Oliver, our "barn cat"... Or.. "Mom, can we get better furniture for our barn?"


A story about how our barn cat stole our hearts and became a pampered house pet

The HSHV's Barn Cat Program sounded like it was made for me. We live on a few acres in a quiet neighborhood, with few cars, and a barn...but no barn cat! As an avid gardener who loves to be outside, I thought it would be so nice to care for a cat who might be outside as much as I am. With a 19.5 year old calico (rescued from the HSHV way back in 1994) and a shy and fluffy DMH kitty, our family wasn't planning to add to our indoor feline family. The fragile health of our old girl prevented us from considering another indoor cat. So, when my husband expressed interest in finding an outdoor cat who might help dissuade the chipmunks from taking over our newly-constructed patio, I called up the HSHV.


I was so happy to receive the call from the HSHV telling me that an adoption of a barn cat was possible! I chose our future cat over the phone by description only- a male brown tabby who was "social". (I chose from the 3 available social male cats by color alone- I knew one neighbor had an orange tabby, and another had a black cat. Though we rarely see them, I didn't want to be looking out the window and confusing my barn cat with theirs.) My children were over the moon when I told them we could pick up our new barn cat that weekend.


It was love, love, love at first sight. The front desk staff asked if I would like to come back and meet my new cat, and led me behind the desk to the back area where he was housed. When the cage door was opened, my new "social" cat pushed out, put his paws on my shoulders, and rubbed my face! The rest of that magical day was equally love-filled...by that night, my 8 year old son was asking if we could "get better furniture for the barn so I can sleep with Oliver?"


Our fall was filled with afternoons of kids running home from the bus stop, bursting into the barn, doing homework with Oliver, reading books next to Oliver, introducing their friends to Oliver (we even lost some kids at first my son's birthday party, and later, the girls' Halloween party...though it turned out they were just out in the barn with Oliver). When it had been long enough that he was free to roam our property (after 2-3 weeks), Oliver would come running from wherever he was exploring when we called his name! And towards the end of the fall, Oliver was tear-soaked and hugged by all after we had to say goodbye to our 19.5 year old calico, Maddie, at the end of her long life.


As winter approached, NONE of us could bear to be going inside for the winter without our new best friend...and so Oliver started to transition to being our full-time cat. He effortlessly became friends with our super-shy fluffy female cat, Nyx, and was already pals with our young dog, Blue (who is now known to lick Oliver's face and clean his ears). His litterbox skills are impeccable...and it wasn't long before we won the right to live in the house full-time. Now, when Oliver meows at the door, I let him out...only to let him in a second or two later, saying "It's too cold to be an outside cat, you pampered house pet!"


THANK YOU, HSHV, for giving this kitty a chance to find a new home. Thank you for giving us another best friend to cherish for as long as he lives...which we hope will be a very, very, long time. Oliver (named Gourley when he was an HSHV resident) has been such gift to our family. (And we didn't end up needing better furniture for our barn...he is sitting right next to me on my couch as I type this!)


Pam, Bill, Emma, Katie and Nathan Lucken

P.S. - a very belated thank you for saving Maddie as well...how lucky was I to have had 19 years with the kitten I found at the HSHV as a college senior in 1994?

 

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Humane Society of Huron Valley

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