8 and Counting

We were bringing the cows in last night when Cevin bumped Rosy and sent her up the wrong side of the barn. Rosy is only a first-calf heifer and she does pretty good finding her stall considering.

She knew she was wrong and quickly turned around and headed back down the south line trying to get to the north line where she belongs.

Enter Flotsam, who is perhaps one of the dumbest cats I have ever seen. He lay down in the walkway right in front of her and refused to move.

Most cows would have stepped on him or bunted him aside with a well-placed nose. Not Rosy, she stopped, and when he wouldn't move, turned up into an empty stall to avoid him.

I had just turned her around to let her get out of the stall when he lay down right in her way again. I didn't put any pressure on her, because I didn't want to get him stepped on. The boss was trying to get to him to move him.

Suddenly Rosy leapt across the gutter to jump OVER him. He STILL didn't move.

She missed him with her front feet, but stomped a  big, old, hind hoof right in the middle of his back. He was flattened.

By the time she was around the corner he was gone with a yowl.

Of course, we felt awful, even if a cat that is too dumb to get out of the way of a moving cow is not a cat that is going to be celebrating many birthdays.

We figured he probably wouldn't see morning...

However, when I fed the kitties before milking today, there he was on the milkhouse step lined right up for his share.Then he followed the logger kitties to the house when we came in.

Go figure.