Furry Friends Friday

This is Shadow. She is our barn cat of 13 1/2 years. She was born a barn cat so I guess it's fitting she will die a barn cat. We got her when she was only 4 weeks old. I didn't know it then but that is way too young to get a kitten. It does something to them to take them that young. Everyone of them seems to turn out evil, and shadow is indeed evil. When we first got her she was a very wild kitten. She loved to wrap her front paws around your arm and bite you while kicking you with her back nails at the same time. A very cat thing to do, but not knowing any better she wound up at the vets office for a spay and 4 foot declaw. Again not knowing then what I know now that would not have happened. The cat was miserable for 2 weeks. her paws bled cause she really had nothing to stand on. And this was before pain meds were given to cats too. Poor kitty. To make matters worse she got fleas and since advantage didn't exist back then it was routine dipping for poor Shadow. No wonder she is evil. Anyway She lived with us inside for 6 years but one day she walked up to our baby and bit her for no reason. Seriously the kid didn't touch her I was watching. So it was banishment to the screened in porch for Shadow. Then 3 years later we moved to the farm and she has been a barn cat ever since. Now by this time Shadow is old and has no reason to leave the barn. She has a five foot radius she stays in that includes her food water bed and toilet area. Her life is good. no one bothers her and she has food 24/7 and sleeps all the time. Everyone knows not to touch her cause she will still bite even though she only has 3 canine teeth left. She bites me almost every time I clip her nail. Yes she is declawed and she is poly dactyl meaning she has and extra toe on each front foot. The vet left one of the nails and since it doesn't touch the ground we must keep it trimmed so it doesn't grow into her toe pad. However with her age and clawlessness she still manages to catch a mouse every now and then. Shadow was our first pet and has moved 4 times with us and has put up with dogs and didn't put up with kids but Shadow is our first baby and we love her even if she doesn't love us.