year ago, someone left two sweet kittens in the barn across from our house. No one asked or told us, they just showed up one day begging for food. This unfortunately happens all too often on farms, and has many times on ours. People have a misconception (I’m assuming best intent) that farms need barn cats for rodent control and that one more couldn’t hurt. I easily spent hundreds of dollars I didn’t really have to spare on getting these kitties spayed and vaccinated for rabies, and on feeding them for the past year. They were DARN GOOD cats - I enjoyed their company, and if I didn’t have two dogs who chase cats, I probably would have brought them inside. Tom even built a little warmer box for them in the barn to keep them cozy last winter. We lovingly called them our shop kitties, since we converted the barn into more of a workshop and they hung around the power tools, earning their names of Echo and sweet Dee (Walt).
After a year of bonding with these cats, we lost both of them in the span of three days to being hit on our road. I was gutted over the first one, which happened overnight while I was on a work trip. I just made plans with a neighbor to rehome the second kitty so she wouldn’t be alone, and to protect her from the same fate. But, in a cruel plot twist, we lost her that very morning while I was home. No one bothered to stop or send a message, even though it was right in front of our home. Instead, I ran over to chase her out of the road, thinking she was just laying in the sun. I’m truly heartbroken over these losses. Yes, they were outdoor cats, and I can’t be surprised that they were hit — but to lose both in less than a week was brutal. My main plea is to SLOW DOWN and pay attention when you’re driving past farms. Some accidents are truly unavoidable, but the decent thing to do is still to stop and let a person know if you’ve hit their animal. They were barn cats, but they were loved. And please, if you’re ever thinking of leaving a cat at a farm without permission, just don’t. Talk to the farmer and get permission, or take the animal to a shelter where it can be rehomed. Once a cat has lived in a house, it’s really hard for it to survive outside. Rest easy, sweet Echo and Dee 🐾🌈.
