The story of tomato and radish

How Two Tiny Kittens Started the Mingle Hill Cat Story

One warm fall evening, while I was out photographing inkcap mushrooms, I heard one of our dogs barking like crazy. I glanced over toward the garage sliding doors and spotted a tiny kitten trying to wedge itself between them, desperate to hide. (see below photo - there is currently Tomato there hiding)
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With Olivia's help, we managed to gently coax the little one out to safety. Just as we were catching our breath, Randy came down from the field in the golf cart and said, "Oh look! Another one!" — right as a small black kitten darted in front of him and disappeared under the BnB deck.

Inkcap Mushrooms with a Tomato the kitten trying to hide in the glass doors.

Knowing how tricky that deck can be to get under, I didn’t hesitate. In my once-white shirt, I army-crawled underneath, determined to rescue the sweet kitten before the dogs could get too curious.
As we were setting up a dog crate to safely contain them while we figured out our next steps, the black kitten bit Olivia in her excitement (or terror). Olivia instinctively let go, and the little escape artist zipped under another deck. After nearly an hour of coaxing and crawling, I finally caught her again.

Radish (left) and Tomato (right) snuggling after getting fixed.

We set up a large dog crate in the farm store with cozy blankets and pillows, giving the kittens some space to decompress. They were not thrilled about their first encounter with humans, but after some time, they curled up and slept harder and longer than I think they ever had in their short lives.
While we were getting them settled, I said to Randy, "We won't have a hard time finding them homes." Randy looked at me and said, "What if we keep them?" I blinked and asked, "Who are YOU?!"

Tomato (left) and Radish (right) in the dog crate on their first night.

Olivia, ever the creative one, suggested we name them Tomato and Tomahto — which we initially did. But it quickly got too confusing trying to remember who was who. Thankfully, Tia, one of our team members at the time, stepped in and renamed the little black one Radish.
And that’s how the cat distribution system began at Mingle Hill Farm. Since then, five cats have been successfully adopted into loving homes, and five others are living their best lives right here on the farm. Somehow, though, we have a feeling this is only the beginning of the Mingle Cat stories.