A 'thank you' with some bite
The newest members of the homestead clowder (a group of feral cats) get to live to explore another day.
We have feral cats on the homestead. For several generations they've been the guardians, protectors and even the entertainment. The recent batch of kittens are now old enough that they're exploring some of their surrounds on their own. My wife keeps track of that sort of thing more than I ever will, it's just one of her 'things'. One of the two cats we have in the house is part of that group. A long story short, Tiny was rescued after being in some very cold water for a long time.
My wife's office is at the back of the house, and it's within a couple of feet of the creek and the woods. It's a warm day today so the windows are open and we can hear all the cicadas and other wildlife doing its stuff. She yelled through the hallway at me to check out back because it sounded like "something was eating a kitten." I'm not one to worry about the cats as I know there are plenty of them to do their work, but I went out anyways. My wife showed up a minute later to make sure I was caring enough, and we listened for sounds of distress or meal time in the woods.
We heard a kitten going ape shit over something and decided to investigate. It turned out one of the newest members was out exploring for probably its first solo adventure and had gotten its foot stuck. This wouldn't have been so awkward for the little guy if he wasn't hanging upside down, I'm sure! Without thinking, I reached down the free him. My mistake was not just trying to unwedge his foot but to try and grab and move the whole kitten. I'm sure he was frightened of me, and I don't blame him for it, but that little shit bit me on the thumb and scratched my hand up a little as what I can only guess was his way of saying 'thanks for not letting me become possum or hawk food'. Oh well, there is seldom a boring day on the homestead.
