Meet Striker.
He’s the laziest cat I know. And maybe the sweetest. Which is why we gave him the alias, Striker the Failed Barn Cat.
Striker’s story is kind of a fun one: several years ago, my husband and I decided to get a barn cat–someone to help keep down the rat and mouse population where we live (in the country). The local humane society advertised a “barn cat program,” which placed “feral” cats in homes. So, we went to the humane society and picked out the biggest, meanest-looking cat we could find. He stared at us through the window of his little stall, looking very intimidating.
We brought him home and my husband named him Striker. You know, to encourage him to eat mice. We followed the instructions the people at the humane society gave us: we set up a dog kennel on our back porch, and put Striker in it for three weeks.
Then we let him out, anxious for him to start bringing us rats and mice.
But what did he do? He sat at the back door, looking through the window. He didn’t move. If we opened the door, he came in and made himself at home, lounging on the couch. If we put him outside, he’d stare at us, his huge yellow eyes begging us to let him in.
And we would.
Look at him now.
Introducing Striker the Failed Barn Cat.
Since he failed so miserably at catching rodents, I decided he’d serve another purpose: entertainment. That’s why I gave him his own Instagram account. Follow him, here.
Things with Striker didn’t turn out as we’d expected, but the truth is, I love having him around. He sleeps curled up against my shoulder, and he cuddles with me when I’m watching TV. Sometimes things turn out even sweeter than you think they’re going to!