Stray cat and Possums on the farm.

We live on a farm in Kansas and the nearest neighbor is one and a half miles away so it is somewhat isolated and it is unusual for a stray cat to show up here. Now we have three "Barn Cats" that have been "Fixed". The other day, a stray cat showed up and proceeded to try to establish himself as the "Alpha" cat which is MY JOB.

I decided that I would take care of this interloper by catching him in my live trap and haul him to some remote location so he could try to ply his trade elsewhere! I carefully baited and set the trap in what I thought was a suitable location and left it for the night. The following morning I went out early to check to see if the cat was caught. Instead of the cat the trap held a possum! Now, the possum had not done anything to me so I decided to haul him (or her, I did not check real close!) to a real nice creek some number of miles from the farm.

Not to be out smarted by the cat, I set the trap up again the next night. The following morning I again went out to check the trap. No cat in the trap, just another possum! So again I loaded the trap up in the truck and hauled it to the creek to be with its relative. (I wanted to keep the family together!)

I began to make jokes about giving the possums away for the meat but no one was in the mood for good possum stew around our parts.

Never one to give up I set the trap again! You guessed it! I caught another possum! This continued again and again, night after night. The final tally of possums caught was 16!!

The wife asked why I could not catch the cat and I told her that the possums where not giving the cat a chance! Finally, I caught a racoon in the trap and hauled him off also. The cat was not to be caught and in fact had become scarce around the farm so I guess I got rid of him as he knew if he hung around I would have him in the trap. (I like that thought as it makes me feel I won!)