I have been getting many requests for information about Mother. I appreciate them, and the concern about her. It is not intrusive or inappropriate to me, as I have shared my love and admiration for this remarkable creature for most of the time I have lived on Bedlam Farm.  Mother and I are devoted to one another and I will share her status with you, and thanks for caring. Mother cleared the place of rats and mice and watched over me, and loved Maria, who she visited in the Studio Barn as often as she could. Mother always came along with me on walks on the path or around the farm, was always waiting for me when I pulled into the driveway. Mother taught me about the mystical and wondrous ways of cats.

Mother spent several nights in a crate here on the farm alongside Minnie, who has settled in the barn here comfortably. We released the two of them together. Mother has been gone for three days and nights. Minnie has already made a nest on some sheepskin among the hay bales.

I am well aware that some barn cats seek to return to their former homes and if mother appears there we will know it. Mother is a barn cat, not a conventional pet, and she will live where she wants to live and I will respect that. If she chooses to make her way back to Bedlam Farm – I doubt that will happen, despite the conventional wisdom  – we will make  arrangements with our neighbors for her to stay there comfortably and she will have access to food and water, though she can certainly care for herself. I am not inclined to trap her again and force her back but that is something Maria and I will talk about and decide together.

I respect the true nature of animals, and she has lived on her instincts her whole life. If it is her instinct and drive to go elsewhere, than I do not feel it appropriate to intervene because I would rather she be here.  For me, loving animals is accepting their nature sometimes, not always imposing mine. Pets are different. Living in our homes, we need to impose our will on them.  I have no right to do that to a barn cat.

My instincts are that Mother is gone, and I doubt we shall see her again. I have no idea where she is headed and neither, I think, does anyone else. She has either made her way to a new home or been taken by a predator. Since she is especially savvy, I suspect the former. There are lots of farms and barns around here. She may also be exploring her territory and hanging around nearby. Since we are leaving food out, I can’t say if she is coming back at night to take some or not. She was always picky. She knows we are her and she knows Minnie is here. She will take it from there.  That’s where we are at the moment. I’ll keep you posted. I appreciate the concern, but am not seeking advice.