Sheep out in a Summer Snow Storm

This week Alberta was hit by a freak summer snow storm. I do not recall getting snow so early before but I do have memories of late snows in May and June.

The trees still have leaves and many are bent over and some are breaking. The animals are not particularly happy about it either. The roosters are not even smart enough to go inside and are roosting on a branch with no shelter above heads. The cats are unimpressed.

The sheep are pretty well adjusted, the snow is not too much for them, they can still dig through to the grass. 

It is that time of year to sell them though. I had a buyer who was all lined up to come two weeks ago, but when he went to leave his place he noted something was wrong with his trailer, I think he said an axle was broken. He was going to fix it and come the next day. The next day he had bought the wrong axle and was going to have to try again a few days later, but after repeated trips to Canadian Tire, or wherever you buy new trailer axles, he was having no luck getting the right one and eventually said for us to go ahead and sell to somebody else.

This was frustrating, but understandably not his fault, unfortunately I had turned 3 other buyers down in the process, two of which I did not get their phone numbers. Thankfully I did get the e-mail of one guy and he is coming right away for a ram lamb. Well, I should say, he is waiting for the weather to improve then will be here. He has selected a nice brown Katahdin ram so we are holding that one for him, but we do have an interesting bunch of rams this year including one with four horns and a really neat looking tri-color hair sheep.

I am not happy with the weather, I am not a big fan of the cold. I have aches and pains, and it is hard to take. It is one thing to get winter weather in winter, or even in the fall, but again, this is still summer and we have 2 more weeks go to before it is fall.

I love Alberta, but sometimes I think I am crazy to live here.

Our Binxy Cat has Gone Missing Presumed Dead

Last week one of our farm cats went missing.

Binx was a farm cat left behind by his owners when they sold the property and moved away. We have no idea how old he was but we have had him at least seven years. He was neutered and we kept him vaccinated; but when we would let him into the house he sprayed (this was due to habit rather than urinary tract infection), and as such except on the coldest winter days he stayed outside. Of course he always had access to two small barns, and an old house, and a “dog house” we bought for the cats.  

Binx was an excellent mouser but of course we also keep him well fed.  At some point he must have lost the tip of one of his ears due to frost bite.  He was a little scruffy looking but had a charming gentle personality.

Binx at rest in the yard.

Binx was never one to roam, we have 10 acres and although he might walk to the bottom of the driveway we never saw him cross it. The road itself is very quiet, leading to a campground and a few houses.

As such we were very surprised last week when Binx went missing. 

I walked up and down the road in case he had been hit by a car.  Sometimes the cats like to hang out in the barns but when I went looking for him in the barns all I saw was a skunk (in the barn, it politely backed away from me). In the front of the yard however, I did find coyote feces. 

Although we have lots of trees and I would think Binx could easily climb one if he felt threated by coyotes, it remains a possibility that coyotes may have got him. I still have my doubts about this as the coyotes tend to come at night (to eat fallen crab apples) and Binx would usually be asleep in the barn then, especially as fall nights are chilly.

Another possibility is that an owl got him. Although we seldom see owls there was a great gray owl here in the summer. What a terrible image of a cat being carried away by a bird! If Binx was in the pasture this could have happened.

Perhaps a camper saw him on our driveway and picked him up. Indeed Binx is a very friendly cat. 

Raccoons have been known to kill cats but we do not have them here.  I know the skunk is harmless, we have had skunks here before and they even come onto the deck to nibble cat food without bothering the cats.

I went online to check my local shelter where lost rural cats are surrendered – in this case the Edmonton Humane Society, but no such luck.

It has now been a week since Binx went missing and I have to think he will not be back and is probably dead. Rest in peace Binxy you were a wonderful friend and much loved.

Free Cats for Farmers

Farmers often have no problem getting “free” cats for their barn, but many do not bother to vaccinate their cats, or to spay or neuter them, as a result they often have more kittens than they need, or have sick cats.

On the other side of the coin there are always cats surrendered to animal shelters that are not suitable for adoption in most homes. Cats who are not using their litter box for behavioral reasons rather than treatable medical ones, are normally euthanized as “unadoptable” by most shelters.

Most of these cats would make suitable barn cats, or good shop cats, and as such many shelters are now trying to saves as many of these cats as they can by offering them up in such a way.

The Edmonton Humane Society is one place that has recently started a “Barn Buddies” program to give these cats a second chance. The cats are free (but donations are always welcome) and come vaccinated, chipped and spayed or neutered. They are also friendly. To note, some shelters do adopt out feral (less friendly) cats to farm homes as well. The Edmonton Humane Society requires interested people to apply with them for this program.

Potential adopters are required to have:

• A barn or building where the cat can find shelter from bad weather.
• Food for the cat. Note that a well fed cat is a better mouser.
• The right attitude to make sure the cat is cared for and receives veterinary attention as needed.

If you are bringing home a new cat to the farm or shop, it should be kept in an enclosed space with food and water for several days to help it bond to the area.

If you are a farmer who could benefit from such a program please contact your local animal shelter to see if they have cats available under such a system.

The information for the Edmonton Humane Society's Barn Buddies program is here.