Two weeks after posting about the passing of Poppy, the outdoor feral momma cat, I’m sad to report another cat death: Pepper, the feral cat that kept the front of our workshop free of rodents. The two cats never met each other, but they had similar jobs, in different domains.

We got Pepper back in 2015, when she was a few months old, along with Pansy, the other shop cat, via a local “kitties for hire” program, where feral cats off the street, that are too wild to become pets, can be given a productive life helping keep workshops and barns free from rodents.

Here’s Pepper soon after she joined us:

And a more recent picture, on her heated bed:

I always enjoyed seeing her when working in the shop. Of all the feral cats, she was the most trusting of me. Like any feral, she’d retreat if I got too close, but she was content to watch me from a few feet away, supervising my work.

Now Pansy has the shop to herself, which will suit her, being a loner; the two shop cats quietly avoided each other.

Pepper was also buried near the pond, next to Poppy and our late pet cats.

Rest in peace, Pepper.