Working for the Title!

  Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess, is by far the most unsuitable cat to claim the Little Bayou House as her home.  She is definitely NOT a Bayou Cat.  She is a house cat...a big, fluffy lap cat....a spoiled rotten ornament of a pet that just happened to be abandoned at some point by her previous owners.  They dumped her at our place and drove away in haste.  What choice did the throwaway cat have but to come begging at our doorstep? Still, she has endeared herself to us and we took her in as one of our own.  No problems....except that we sort of thought she should act like a cat.  Nope.  Not happening.  She is a still a big ball of fluff that has yet to learn the ins and outs of being a working cat which comes to the problem.  When living on the Bayou, everyone (or everything) has to earn its keep.  We all have our "jobs" and try to complete them with some sort of adequacy.  Ms. Nycto was expected to follow in the footsteps of our other rescued cat, Ms. Put, the Bayou Queen.  She had not.  This sweet cat has yet to catch her first rat, mouse, vole, mole or squirrel.  She has not figured out how to keep birds from the fruit trees or squirrels from the tomato plants.  She has not figured out how to do anything except look pretty....and purr.

  However!  However, today, was a different story! Sort of...maybe...perhaps accidentally.  Ms. Nycto was suffering tremendously by the onslaught of mosquitoes.  The poor baby's ears were being chewed to the point of being bloody.  I bought some (very expensive) medicine to coat her ears.  This was supposed to repel all biting bugs.  I can see why.  This stuff stinks.  It sort of smells like an eucalyptus tree vomited on the poor cat.  But it does indeed work. Somewhat.  That said, Ms. Nycto decided to take things into her own hands...err...paws!  She has now claimed the raised herb/carrot garden as her personal spa/bed.  She spends most of her time snoozing in the corner of the bed letting the highly scented herbs do their job.  Smart cat..or at least smarter cat.  I am happy to see her smashing a few of the basil, carrot and oregano plants.  She is doing an untold service.

  The raised herb garden sits between the two large fig trees.  Prior to the change in the cat's sleeping quarters, every bird within the county was feasting upon the ripe figs.  I was getting very few for my yearly stockpile of fig jam.  The pantry would remain bare at this rate.  That all changed once the cat claimed the raised garden as her favorite spot. The birds are wary of the black blob of fur and the figs remain in tact. So, inadvertantly, the cat has been doing her job!  If only she knew how well she was protecting my fruit, she would be proud as a peacock! Good job, Ms. Nycto!  Keep it up and you just may well earn the title of Bayou Cat!