Kelley (Texas)
New member
Many folks down here in South Texas will employ a barn cat or two for barn security...keep the mice and snake population in check. This is a story about a Texas barn cat that was so ugly that we named him "Ugly Cat"...trust me in that he was indeed one ugly cat.
Back in the early 1990's we decided to build another horse barn and turn the old horse barn into a barn dedicated for hay storage. This posed a problem for us in that we only had one barn cat at the time and he was almost over whelmed doing his job of being in charge of barn security...he could barely handle the security for the two existing barns, and there was no way he could guard three barns. We thought about using one of the dogs for barn security, but that would not fare well because the dogs had a higher status on the animal social scene...they were always assigned to ranch security, a step above barn security. We had tried that in the past and it did not work because the dog viewed it as a demotion in rank. The decision was made to get another barn cat.
A friend told us that old Tater Top at the feed store had a young cat that he had been trying to give away for months, but no one would take the cat. Debbie and I got in the pickup truck and headed for the feed store...we were hoping that the cat was still there for the giving. When we arrived and saw that cat, we knew why it was still there...it had to be the ugliest cat that we had ever seen. This cat was a mixture of orange, brown, white, black, and grey colors, weighed about thirty pounds, had a short bob tail...and those eyes, one was green and the other one was a blue color. We declined taking the cat at first, but after driving a hard bargain with Tater Top, we left with the cat and ten bales of hay thrown into the deal of us taking the free cat home with us.
"Ugly Cat" was assigned to barn security at the new horse barn. After a few weeks, it became apparent that he was no ordinary barn cat. Our other cat was getting old and we found out that "Ugly Cat" was helping the old cat guard the other two barns. Later that summer, the old cat died. Debbie and I decided to see if "Ugly Cat" could truly guard all three barns. We were not disappointed when we discovered that "Ugly Cat" could do the job and then some.
Late one night, I was awakened by a horrible commotion taking place out in the front pasture. A pack of coyotes had attacked our number one ranch dog and was beating up on him pretty bad. The other two dogs ran and left the number one ranch dog to fend for himself. While I was pulling my trousers on and grabbing the rifle, the fight had gotten louder, but this time there were lots of shrill yelps! As I ran out the back door, fearing the worst, to my surprise...there was "Ugly Cat" right in the middle of the fight. "Ugly Cat" had bravely entered the fight to help save our ranch dog. I guess that was enough for the coyotes because they turned tail and ran for their lives...that cat had whipped up on them pretty bad. "Ugly Cat" had a few scratches and cuts, but other than that, he was OK. We had to take the dog to the vets and get him treated, but within a few days he assumed his ranch security duties again.
For a week or two all I could think about was how "Ugly Cat" had saved the ranch dog's life while the other two coward dogs had run for cover. I thought long and hard...finally made a major decision in regards to ranch security. I promoted "Ugly Cat" to the position of being in charge of both barn and ranch security...a first for South Texas. No one had ever assigned a cat to such an important position before. I got rid of the two coward dogs...gave them to some city folks. The remaining ranch dog was assigned to training the two new young dogs that we bought. We seldom ever again had much problems with the coyotes...they avoided our ranch because of the whipping that "Ugly Cat" had given them that fateful night!
"Ugly Cat" passed away in his sleep one cold winter night at the age of 15...sad night for me. He was buried at the family grave yard in the south part of Gonzales County, right along with our kin folks...he was a special cat.
A new cat by the name of "Bad Azz Cat" was put in charge of ranch security and built one heck of a reputation for himself too! Maybe one of these days I will write a story about him...maybe tell you folks about the time he saved my cousin from a herd of feral hogs. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
Back in the early 1990's we decided to build another horse barn and turn the old horse barn into a barn dedicated for hay storage. This posed a problem for us in that we only had one barn cat at the time and he was almost over whelmed doing his job of being in charge of barn security...he could barely handle the security for the two existing barns, and there was no way he could guard three barns. We thought about using one of the dogs for barn security, but that would not fare well because the dogs had a higher status on the animal social scene...they were always assigned to ranch security, a step above barn security. We had tried that in the past and it did not work because the dog viewed it as a demotion in rank. The decision was made to get another barn cat.
A friend told us that old Tater Top at the feed store had a young cat that he had been trying to give away for months, but no one would take the cat. Debbie and I got in the pickup truck and headed for the feed store...we were hoping that the cat was still there for the giving. When we arrived and saw that cat, we knew why it was still there...it had to be the ugliest cat that we had ever seen. This cat was a mixture of orange, brown, white, black, and grey colors, weighed about thirty pounds, had a short bob tail...and those eyes, one was green and the other one was a blue color. We declined taking the cat at first, but after driving a hard bargain with Tater Top, we left with the cat and ten bales of hay thrown into the deal of us taking the free cat home with us.
"Ugly Cat" was assigned to barn security at the new horse barn. After a few weeks, it became apparent that he was no ordinary barn cat. Our other cat was getting old and we found out that "Ugly Cat" was helping the old cat guard the other two barns. Later that summer, the old cat died. Debbie and I decided to see if "Ugly Cat" could truly guard all three barns. We were not disappointed when we discovered that "Ugly Cat" could do the job and then some.
Late one night, I was awakened by a horrible commotion taking place out in the front pasture. A pack of coyotes had attacked our number one ranch dog and was beating up on him pretty bad. The other two dogs ran and left the number one ranch dog to fend for himself. While I was pulling my trousers on and grabbing the rifle, the fight had gotten louder, but this time there were lots of shrill yelps! As I ran out the back door, fearing the worst, to my surprise...there was "Ugly Cat" right in the middle of the fight. "Ugly Cat" had bravely entered the fight to help save our ranch dog. I guess that was enough for the coyotes because they turned tail and ran for their lives...that cat had whipped up on them pretty bad. "Ugly Cat" had a few scratches and cuts, but other than that, he was OK. We had to take the dog to the vets and get him treated, but within a few days he assumed his ranch security duties again.
For a week or two all I could think about was how "Ugly Cat" had saved the ranch dog's life while the other two coward dogs had run for cover. I thought long and hard...finally made a major decision in regards to ranch security. I promoted "Ugly Cat" to the position of being in charge of both barn and ranch security...a first for South Texas. No one had ever assigned a cat to such an important position before. I got rid of the two coward dogs...gave them to some city folks. The remaining ranch dog was assigned to training the two new young dogs that we bought. We seldom ever again had much problems with the coyotes...they avoided our ranch because of the whipping that "Ugly Cat" had given them that fateful night!
"Ugly Cat" passed away in his sleep one cold winter night at the age of 15...sad night for me. He was buried at the family grave yard in the south part of Gonzales County, right along with our kin folks...he was a special cat.
A new cat by the name of "Bad Azz Cat" was put in charge of ranch security and built one heck of a reputation for himself too! Maybe one of these days I will write a story about him...maybe tell you folks about the time he saved my cousin from a herd of feral hogs. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
