Most farm cats are content to spend their time catching mice or sleeping, but not Smitten.
The 17-year-old calico is more at home kicking up dust with cattle and horses on mustering runs.
Owner Julie Mayne said Smitten wanted to be a part of the action on their cattle property north-west of Brisbane.
“It’s a joy going up to the shed and seeing her hurrying out, so pleased to see you,” Ms Mayne said.
“Jumping up in the vehicle of her own accord because she wants to be there, doing a water run with her, putting lick blocks out.”
Smitten commands the dashboard of the all-terrain vehicle while Ms Mayne and her five kelpies jockey for space on the seat while mustering on Queensland’s Western Downs.
When they pull up, the feline will go paw to hoof with the Santa Gertrudis cattle, each of which can weigh more than 500 kilograms.
“She is really fearless,” Ms Mayne said.
“She meanders through a mob of cattle and they’re really inquisitive, they follow her along and want to sniff her.
“I get worried that they’ll get a fright and rush over her, but she doesn’t worry at all.”
Smitten’s efforts may not be particularly effective compared to the work the five kelpies put in, but Julie believes it is the thought that counts.
Purr-plexing personality
Julie met Smitten as a kitten in a hardware store in 2007 and could not resist her charm.
“She was just curled up in a cage, sound asleep,” she said.
“She was so pretty and they wanted $10 for her.”
Smitten settled in well at the family’s Dulacca home, but when another rescue cat was introduced to the family she forged a new, peculiar identity.
“Smitten, being the princess that she was, got her nose out of joint and left,” Ms Mayne said.
But she did not go far.
“She’d come out of a dog kennel, yawning and stretching,” Ms Mayne said.
“She’d just moved in there and snuggled up.”
Smitten discovered that when you lie with dogs you don’t always get fleas.
“They lick her, clean her ears, and let her sleep with them in winter,” Ms Mayne said.
“She is living her best life.”
Smitten’s fur-midable adventures have garnered plenty of comments on social media, much to Ms Mayne’s surprise.
“I don’t think having a cat in your life on a farm is that unique for most people because it’s part of their normal,” she said.
Antics aside, she said the best part of having a cat is the companionship they offer her and her two children.
“Whether you’re fencing or mustering they put a rhythm into your day,” Ms Mayne said.
“Being on the land and having animals, [our] responsibility is to nurture everything and keep everything alive. I think that just underpins why we’re here.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a cat or a dog or a wallaby that comes in the night and eats your vegetables, everything has a place and puts meaning into your day.”
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