Kitties

Farms need cats. And kids need kittens.

Cats keep mice and rats from eating the goat feed. And birds from getting into the barn.

Plus they're cute. Plus our friend had a litter she wanted to get rid of.

So we got kittens. I don't remember how many we came home with. But after that day we always had plenty of cats.

The first kittens our cats had were born in our coat closet, up on a bureau we'd put in there to hold mittens and hats. Kiki did a great job cleaning up her babies, and then after a while she brought them down to the kitchen floor and took care of them down there.

Dusty was very interested in those kittens! And we were a little concerned what a big beagle, still not much more than a puppy, would do to them.

But Kiki had grown up with Dusty, and she trusted him. While we watched all coiled up and ready to save the kittens, Dusty lay down with them. They cuddled him and tried to find where he kept his milk, and Kiki took a break. From then on, Dusty was the second mom, licking them, keeping them warm, obviously enjoying them.

All of us spent hours watching Dusty and the kittens. Another lesson learned in our cozy kitchen on our farm.