Written February 13, 2026

I am just getting started in writing blog posts and already behind. There is so much that has already happened that I want to write about and yet the day to day needs to be told as well. Yesterday was a very sad day for us. Our beautiful young cat, Stirling, was killed on the highway. I wanted to write a post about how much I have been enjoying the kittens, watching them play together and grow up. How much their affection for me and mine for them has been a wonderful surprise. And tragedy struck so quickly, unexpectedly and senselessly. I am absolutely devastated, but comforted to know that he would have died immediately and didn’t suffer; and am glad that I found him. It would have been awful for him to have just gone missing – this way, I at least have closure and we can bury him in the spring.

We adopted Stirling and Aberdeen in October – when the air got cooler, the mice got closer to the buildings and we needed a better solution than mouse traps – with Miro and Austin running around, those are just dangerous. So we adopted two young cats that needed new homes before the winter to be barn cats. Aberdeen came first, a tiny 8-week-old red fluff ball that was as adorable as he was cheeky. Stirling arrived the next day – he was already about 5 or 6 months old and had been living outside in a nearby rural town. He was very shy at first and hid in the garage for the first few days, so that I never even saw him, just put food and a litter box where he was hiding. That changed quickly and he started coming up to the counter where I fed Aberdeen and let me pet him and nuzzled against me. It was a wonderful change. When they started going outside, I was nervous, but they came home faithfully every evening for dinner and we all enjoyed evening cuddles. Recently, if I was a bit late feeding the horses and saying goodnight to the chickens, they would follow me around the farm and meow, as if to say, hey! It’s our dinner time too. Stirling remained more cautious with people but we would often see one or both of them hanging around the farm during the day. Stirling taught Aberdeen how to hunt as he got bigger, and just last week I saw them playing around a dirt pile, likely hunting mice together. He loved to lie in the shop amongst the hay and straw bales, and we would often find them playing there as well. At night, if I went to feed them and no one was in the garage yet, I would just call outside, “Stirling, Aberdeen, dinner!” and within a few minutes they would both run in and expect dinner to be ready. They developed an affection for each other as well, and would cuddle together in one bed at night, even though there were three beds available for sleeping.

Aberdeen seems sad now that Stirling is gone, and I don’t want to anthropomorphize his behaviour but he did not go out to play much today. Thomas has suggested he can snuggle with Miro, but I suspect Miro does not want to hang out in the garage, and the cats don’t come in the house because Thomas is allergic. As my mom likes to say, it’s a conundrum. We are on the lookout for a new friend for Aberdeen and I know the right kitty will show up. Stirling is irreplaceable but we have room for more love.

With time, I know I will remember the happy moments instead of the sad one. In that spirit, I have shared one of my favourite moments below of when Stirling was teaching a much smaller Aberdeen to hunt. Rest in peace little friend, and know you were well loved for your short time on this earth.