When a person is born, you have no idea what they will accomplish in life. Sometimes that holds true for animals, too. Sometimes they will accomplish things far beyond your wildest dreams. Such was the case for a cat we had here recently.

A while back, one of our barn cats had a litter of kittens. One of the kittens in the batch was a little bit smaller than the rest of them. They were all super-nice, friendly kittens though and, of course, we played with them a lot.

Our cats always help us milk the cows. They can always get a little fresh milk that drips out of the milkers or that the cows leak out on the floor. There’s nothing like fresh, warm milk for barn cats – it just can’t be beat. And it’s real whole milk too.

Our little kittens started helping us, too. Not with just milking the cows, but with bedding them and feeding them. One day, our little guy either got his tail stepped on by a big cow or got it run over by a cart. It didn’t look bad, but for the next two or three months, if his tail got bumped or even touched, he let you know it was very painful.

Normally, we name all of our cats. Well, when we would talk about that cat, we would say, “The one with the sore tail.” In time, we started calling him Sore Tail – the name fit him really well. After a number of months, his tail was fully back to normal, but the name stuck with him.

In time, he got to be a real good mouser. Then, he found his real calling in life – catching rats. On a dairy farm with a lot of feed around for the cattle, you will always get a few rats around the silos and buildings. I don’t like using rat poison for fear the cats or cattle will get into it. Sometimes rats will carry it away and put it in the cattle’s feed. That can be very dangerous. We prefer to have some good cats to keep the rats under control.

Now, some cats will not take on a rat. Some big rats can put up a fierce fight and really tear into a cat. But Sore Tail was different; the bigger they came, the more fun it was. He lived to kill rats; it was the greatest thing in the world for him. We would see him go prowling around in the feed room and then the silo room and then out by the silos a countless number of times every day.  

We would see him many times carrying in a dead rat, and he was so happy. He would come up by us and purr and purr. We would pet him and tell him what a good kitty he was. We would be milking cows at times and we would hear fierce squealing coming from our silo room. We would look at each other with smiles on our faces and say, “Sore Tail just got another rat.”

Sore Tail never got tore up by a rat in a fight; he knew what he was doing, and he absolutely loved it. In time, we started calling him Chief Sore Tail. No enemy rat stood a chance against him. Now you might think that he was a real big cat, but such is not the case. He was a little bit smaller than the average male cat, but he sure had a big heart.

Sometimes, when we would be out in the barn or in one of the sheds working, we would see a mouse or rat run and we would immediately call for the Chief. If he was in hearing range, he would come running just as fast as he could, knowing it was an emergency. Normally, if it was at all possible, he would get the varmint. And then he was always so thankful to us for having called him.

After a while, we ran into a unique situation – the rats that Chief Sore Tail didn’t kill all left. They were absolutely terrified of that cat. After that, the Chief started going out into the fields looking for rats and gophers to catch. He caught some, but not near as many as he used to. That cat wasn’t nearly as happy as he had been when he had a lot of rats and mice to catch.

I could see what was coming, but there was nothing I could do about it. One day he went way out hunting in the fields and just kept going, looking for better hunting grounds. He never came back. We all sure miss him. Chief Sore Tail was one of the best cats we ever had on the farm, and he was a wonderful pet too.

What can I say? The Chief was happiest when he was doing the work God created him to do. He loved it. I know I’m the happiest when I’m doing the work God calls me to do. It is a privilege to serve the Lord, whether it’s milking a cow or feeding a newborn calf or putting up crops. I’m blessed that I can do it, and that by so doing, I can be a blessing to others.

No matter what God calls a person to do in life, they should do it to the best of their ability. By doing so, they will find real fulfillment in it. Chief Sore Tail sure did, and I know I do too.