Zip had his first night away adventure last night, as it rained and blew, and a pack of coyotes out back howled so loudly our three dots all howled back. It seemed a tough time for Zip to disappear, but he didn’t show up for dinner, and yes, I was worried. The backwoods contain coyotes, bobcat hawks and, owls, and some bears.
Zip did not seem a match for them, and we could hear the coyotes howling nearby. Perhaps, I wondered, they were chasing Zip through the dark woods beyond the farm, the only place he could have gone.
This morning, Maria texted me from the barn to tell me that Zip had shown up for breakfast and then vanished again. He didn’t show up all day until dinnertime when I saw him coming out of the marsh and the woods behind it. When he saw me, he came running.
He was hungry but OK, and we did have our afternoon get-together. Zip is intelligent and cautious. He’s lived outdoors all of his short life.
I am sure he can care for himself. But he is new here, and the woods behind the farm are a hunting ground for many different animals at night. We find tracks of all kinds in the snow in winter when we go out back. I’ve never worried about a cat like this before, he sometimes seems a little too confident for his own safety.
Does Zip know that? Is he careful or fast enough? There is always a risk for Barn cats roaming at night. We had one, Mother, who disappeared soon after coming to the new farm. We never found out what happened to her. He seems to know what he is doing.
I won’t be a nervous dad to Zip; he has to live his own life and make his own changes. None of this makes me want to let him in the house.
This was his first outing and his most protracted absence so far. He is getting comfortable, exploring more and more in a wider net.
He loves the marsh with its tall grasses, mice, moles, chipmunk rats, and other edible creatures. He is pleased here, living the life of a barn cat to the fullest. That makes me happy.
long absences for a barn cat (even 12 hours) are always concerning……..but……it *is* a part of the life of being a barn cat. I think Zip is savvy………… and will continue to be so. I root for him always………
Susan M
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I honest,y don’t understand why you wouldn’t exercise the same caution for a cat as you do with your dogs. I adopted one cat who was allowed to roam all night and was hit by a car and suffered broken jaw, broken humorous, broken hip. I adopted another who was allowed to roam all night who was attacked by a predator and lost her back leg. I live in a rural neighborhood where there are many barn cats—those who are Locked in the cozy barn at night stay alive—those who are not locked in don’t last very long— between coyotes, bobcats, and owls, even the savvy ones have the odds stacked against them. I see you as loving guardians, but I do not understand why this lovely kitty is not protected as you protect your other animals in such admiral ways.
Thanks Pam, I think I’ve explained it a number of times on the blog, I respect your feelings and your honesty, but we both feel this is a barn cat who wants and needs to live a natural life. We just have a different way of seeing it. Zip is loved, protected and well cared for, including letting him live the life he was meant to live, not the life we would live. I might right about it again today..it’s a fair question..
Zipede doo dah, Zipedeay/Zip’s a happy cat in every way.
I understand letting a cat roam because I’ve
lived in the country.