Assistant Ranch Security: A Cat Named Pullet

Table Rock and Goosenest

Our farm is nestled at the base of Goosenest Mountain, Willow Creek mountain and Ball Mountain in the shadow of Mount Shasta in far Northern California. Our winters are relatively cold, with December and January being the coldest months. Temperatures drop in to the low twenties and teens for a good part of the time and we occassionally see single digits. Our farm is situated a mile from our closest neighbor, and most of our neighbors are even farther from their neighbors. We are a small farm in the middle of prime agricultural lands supporting ranches that total thousands of acres. In such a rural environment, it might be surprising that on occassion, we are greeted by a stray dog or cat. More often dogs than cats. I suspect it is because the animals are dumped here from the neighboring communities. Most often we find them homes, a few stay, and we have sometimes had spend a small fortune on few to provide much needed medical care.

One December night a few years ago, a small, young, tortoiseshell kitten appeared in the poultry barn. She was perhaps 3 or 4 months old. We were having unusally cold temperatures into the single digits at the time and I was surprised to find such a tiny kitten out on her own surviving these frigid temperatures. I set about making her a warm place to refuge. She was feral, and would not let me get close enough to touch, but she was seeking help and was letting this human know it. I do chores in December by headlamp since I dont get home from my day job until after dark. My husband goes up at sunset to close up the animals and then I head up to feed and check on everyone when I get home. And so it was by headlamp that I made her an insulated box with a blanket to sleep in and gave her warm water and cat food to fill her belly.

Inside the poultry barn

That was it for this kitten, and she decided she was staying and calling this barn home. At the time of her arrival, we had a terrible problem with mice in the barn. I had been setting a dozen traps every night and getting 6-8 mice each night. I would see up to a dozen mice scampering for shelter every time I entered the barn. With the arrival of this kitten, I stopped setting the traps for fear she would be injured by one. Lucky for me, this rodent population seemed like Heavan to her, and she made haste in eliminating my problem. I havent seen a single mouse or any trace of mice since the January after she arrived. She is an amazing hunter. She loves a good chase and goes after any wild bird silly enough to enter the coops looking for chicken feed. She chases everything that scurries, including leaves and imaginary mice when she is in the mood.

As spring arrived, I worried that her skills at hunting would spill over and interfere with my chickens raising babies.

Baby chicks are very much like mice in their movements. I kept a close eye on her when the first chicks hatched. She showed no interest in the baby chicks at all. Barely even looked at them. I watched her for most of a day, and wondered if she was ignoring them only because I was there. But eventually, there was work to do and I had to leave her on her own, hoping she would continue to have no interest in the babies. Since her arrival, this kitten has never toughed a baby chick. She has never - ever chased or harmed a baby chick. I have no idea why or how she knows they are off limits, but I am so glad that she does.

How did Pullet get her name?

She continued to live in the poltry barn and she developed a beautiful relationship with all the animals on the farm, including the head of ranch security, our anatolian shepherd named Rooster. Together, they keep all the animals on the farm safe. The kitten became very popular on our social media feeds and we decided to ask our followers to help us give her a name. We received hundreds of ideas, but one woman, who has followed us from the start of my page, and who has become a friend, came up with the winning choice. She has her own facebook and instagram accounts at Baking and Eggs Baking and Eggs | Facebook and is no stranger to chickens. She came up with “Pullet” (it is what baby chickens are called) . It was the obvious choice as second in command of ranch security next to a dog named Rooster, and manager of chicken coop security.

She loves all of her bird family, she joins me every night for chores, helping to put all the birds away and feed the cows and goats. She has her dinner in the barn and settles down for a nap before night fall when she once again goes on the prowl for all things that don’t belong. She sleeps all day and works all night. She has developed love and affection for her humans and she has developed a desire to be pet, though she keeps that brief… there is much work at hand and no time for rubs.
She has stolen our hearts and has become a vital part of our farm. It is a wonderful thing to receive the trust of an animal and be welcomed into her world.

We will be releasing a soap this month to celebrate her. It has a black cat embed and is made with all the colors of her tortoiseshell fur coat. It is scented with spiced red tea, which I think suits her spunky personality. It smells wonderful and is a great gender neutral scent.

Barn Cat

Goat Milk Soap

Coming March 19, 2021