I have really enjoyed this tread, have never laughed so much. Reminds me of that old acres of diamonds story where a landowner sells his farm to finance his global search for diamonds and ends up broke and homeless while the person who bought his farm discovers that it is awash with millions of dollars of crude oil or something of that effect. The moral of the story may be that many of us are sitting on acres of diamonds so to speak but are so motivated for a geographical change or the pursuit of some elusive but unattainable dream that we do not recognize the treasures that are beneath our very feet or underneath our very nose. reminds me also of the french movie Jean De Florrante, (ca'nt remember exactly how to spell it,) where a man inherits a farm in the countryside of France and kills himself trying to make a living off of it while being sabotaged by his father who is trying to steal the farm away from his son in order to give it to his mentally retarded nephew, because neither father nor son know who each other are until after the death of the son at which time the father discovers that he has killed his true son and has thus ruined his acres of diamonds so to speak. The poster sounds like that they could be a front man for a group of Amish people who quietly buy up thousands of acres of prime farmland that is poised to increase even further in value in the near future, but I doubt it, sounds more like someone from Japan or somewhere representing a bunch of businessmen or something, who knows, but very funny tread. thanks, Barry

Well, you'd have to call us more ranchers than farmers these days. But we still have more animals than most people, and yes we have a population of barn cats. I refer to them as wild cats and they are distinct from feral cats, which show up now and then at mating season. The wild cats are born on the place, stay close to buildings and are quite content to have humans near as long as you don't try to touch them. We provide food, shelter, and water. (I'd be happy to provide medical care also if I could find a way to manage it.) Also have created a fenced area away from dogs where they can bring their kittens to play and eat. This happens to be right out our large bedroom window so we enjoy quite a show during the birthing season. To answer your question: yes. We value our barn cats. Like every other thing on the farm/ranch, they serve a purpose and must earn their keep. They are distinct from "pets". Just as the donkey's job is to keep calving cattle safe from coyote attacks while they are down birthing, and the livestock guardian dog's job is to keep predators and vermin away from the homestead as well as the livestock, the cat's job is to keep the place snake and rodent free. They are very good at it. It's a kind of 'circle of life' thing where each species helps with the care of others. The chickens are kept for flea and tick control, cats for mice and snake control, dogs protect the cats and chickens from wildlife that would eat them etc. Chickens also keep the ground scratched up so we can see rattlesnakes if they come on the place. Ground cover around the home can be deadly here on the short grass prairie. It works well if you have the right animals and right breed of dogs, particularly. We do everything we are able to do for our wild cats. And many of them live a good long life. I've been here for 29 years and I can still see replicas of our first cats in their many-times great offspring. We do get the inherent problems of inbreeding now and again (dwarfism) but have had no bad disease run rampant in our cats. But I agree with the person who said you can't determine a mindset by an occupation. It's an inherent thing: you either 'steward' your charges or you exploit them. We see ourselves as stewards... though I fully understand that not everyone would agree with this assessment. I know that a couple hundred years from now those of us who made our livelihood providing meat for consumption will be looked upon as we now look upon slaveholders of old. We will be considered the worst of barbarians. *sigh* j

Thanks again everyone. So here's my update. I had no luck getting In touch with the agent we had used originally, and wasn't willing to drag my two kids along to go to the office. So I passes the issue off to dh who walked into the office without an appointment and asked to speak to someone. ( he makes a good squeaky wheel lol). The agent I had been dealing with was not available so he got someone else. She gave him the same song and dance about "a cabinet is a cabinet, a door is a door" etc. except having looked closely at our policy we knew we were covered for the option of "similar construction" for replacement cost, not standard construction. (It's extra). So, he pulled out receipts and photos etc. finally she agreed to open up the software they use, and spent 20 minutes with him going over the details of the house and the material used. That brought the replacement value up $60,000 (as opposed to the original $17,000). Quite a difference. We will be photographing and storing receipts just in case. So, the moral of the story, your agent should be thou rough, not lazy. Know your policy. And make noise if needed. Thanks again for all the advice!

Breenthumb - we used to get those calls too. You are right, they never even tried to tell us they could beat the cost for coverage. My only isse with them is that they wouldn't sell coverage for our DS and DILs house. They bought it in 05, the year after the 4 hurricanes came through central Florida within a month or so of each other. With so many retired military in this area, they stopped new policies on homeowners. We were shocked to hear this but so many insurance companies did the same thing. Anyone who is former military or a dependent of a military can get coverage. Not sure how it works if parent did not have their insurance but its worth checking. Customer service is exemplary!