The grandest cat to have walked onto the farm is now safely at the vet. Phinias T. Barnum entered our world about 3 months ago, but his touring schedule kept his appearances at the barn spotty. He would come and rest a day or two, and then take off for a roadshow. It is after all summer theater season, and I expect with his talent he is kept busy. Each time he came back for a home stay, his body was thinner, and he had more skin irritations and slight abrasions. Last night about 9 pm I hear Phinias at the barn - he is part Siamese and his howl is easy to pick out of our cat clan. I rushed out, as I hadn't seen him for a day or more. He was so thin looking, and had some cuts. That was it, I knew I had to get him in. Once neutered, strays tend to stick around. An unneutered male can roam for miles seeking a lady's companionship.
I put him in a crate with food - he went in willingly, like the gentleman he is. As he cried in the background, I hated walking away from the barn. "What's this, I must reside in these cramped quarters for the whole evening!?" I awoke thinking of his dignified face, in a cage, and got a call into the vet as soon as they opened. Fortunately, they had a cancellation, and in I went with my theater cat. I just love the new vet at the clinic, she is so caring and gives optimum time to the animals. As Phinias lay sprawled on the table, the vet said to him, "You must have been some one's cupcake..." I usually just do the neuter, but for Phinias I asked for her to treat his skin irritations, and worm him since he had lost weight. His week long excursions were taking a toll on his physique.
I wish I could bring this gentle fellow into the house. But we have Big Tony in the house, and one can not start bringing in barn/feral/strays, or madness would follow. My husband might become a stray if I did. Or you might see me on Animal Planet some night, surrounded by cats and donkeys, all of us eating chili out of a can. No, Phinias will come back, and I will treat him as regally as I do now, but his throne is in the barn.
So, if you would like to enter the raffle to help with the vet costs, you stand to win an archive print I just did in honor of Phinias. Phinias likes to read his favorite sonnets under the quarter moon, to anyone who will sit and listen. He has found quite a following here on the farm, and I only wish you could hear him - what a showman.
Raffle ends August 1. Visit this link at the store to enter. As usual, you can enter as many $10 amounts as you want - each $10 you enter gets your name in the raffle bucket. The archival print is 10"x14" on a 13" x 19" piece of paper, signed and titled.
