Rodent Control: Part 1

Totally unrelated, but we got snow this morning . . . sad.

 For us, "rodent control" are the cats.  I have had cats since I was three years old.  I'd barely turned three when we moved to the farm where we are still located, and don't remember anything about the move.  I do, however, remember the three cats that came with the farm.  The previous occupant of the house had left behind her cats, one of which became a good companion of mine.  Although two of the cats (Psycho and Pepper) were skittish and wouldn't let anybody touch them, the third cat (Davy) took to me right away and was very friendly - and patient.  When my brother was very young, he would run and jump onto Davy's back, yelling, "Giddy-up!"
     Poor Davy didn't even react.  He would sit there and let us have our fun with him, and rarely got violent with us.  I only remember a few times when he scratched me (and I probably deserved it).
     Pepper never warmed up to us.  He (or she) caught mice like he was supposed to, but always kept his distance from my family and I.  He died in 2013.
     Davy lived for several more years, always gentle and patient with my brother and I, and later my younger sisters.  In 2018 he got into a fight with some other animal and badly injured his shoulder.  We thought he was a goner, but he pulled through.  His shoulder was always stiff after that and he was unable to move as quickly as he had.  In September of that year, he died after being hit by a vehicle.  Our whole family - my siblings and I especially - were understandably upset, and a piece of wood still marks his burial place to this day.
     Psycho is still alive today, although he's going blind and deaf.  He's started to warm up to us now, and has actually allowed me to hold him a few times in the past years.
     Back: Pepper.  Left: Psycho.  Right: Davy.  

When part 2 comes out next week, I'll tell you about the next two cats we got: Rex and Ginger.