Barn Cats

[scootr]

Took delivery of 2 more barn cats. These are basically free feral cats collected by the Humane Society. They neuter, vaccinate, and chip the cats and place them on farms or ranches. For that they request a donation of your choice.
I've been keeping barn cats on the ranch for 5 yrs. There is a high attrition rate as expected. But the cats get their best chance of survival. We provide food, water, and shelter. They provide rodent elimination. Prior to the cats being around I was fighting serious rodent damage to cars and equipment. That has completely stopped at the cost of some dry food and occasional wormer meds. Plus there is no more poison on the ranch. Neighbors wife lost her dog after it found the mouse bait. We have 5 dogs so the cats hide high and dry during the day and hunt by night.

 

[ponytug]

We do the same. We have had pretty good luck as our first pair lasted 13+ years. Now on our third pair, counting two feral monsters that lasted a month. The first feral cat ran away a week after they came out of their accommodations for acclimatization, and then came back a month later and took his buddy with him. The third pair seems to have figured out the ropes, and we hope that they too have nice long lives.

Without cats, for us, it is a running series of skirmishes with rodents. Our first pair were great hunters and pretty regularly took out ground squirrels and one adored hunting, and playing with rattlesnakes, especially the little 12-18" ones with the potent venom. I think it did get bitten at least once as it developed a limp of unknown origin for a while in one forepaw. Its companion got a couple of talon scrapes alongs its skull that put it on bed rest in the barn for about a month, mainly from, I think, a concussion as the wounds healed pretty quickly. Then again, that one liked to sit out in open meadows, where I think it was hunting ground squirrels.

With all of the diseases that the local rodents carry, I am happier not having them around us, or the buildings, or vehicles. My experience is that rodent damage to vehicles happens so quickly and is often so darn expensive to fix.

All the best,

Peter

 

[mike69440]

We do the same. We have had pretty good luck as our first pair lasted 13+ years. Now on our third pair, counting two feral monsters that lasted a month. The first feral cat ran away a week after they came out of their accommodations for acclimatization, and then came back a month later and took his buddy with him. The third pair seems to have figured out the ropes, and we hope that they too have nice long lives.

Without cats, for us, it is a running series of skirmishes with rodents. Our first pair were great hunters and pretty regularly took out ground squirrels and one adored hunting, and playing with rattlesnakes, especially the little 12-18" ones with the potent venom. I think it did get bitten at least once as it developed a limp of unknown origin for a while in one forepaw. Its companion got a couple of talon scrapes alongs its skull that put it on bed rest in the barn for about a month, mainly from, I think, a concussion as the wounds healed pretty quickly. Then again, that one liked to sit out in open meadows, where I think it was hunting ground squirrels.

With all of the diseases that the local rodents carry, I am happier not having them around us, or the buildings, or vehicles. My experience is that rodent damage to vehicles happens so quickly and is often so darn expensive to fix.

All the best,

Peter

Funny how they start to get along. Some stay feral, others warm up humans they recognize.

 

[ponytug]

Funny how they start to get along. Some stay feral, others warm up humans they recognize.

Isn't that the truth!

Our current ones came with mom and a daughter and son, all neutered. The kittens were 100% feral, and the mom was friendly enough to have had some human contact at some point, but pretty feral herself. The daughter was super friendly and playful, the mom a bit standoffish, and the son was a hissing monster. After about four months after got them, the daughter disappeared and we feared the worst, but about six months later, I saw her happily prowling around about five miles down the road. I suspect that her sibling ran her off, but I was thrilled to see her alive and thriving.

Just yesterday, the hissing monster rolled over and wanted his belly rubbed. . It's nice to see them warm up.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Topzide]

Barn cats are a great addition to any farm, ranch, or other spaces needing rodent control! I adopted a feral many years back. He became a great house cat! He slid through the screen one time and stood against the house, trying to figure out how to get back in! Guess he figured that he had everything he needed inside. He made 16 yrs as a spoiled pet. Picture of him in the cats thread. Mittens was his name.

 

[masseyrider]

My mother was the critter whisper.
Animals liked her.
Before she passed there were a few ferals living in the barn.
When she went out to feed them each evening they would show up out of where ever they were hiding out.
She even got to pet a couple of them.
There was one male who was super cautious and skiddish. If he heard her voice he'd look down from the barn loft and have to be super sure no one else was around before coming down.
When Ma became too ill to feed them I would take the food out.
I was super careful not to spook anyone but you'd hardly know there were any cats except their food was gone by the morning.
I sold that property 3 years after my parents passed and even in that time they never warmed up to me.
Mr. Cautious would look down from his perch but that was it.
No mice though, I give them that.

 

[scootr]

I got a Siamese cat for 5 yrs now who will not approach me. Steals her food regularly though...

 

[2515R Dude]

Interesting, I can't find any barn cats locally. We have locally two Humane Society but they don't offer any. Only house cats. They are pretty expensive and my concern they would not fare well in my barns. I'm in west ky.

 

[bc1]

We currently have 8 cats that have showed up at the farm. Many more have lived and died over the years and have a spot in the farm pet cemetery. 6 came in the last 3 years and 4 of them last year. Spay, neuter, and annual shots and vet bills for various ailments adds up over the years but we do it. Once winter hits then they become house cats.

 

[Alan W.]

Interesting, I can't find any barn cats locally. We have locally two Humane Society but they don't offer any. Only house cats. They are pretty expensive and my concern they would not fare well in my barns. I'm in west ky.

If you were a bit further east in the state I know a lady who could fix you up. She does rescues.
She has helped me and others. Usually no charge for a vaccinated and fixed cat.

 

[grsthegreat]

This is my so called barn cat. She insists on being out in barn all day, but has finally agreed to come indoors at night. Gets along with house cat and my dog. Had her chipped and spayed. Have chip operated cat door in tackroom to allow her to have some safety if she stays out all night.

No mice or other rodents in barn.

Follows me and dog everywheres i go during the day. If i open my shop….zoom, she in the shop. I have to leave door open until she decides to leave. She is on the hunt for mice. Looks everywheres in any shop she enters.

 

[Jstpssng]

Neighbors wife lost her dog after it found the mouse bait

I once killed a feral cat after it ate mice who ate the mouse bait. I haven't used it since.

 

[Hay Dude]

We had a feral cat named “GC” (stood for “Garage Cat”) she was feral, but would sit with me and let me pet her-sometimes. She would bring me a dead mouse with it’s head ripped off every day after work
If she got into our house, she would try to kill our 2 female house cats, so GC always lived in the barn or garage.
When we moved, we had to find a new home for GC, so a lonely old guy down the road took her in. He stayed in touch with us and shared pics with us. She has been “broken” by him and is now a house cat.

 

[BackRoad]

65 years with no cats...and now owned by 2 ferals! Both "Vetted", fixed and clean...

The left was a domesticated who was dropped off likely due to age. Maybe 12 years old and living her best life now (and not sure she could even catch a mouse)!

The right we saw born, and at 6 months old he made it a mission to move in. He would climb up on the kitchen window sill and greet me when I made morning coffee...who could say "No" to that?

Brings mice home as a gift pretty regular, so earning his keep.

They are "were cats" since they come when called and both act more dog than cat!

 

[EddieWalker]

There is a gas station about a mile from my place that I think people dump their cats at. I've seen cats hanging out in the parking lot there, and I think that sometimes they wonder off into the woods and see the light on at my house. They just show up, so that's my theory.

For the longest time it was just one or two that hung around here. I left food out for them, but didn't pay them very much attention. They lasted a few years they disappeared.

About 5 years ago a calico showed up that that had kittens. She raised them and once they got big, some solid white ones showed up and then we had more kittens.

The timing of this was kind of interesting. We have about 200 chickens, 40 or so guineas, 4 turkeys and there could be anywhere from 50 to 200 ducks in our pond. I leave food out for them in the chicken yard 24/7 and the mouse population had become overwhelming. We tried every trap out there and couldn't keep up. One day my wife put a hose in a mouse hole in the floor of the coop and over 80 mice came out, one at a time. The chickens ate every mouse!!! But most of the time, the mice are out at night when the chickens are asleep. This led to a horrific snake problem with over 40 snakes being killed in just one year!!!

After that calico had her babies, and they grew up, the mouse population vanished!!! In the last five years, I haven't seen a single mouse. Last year I killed 3 snakes all year that were in the coop eating eggs.

I don't like cats. They make the worse messes with their pooping everywhere and throwing up on everything. I have to cover the seats of everything we have. They are worse than chickens at pushing stuff off of shelves. Except for killing mice, I don't know anything good about them. But since that's such an important job, I buy dry cat food for them every week, and deal with them.

 

[BackRoad]

Nothing more cute than a little calico kitten!...

('cept maybe a long eared Beagle pup!)

 

[HawkinsHollow]

But what about the songbirds?

I am only partially kidding. This is a huge discussion point on my neighborhood FB group about outdoor cats, about how they decimate the populations of songbirds. I get both sides of the argument. I hate to see any animal population negatively impacted due to human actions. But I get the need for rodent control. Do you outdoor barn cat people see a lot of songbird attrition due to your little killing machines? I was never raised a cat person but I would probably have an outdoor cat if my wife wasn't highly allergic to them. She refuses to allow it, it is just a war I am not willing to wage.

 

[EddieWalker]

We have a bunch of feeders for the birds in our back yard, by our porch. My wife is kind of obsessed with them. With the increase in cats, it seems that we've had more birds at our feeders over the years. I don't think one is related to the other, but the increase in birds is because she keeps adding feeders for them.

The backyard is fenced in for our dogs. We have 7 Akita's right now. Any cat that goes into the dog yard usually doesn't do it twice. We have seen them up a tree, and when we lock the dogs in the house, the cat will eventually come down the tree and leave their yard. If a cat is really stupid, and goes in the yard again, it never turns out well for the cat.

The cats ignore the chickens, and even the baby chicks when a momma hen hatches them. I have seen a few squirrels that were eaten by my cats. Usually all that's left is the skin and bones. It's very rare to find feathers from a song bird, but it's happened a few times in the last five years.

 

[2manyrocks]

With that many snakes, they'd be going after the bird eggs, too.

 

[scootr]

Same here, no noticeable impact on the bird population... our cats are free. They do ask for a donation and I have given twice totalling $150 in 5 yrs. Much less than the cost of spaying them so I don't end up with 10 or 20 of them. 2 or 3 seem to do the job and the cost is pennies a day in food and wormers. I try not to feed them too much so the incentive to hunt is high, not that I keep them hungry. But I have overfed and they become fat and less active. The cats I get are truly feral. There is no petting these hissing spitting monsters. I did have one that came when called to feed and sniffed my hand but when I touched her she exploded okay I said were good...no more of that.
I tried a house cat but had to rehome her as we had 6 dogs in the house...