I have been catching glimpses of this guy (or girl!) in the barn, but up until today, only the back end of him (or her!) running away from me. Today I surprised -- (okay I'm just deciding to go with a "her," since I'd love a girlfriend for our P.W. part-time barn cat, and I'm also calling her "Skunk." So there. :)) Anyway, I surprised her when I came around the corner from the stalls, and I saw her run into the arena, up onto a platform and, in one gigantic leap, up through those bars into the loft. She turned around to watch me, so I took the opportunity to show her that I've been the one -- yes, me -- that's been putting the yummy cat food in the bowl that she's obviously been eating for at least a month now. Then she watched me go back and forth a few times with some wheelbarrow loads, and I decided it was time to get a little closer since she was now letting me see her. I walked up the stairs to the loft and sat on the top step, about 10 feet away from her. She just watched me, and I just sat there and talked to her quietly for a little bit, then got up and left her to her adventures, hopefully impressing on her that I was NOT a predator nor out to get her.
Can you find her in this picture?? :)
Her face and body are mostly white, and she has one black ear and a solid black tail. Hopefully she'll let me get closer soon!! Until then, she's obviously made a nice home for herself in the hay . . .