Many people that want to be shed of a cat or two, will just take them out into the country and drop them off at a farm house. It is an added bonus if they can find a place where there are children. The cats are more likely to stay put. We won there on both counts back when the kids were growing up.

We had more than our share of very pregnant mama cats dumped at our farm, as well as a few stray dogs. The cats usually had their litters in the barn. The kids always wanted to tame all of them too. A few barn cats are vital to keep the rodent population down, but we wanted the cats to stay in the barn.

One day Jimmy and April, aged 5 and 6 ran to the house with news of a new cat in the barn. They wanted permission to play with it. I was busy making dinner and let Wayne handle the situation. I knew he was toying with them and heard him say "well, just go catch it." I was surprised at his flippant answer. I warned the kids to be very careful as it might be wild and scratch them.

Wayne had a silly little grin on his face as they rushed to the barn to catch the new cat. I knew it would be almost impossible for them to even get near a stray cat. It was not long before they returned with the most pungent odor of the day. Now, I knew the reason behind Wayne's silly grin. They had a run in with a skunk and Wayne knew all of the time what their "new cat" was. I was very angry at their daddy, for letting it go so far. I gave him a harsh verbal dressing down. His only comment was "Well, they have to learn don't they?" Funny then.. "No." .......funny now... "Yes."