Barn Games

It is continues to be rainy and cold limiting life on the farm to indoor activities. The kitties have some special games I thought I would share with you...they especially like to play them when it is nasty outside. There are horse games, too (maybe Jessie was playing one today when she left two poop balls in her water bucket?) but today it will about the barn cat games.

Kitty In the Hay

Did you have 'Kitty in the Keg' when you were a kid? Well, this is just a little different...Daddy Cat loves to play in a stack of hay hiding from his mama. He allows me to throw hay on top of him. I pretend not to see him and call for him...he is such a good cat...remember, he was completely wild a couple of years ago! All I have to do is say 'Kitty in the Hay' and he will run to the pile and play. So sweet!

Sweep the Kitty

When I am done cleaning stalls, I sweep an area under the horse's feed buckets. This is where I throw their flakes of hay. One day I thought I might sweep Daddy Cat's fat round back and to my surprise, he didn't mind! What a good kitty!

Tackle Cat

This game is loved by only one cat...Cricket, being very bad, will tackle his mother and roll her on her back. Poor Callie will cry out causing me to run in the tack room and separate them if I get the chance. I punish Cricket with Love Jail which he used to hate. Love Jail is holding him like a baby and keeping him very still while telling him how bad he is...he does not like to be confined and does not like to be held. Sometimes he goes right back and repeats the offending behavior. Today while in jail, he looked at me with no protest and began to purr! Usually there is a threatening song escaping his strong jaws...Callie will come to his rescue and stand there watching him being held.

Swinging Monkey Cat

This is another game I am not fond of but when Cricket is feeling frisky and wants my attention, he will jump into a plant that is hung from a chain in the tack room. This plant was the most beautiful Dragonfire Begonia and it rested in a large urn on the front porch last summer covered in red blooms. I hated to throw it away and was hoping it would survive throughout the winter. Bad idea...Cricket immediately claimed the plant as a swing and broke the tubular stems. Now it is just a bundle of green leafless stubs. So, when he gets in there, I swing him. He is like a little monkey.

Climb the Human Tree

Again, Cricket has no respect for anything, or anyone as long as he is having fun. When he was a kitten he used to climb my leg all the way up to my hip. It was so cute. Now as a huge adult, he will half jump and half climb with one attempt and then immediately jump down. I have never had a kitty do that and since it doesn't hurt, I let him go. I tried to get photos but was too slow so the kitten photos will have to do!