Gary and Morris Save the Turkeys

After a long night of batting toys around the floor of The Hervey Foundation for Cats, Gary and Morris were enjoying an early morning meal with the intention of heading off to sleep as soon as they finished. 

“That sure was fun,” said Gary. “I could hunt toys all night, every night.”

“Agreed,” said Morris. “I would do the same, but I’d be tired all the time!”

They continued to munch on some dry kibbles while downing water in between.

“Now that was a delicious breakfast!” said Morris. “I don’t know about you but I’m ready for a nap.”

Gary laughed then the two lay down in a sun ray coming through the window. 

“You know,” said Morris. “The humans really should sleep more after eating.”

“Some of them do!” said Gary. “It’s usually the ones they call Dad.”

The cats continued to chat for a bit until they both shut their eyes and dozed off. After all, they had been up all night!

Fast forward a few hours later and Gary and Morris were jostled awake by two kittens playing tag. The one being chased wasn’t paying close attention and ended up running right over top of Gary and Morris. Better yet, the one who ran over them had also soaked his foot after taking a turn too sharp and stepping in a water dish.

“Lovely way to wake up,” said Gary, as he wiped the water from his face.

“It’s always nice to get a soaking wet foot dragged across your forehead,” said Morris. 

They sat there making more sarcastic comments until the moment had passed. 

“Let’s go see what Marjorie is doing,” said Morris.

The cats came around the corner into Marjorie’s office and found her sitting at her desk. She was chatting with someone on the phone, and, from the sounds of it, they were planning a dinner.

“Last year we did something a bit smaller, but this year we want to have a few more people over,” said Marjorie on the phone.

“That’s right.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What if I went out and picked up a pumpkin and a few things for the table?”

“Okay well, we will see you then!”

Marjorie hung up the phone and then looked over at Gary and Morris who were lying on their backs, bellies to the ceiling. 

“Hello, boys! How are you today?” said Marjorie. “It’s been a busy one, but I am going to take a break and head over to McGregor Farms to grab some pumpkins and gourds for this year’s Thanksgiving table.”

The cats purred loudly and when Marjorie stood up, they walked over and rubbed up against her legs. 

“You boys want to come with me to the farm?” asked Marjorie.

Gary and Morris loved the idea and meowed back to let her know.

“Let’s get to it! I just need to grab a few things then I will meet you at the car,” she said.

Gary and Morris were thrilled. A trip to one of the nearby farms would be a nice change of scenery, and being the curious cats they are, it would offer numerous different new things to explore, sniff, and rub their faces on.

The cats heard the familiar clink of Marjorie’s keys and then the sounds of her feet walking to the door. 

“Let’s roll!” said Gary. 

Once outside, Marjorie, Gary and Morris all climbed into Marjorie’s vehicle. While most cats cannot stand riding in a car, Gary and Morris quite like it. They might not be like those cats who ride on the tank of their owner’s motorcycle, but they still like a good adventure in the car.

The drive to the farm was a peaceful one. The cats stared out the windows of the vehicle as it rolled down the highway, watching all the different sights go by.

“Cows!” shouted Gary.

“Horses!” yelled Morris.

“Sheep!” said Gary.

The cats were having a great time. Just then Marjorie slowed down and turned onto a gravel road. 

“Almost there, boys!” she said. “Farmer McGregor is waiting for us!” 

They drove for a bit, then, once more, the car slowed and took a turn down another gravel road, but this time it was entering the McGregor Farm property. Gary and Morris were starting to get excited. They saw lots of things out the window as they drove in, like trucks, silos, horses and more!

“I can’t wait to smell everything!” said Gary.

Morris nodded but he was too busy watching things go by out the window.

Marjorie stopped the car and put it into park. 

“We made it!”

“Hello everyone!” said Farmer McGregor. “Marjorie, it’s good to see you again!”

Marjorie let Gary and Morris out of the car then the group walked over to meet Farmer McGregor.

“It’s nice to see you too!” said Marjorie. “This is Gary, and this is Morris. They’re keeping me company today!” 

“Hello boys!” said the farmer. “Nice to meet ya! Feel free to have a run around the property.”

Gary and Morris rubbed up against Farmer McGregor’s legs then ran off into the tall, untamed grass that lined the farm. 

“Let’s go explore!” said Morris. “As a city cat, I would absolutely love to see what all is here!”

“I’m down!” said Gary. “I’ll follow your lead!”

The cats had an absolute blast running around the property, darting in and out of old, retired equipment; climbing onto the rooves of the many different buildings; exploring the barns and chatting with some of the animals. 

The horses on the property were really nice and had lots to say, while the sheep had lots to say, but none of it made a whole lot of sense to the cats.

After a while they went to check in on Marjorie who was still chatting with Farmer McGregor and now his wife as well, Mrs. McGregor. Since Marjorie was busy, they decided to explore a bit further.

“I want to see next door!” said Morris.

“I’m not sure how much further we should go,” said Gary. “We don’t want Marjorie to leave without us.”

“She won’t leave without us,” said Morris. “She loves us!”

“I know,” said Gary. “But it still feels risky.”

“Let’s just see how it goes and if things seem too far, we can turn back,” said Morris.

Gary agreed and they walked under the McGregor Farms fence and into the property next door. 

“Looks a lot like McGregor Farms,” said Morris. “More buildings though.” 

“Yeah. Odd smell too,” said Gary.

The cats walked past a big sign near the front entrance of the property that read, “Johnson Poultry Producers.”

“I think I can hear something,” said Morris.

“I hear something as well,” said Gary.

Both cats pressed on a bit further until they came to the edge of the barn. It had a loud, low hum coming from inside like there were a bunch of fans all blowing at once. 

“Let’s find a way in,” said Morris. 

Morris jumped up onto an open windowsill, then into the barn. Gary wasn’t as excited about jumping up and inside the barn, but just as Morris went in, Gary started to hear some human voices approaching from the distance.

“Wait!” he said, and then jumped up and into the barn.

The two cats found themselves staring face-to-face with thousands of chickens – all clucking at the same time. 

“Oh… my… gosh…,” said Morris. “Chickens!”

The cats could not believe their eyes. There were so many chickens in the barn! They were all hanging out, either sitting on eggs or chatting with each other. 

“Be very quiet,” said Gary. “We don’t want to spook them.”

The cats tried to walk towards the doors when one of the chickens spotted them. It immediately started to cluck very loudly – alerting the other chickens. They all started to cluck together, garnering the attention of people outside.  

The barn doors flung open and two human men entered the barn.

“Everything okay in here, ladies?” said one of the men. They were talking to the chickens!

“Morris!” shouted Gary. “Over here!”

Gary found a spot near the front door where both cats could hide long enough for the humans to pass by. Once they did, the cats would bolt out the front. 

Both humans were trying to calm the chickens as they walked up the aisles. Once they had passed Gary and Morris’ hiding spot, the cats made a break for the door.

Outside, a big semi-truck was slowly backing into the front of the property and eventually stopped moving with a loud hiss of its airbrake – causing Gary and Morris to jump backwards.

To avoid being seen, they darted across the grass and hid behind one of the barns to get a better point of view. 

The truck driver got out of the truck and lowered a ramp down to a door on one of the other barns, then suddenly hundreds of big, fat, Thanksgiving turkeys started to pour across the ramp and into the truck.

“Where are they going?” asked Morris. 

After a short time, the truck seemed full so the ramp was picked back up and the driver latched up the back. Farmer Johnson was out there talking with the driver, who then grabbed a clipboard and they both walked towards one of the other buildings.

“Let’s go!” said Morris.

“Where?!” said Gary.

“Let’s go see what’s going on!” said Morris, who ran from his vantage point towards the truck.

Gary couldn’t leave his friend on his own, so he chased after him.

Morris walked right up to one of the turkeys on the truck.

“My name is Morris, what is yours?” 

“I’m Stephen,” said the turkey. 

“Where are you going Stephen?” asked Morris.

“We don’t know! We just woke up and now we are stuck on this truck!” Stephen replied.

“I don’t like the look of this,” said Morris.

“Me neither,” said Gary.

“Can you help us?” said Stephen.

The cats looked at each other and then back at Stephen.

“Wait here!” they said.

Gary and Morris took off back towards McGregor Farms to go get Marjorie and Farmer McGregor.  

“What should we do?” said Gary.

“I have an idea,” said Morris.

Once back at McGregor Farms, the two cats started meowing and pawing at Marjorie intensely. They wanted to get her attention in a big way, and they had made it obvious. 

“What is with you two? Is something wrong?” asked Marjorie.

“Looks like your boys are on to something important!” said Farmer McGregor with a chuckle. 

Marjorie and the McGregors decided to follow the cats all the way to the neighbouring farm where the truck remained, but the driver was just climbing into the cab.

Gary and Morris ran over to Stephen, humans in tow. 

“Hang on Stephen!” 

Farmer McGregor waved down the driver who jumped back down out of his truck. They chatted for a bit while Marjorie and Mrs. McGregor stayed with the cats.

“Looks like everything is okay here!” said Farmer McGregor. “Your kitties must have been spooked by the truck or something.” 

Marjorie looked at Gary and Morris adoringly.

“Come on boys! Time to go!” she said.

The three humans started to make their way back to McGregor Farms as the truck shifted into gear and started to pull away once more.

Gary and Morris looked at each other once more and decided they weren’t done yet. 

Since big trucks move quite slowly at first, Gary and Morris ran over to the back of the trailer and jumped onboard. 

Marjorie turned around to call the cats once more and couldn’t believe her eyes. There were her two cats, sitting on the back of a livestock semi-trailer as it slowly made its way down the road towards the highway. 

“Boys! Come back here!” she called out.

Farmer McGregor and his wife saw what was going on and they couldn’t believe their eyes!

“Let’s do this!” said Morris.

“Right behind ya!” said Gary.

The cats scrambled around the back of the trailer, looking for a latch or something they could pull to open up the back. 

“Boy am I glad to see you guys!” said Stephen.

“Stephen!” Morris shouted. “Where is the handle for this thing?”

“I’m not too sure, but I saw them pull something down when it closed,” said the plump turkey.

“I think I found it!” said Gary. 

The two cats jumped underneath the latch and used their pointy faces to push it upwards. 

“One more!” said Stephen.

The cats moved to the other side of the trailer and repeated their last motion.

Just as the latch got to the top, the entire back of the trailer opened and the ramp slammed to the ground with an earth-shattering bang. The truck then stopped and the driver jumped out to see a sight he could never have predicted when he woke up this morning.

Hundreds of big, round turkeys were pouring out the back of the truck like an airplane dropping leaflets at a football game. Once they hit the ground, they bolted into the nearby forest as quickly as possible.

Gary and Morris hopped down from the truck and did the same, but before they took off, they looked at Stephen, who gave them a wave and a wink. 

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, the cats quickly ran through the trees back to Marjorie who was standing there with her jaw dropped. 

Farmer McGregor was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. 

“Boy the Johnsons are not going to be happy about this,” he said. “That was amazing, you guys.”

The group walked back to McGregor Farms while discussing what they had just seen. Gary and Morris were extremely proud of themselves and snaked in between the legs of the humans.

Once back at McGregor Farms, Mrs. McGregor walked over with a basket of small pumpkins and gourds for Marjorie. 

“Here you are! The reason for the visit!” she said. “Well, and so your cats could save hundreds of turkeys, I suppose.” 

Marjorie chuckled then chatted with her for a bit. Gary and Morris hopped in the car and lay down in the warm back seat just as a truck started to come down the McGregors’ driveway. It was Farmer Johnson! He pulled up and got out of his truck to talk to Farmer McGregor.

“I suppose that would be our queue,” said Marjorie. 

“I suppose so,” said Mrs. McGregor.

Marjorie got into the car, put it in drive, then started to turn around. Gary and Morris could hear Farmer Johnson talking to Farmer McGregor out the window.

“I had 200 turkeys I was supposed to deliver today, and they are nowhere to be found…”

Marjorie looked in her rear-view mirror at Gary and Morris, who were now snoozing away. She smiled at the fact she had two cats who were kind enough to risk one of their nine lives to save some turkeys they had just met. “Life is good,” she thought. 

The Hervey Foundation for Cats is a cat rescue located in Alberta, Canada.