Every animal is a learning experience – dogs, cats, donkeys, sheep. Zip is a challenge. He requires a lot of thought and flexibility.
Having an animal like Zip is a gift, and I believe in stewardship regarding animals. Stewardship is not just about what we might want but what they want and need. They are not little people but animals with different traits, needs, and genetics.
Since they can’t talk to us, we must listen to them in other ways.
It’s not about me; it’s about them. That’s a hard lesson to learn with animals in your life.
There’s no one absolute truth that fits all animals.
I must know them to watch, learn, think, and change. Zip knows how to do that, and it’s the least I can do in return. This culture is crawling with know-it-alls who know nothing. I know I know nothing, and I try to move from there. It starts at zero and moves up the line.
It gets brutally cold up here, and many animals – donkeys, Barn cats, snow dogs, possums, etc. – adapt to the cold and learn to be warm. Desert animals like donkeys and sheep are not affected by the cold. Dogs and cats can also be affected, but not all of them.
I like the idea of giving them choices, not taking them away. The closer Zip gets to a rounded life around people and with much freedom, the better his life will be. I’m not giving him my life; I’m trying to leave him his. He is a happy, loving, and healthy cat. So far, so good. As he gets older, it may change; if it does, I will change, too.
Ultimately, he is a working animal like Zinnia, Red, or Rose. His work is keeping the barn free of pigeons, rats, mice, and anything else that challenges our health or the health of the other animals. It’s not something most cats can do.
That’s the core, which needs protection and is naturally bred to do and loves to do—what Zip is meant to do. Few dogs or cats get that chance anymore; most have been emotionally conditioned beyond change. I won’t let that happen to Zip, much as I love him. Every animal is different.
He was not naturally or otherwise bred to sit in the house all year, look out windows, or spend months and years in a crate. My job is to keep him safe and protect him from that fate.
My idea of stewardship is to know your animal, not other people’s animals. Some cats need to live indoors, some go in and out, and some need to live outdoors and be cared for accordingly. I never tell people what to do with their dogs or cats, especially when I don’t know the people, animals, or places. I also do not take advice from strangers for the same reason: it can be dangerous for the animals. Nor do I judge their choices. How could I? I don’t know them or their animals.
Zip is getting a natural life; he also sees a vet twice a year and gets fed twice daily. He lives as an animal who works to help our farm be safe. He is also happy to be spoiled rotten – primarily by me and sometimes my wife. Her rigid posture can waffle.
We disconnected the first heated cat house in the barn because we didn’t like the wiring, and Zip never used it. We now have a heating pad with heavy fireproof wiring and a pad that warms up when the cat sets foot in it. We put it in the original outdoor warm cat house so Zip would have something over his head, which Barn Cats (and most cats) like and which Zip likes.
We put Zip in and watched. He loved it, sat down, and purred a bit. Ten minutes later, he was out.
I learn something from all of my animals. Zip seems to love his new heating pad; he can use it however he wants. He also loves the woodshed, the hay bales, the upstairs hay loft, and the piles of straw as sleeping paces, even in the cold. It’s up to him now. He has his choices; I have mine.
I’m glad I pushed for the heated house and the pad. Yes, it makes me feel better, but he still lives a natural life. He can be a barn cat, and I can stop worrying about the cold. It’s in his hands now.
