Her Name Was Princess
Her name fit her perfectly. It all started in Buffalo, Wyoming. The year was 2010. We moved to the country there to work on ranches. We knew a counry home would need a couple cats to control mice. It had a barn and that would be the perfect place to keep the cats.
We had taken our Border Collie in to the Vet for some some early shots. He wasn’t but a couple months old. We had mentioned to the Vet’s assistant that we were looking for a couple barn cats to help keep the mice population down. Fortunately her mother had a litter she was trying to get rid of so we told her would would like two, since they were free. It wasn’t but a couple days and she called to let us know she had two kittens if we wanted to come in to pick them up. We drove in, loaded their cardboard box into the back seat and headed back home.
We decided to keep them closed up in an old 8x10 coal shed for a couple days. We could feed and water them in there to keep them from running away. After about 3 days we decided to open the door and see if they would come out and what they would do. I didn’t particularly like cats so we just sat behind the house to see if they would come out. After a while they ventured out for a couple of minutes and then ran back inside. The full black male was the first to come out and the black and brown calico female finally followed.
Our goal was not to develop a close relationship with the barn cats so we kept our distance and withheld affection. We would sit outside on a glider out back and on one we had on the front porch. One day the black male decided to jump up on the glider with us and jump on our lap. Stupid thing. Unfortunately the female was following suit a couple days later.
Being a rental they were going to have to stay in the barn. The barn was a ways off to walk to and it was getting pretty cold now so we decided to move them to the garage. That’s where they spent the 1st winter. They were young and needed some care.
Since our Border Collie, Cole Thornton, and our two cats were born about 2 weeks apart, they were able to develop a close relationship without the typical dog/cat problems. Cole and the black male cat would play. Sometimes play hard. We watched as Cole would drag the black cat down the steps by the head. Thump, thump, thump as they made it down the steps. The cat didn’t mind and seemed to be having fun. We let it go. The calico female would have none of it. She was her own person and would decide the level of interaction and being drug by the head wasn’t it. She and Cole were friends, but on her terms.
Unfortunately, my wife Sandy decided we needed to name the cats. It only seemed right. She decided on Buck for the male and Princess for the female. Their conduct and tempermate fit their names perfectly, so the names stuck.
As the barn cat idea began to fail, we would go on walks along Rock Creek that ran behind our house. Rock Creek was runoff water melting from The Big Horn Mountains. Buffalo was located right at the base of the Big Horns. Regardless of the time, I would call out let’s go for a walk and in no time at all here came Buck, Princess and Cole. We would all just walk together along the creek and enjoy our time together. The unfortunate activity of bonding with the cats was happening. I mean, they would come running when I called so it seemed only right to bond. So, I bonded without having to try.
Well, a year or so later we moved to a ranch in Montana. That was a mistake. We slept on a mattress on the floor for a few weeks. While I was at work, Sandy would read to the barn cats as they lay on the bed together. At night I and Sandy and the barn cats slept together on the mattress. So much for the barn thing. I spent too much time with them and they were becoming obedient, learning the English language and were not only responding to commands but intuitively acting before I could give them instructions. I was beginning to question my hatred of cats and them in particular. Buck and Princess were becoming something special.
After a couple other adventures we made the 1000 mile move to Missouri. Me, Sandy, Cole and the now elevated to the house barn cats. As we constantly interacted with the dog and cats I marveled at how smart these cats really were. Come, stay, I’ll be right back so they would wait, come with me to the basement and they would, lets ride on the 4 wheeler, come in at night at dark, come upstairs with us.
But not only did they obey us, we learned by their actions what they wanted. If Princess wanted out she would just go to the front door and sit, looking at the door. If we didn’t notice she would get out attention with a soft, deep meow. It worked every time. I came to the point of believing that there was really nothing they couldn’t do. I was so very proud of them. I felt fortunate to have them consent to stay with us. She was extra precious as she would sleep with her paws over her eyes. Too cute!
Good time passed. A few days after getting a shot at the vet, Princess became very ill. We felt she would die. She spent days behind the wood stove. She recovered slowly but never regained her previous self. We couldn’t figure what was wrong with her. Time passed and the shots came again. Same reaction. She became worse. She developed diabetes and then kidney failure. On July 1, Cole’s birthday, we had her euthanized. I am sitting here in tears as we still miss her deeply. She was a beautiful cat, physically and personally. She was a wonderful, wonderful friend to me and Sandy. She worked hard to be a part of our family and our ways. She was a trooper and worthy of emulation. I do hope there is a heaven, even for reformed barn cats. We love you Princess. Sweet Dreams.