# Barn Cats from the pound?



## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

We are having the typical spring mouse invasion at our barn. I think I am going to head to our local kill shelter tomorrow to pick out our first barn cat. I want to give a cat a good home that needs one! Has anyone ever done this before? I am mainly worried about it leaving... I am sure that I will get super attached to it, like I do with all of my animals. I spoke to a lady from the shelter who suggested that we get a semi-feral cat. She said they would adapt well to barn kitty life, and that they also don't get adopted as often. She thought that after a week of living in our tack/feed room, that it would take our place as its new home.

Has anyone else ever adopted a barn cat?


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Take a look at this site Barncats --- they are similar to the programs springing up around the country and all share the same basic approach.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Well, we got 2 barn cats about a year ago. We didn't adopt them from a shelter, we just brought them home from a lady who was giving away kittens.

Personally, I don't like having feral barn cats. IME, they are harder to keep around than tame ones are; plus, if you need to catch them for whatever reason (they are sick or hurt), you risk getting yourself really hurt with a feral cat.

If you do go feral, get a young kitten as they tame down a lot quicker than a grown cat does.

Once you get it home, lock it in a secure room for a few days, give it a consistent place where it can find food/water, and socialize it well. Make sure that there are no threats that would cause it to want to run away after you open the door to the room it's in. I had to make sure that none of my dogs got loose when my kittens first started to roam around freely. After they got a bit older and decided that the barn was "home" they'll fight off any loose dogs that bother them.

As I said, we've got 2 and since they grew old enough to hunt, I've only seen 1 mouse in the barn, they've cleared all the gophers out of my Dad's front yard, and I've not had a single problem with swallows trying to nest in the barn rafters either.

I'll never be without at least 1 barn cat ever again.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

@themacpack I looked at that website earlier.  I wish that they had such a good program closer to where we are. I kept hoping that random stray cats would just show up and call our place home, but we haven't been that lucky! It seems like every other barn has too many cats... and instead we have no cats and too many mice.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

@smrobs... good point about the feral cats! I didn't think about transporting them to the vet and such... Maybe we can find a snuggle bunny cat that is also a good mouser??


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

If you confine cats to the tack room, be sure to remove the saddles. Cats love to scratch leather. My cat was never allowed in the tack room. Traps were my preference as they don't scratch and don't pee.


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## yadlim (Feb 2, 2012)

A friend of mine and I rented this old woman's back yard for the horses one year. There was on old dairy barn on the ten acres that we took days cleaning out so the horses would have shelter. The problem was mice. I have never seen so many mice in my life. You could watch ten of fifteen of them running across the beams while you were in the barn feeding the horses. It was GROSS.

Honestly, my daughter and I would 'trap' some by putting a handful of grain in a trash can and leaving it under a beam over night. By mornign there woudl be between four and 20 mice in the can....

I tried the pound, but because I didn't live there, they were not interested in adopting to us. What I found was a very nice lady who had watched a feral cat have kittens in the brush under in window at work. When the kittens were about five months old, she trapped them, had them vetted, neutered/spayed and gotten them shots of worming. At that point, she looked for a home for these 100% feral four cats. 

It was a perfect situation. We kept them in a large dog crate for two weeks, with lots of dry cat food. Then we opened the crate, keeping the cat food dish full, and offered canned every few days. 

After a month, they stopped eatign the dry cat food and we removed the dog crate. 

We woudl see glimpses of them every once in a while, but the best part was that the mouse population plumited over the next year! There was no more listening to them running across the roof and I never saw one again (well, at least not after the cats had been loose for a coupel weeks.) When I woudl get a glimpse of the cats, they were FAT and SASSY!!!

I did feel bad about leavign them when we left, but they had more than enough wild food to catcha and were doing great.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

@Saddlebag, I have also though about that. We have several trunks that we can place our expensive tack in, and maybe we can just move the rest of it.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

We found several holes next to our hay pile, which we covered up with scrap rubber mats. Then there are the ones in our tack/feed room... Ugh. Those are the ones that are apparently wall climbers!!! It is grrroooosss.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

We have 6 barn cats. They are all tame enough to catch. Even the fat, lazy one loves to catch mice. Since we started keeping cats, we don't have a rat problem at all.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

We adopted one this afternoon! His name is Willy, but I think that we are going to change it to Milo. He is 1-2 years old, white with orange tabby patches, and super cute. The lady we have been talking to at the pound thinks that he will be a good barn cat. He is really sweet, loves attention, but he also seems pretty feisty. When we last checked on him, he was laying on our feed bins. I guess he fits in, right?  Maybe I can post a picture later.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

That's great news!! Congrats on your new addition .


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Pictures are a must


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Here are some pics of Milo! The one in the cage was taken while we were filling out his paperwork. It took ages! The others are him in the tack room.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

He looks like a very nice cat.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I would add a bell to that collar so the mice have a sporting chance.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Cute cat! We have a barn cat that adopted US, I thought he was a she since there was nothing manly to see. Took him to the vet for shots and found out Kitty is a he. He's still Kitty - his manly name Gato didn't stick. Anyway, we do not see mice in our barn. Very good Kitty. 

Wednesday morning I went to do chores and always throw a handful of catfood in the bowl that we keep up on the seat of my horsedrawn cart (too high for the dogs to knock off and eat it or bother Kitty while he's eating). Kitty had killed a mouse and put it in his bowl! What a crazy thing to do! (I left it there...as I was in a hurry) Told my husband about it, and he said that when Kitty is begging for food and has already been fed, Hubby tells him that he'll give him more food when he sees a mouse in that bowl. Well, Kitty got another handful that night when Hubby did chores!


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

@Waresbear... It has one!!


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Awww... Sounds like you have a good kitty, Ladytrails!!Hopefully Milo will like the life of a mouser!! If not, he will probably end up in the bed with me.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

RoosHuman said:


> @Waresbear... It has one!!


 
:lol:You do know the purpose of the bell, right? It's to warn the birds & MICE and thwart the cat's attack. In order for that kitty to become a machine of death, he needs to be bell-less, sorry:-(.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

A multipurpose cat is the best kind!  Unfortunately, my son and I are allergic so Kitty never gets to come into the house. He does get lovin' when hubby is sitting out on the barn patio, and he gets to come into the garage when it's really cold or too hot - we build him a 'nest'. We have no idea how old he is; he's got to be at least 7-8, and we are really lucky that he found us!


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Is the bell a big issue? We just liked the color and got it so he could wear his tags.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

RoosHuman said:


> Is the bell a big issue? We just liked the color and got it so he could wear his tags.


If he's in the house, keep the collar. If he's outside, where he can climb, I would take the collar off so that he doesn't get it caught on something that he's climbing on, or under. Also, if you want him to actually kill mice, the bell is going to make it hard for him to sneak up on them! 

I don't have a collar on Kitty because he is always climbing over and under things and I'm horrified at the idea that he could slip and hang himself. Twice he's damaged a claw; we think he's walking on the top of the horse stall sliding doors and catching a claw when he jumps down. 

The down side of not having a collar is that he won't have his tags for ID if he runs off...

So, there's no perfect answer; you just have to decide what is the lesser of the 2 evils.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Hmmmmm... Maybe I can take the bell off. It is a breakaway collar, so it should unlatch if he gets it caught on something. I really want him to have his tags, in case he wanders. He is microchipped... but still! Anyways, he is my first "mouser." I am learning.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

RoosHuman said:


> Hmmmmm... Maybe I can take the bell off. It is a breakaway collar, so it should unlatch if he gets it caught on something. I really want him to have his tags, in case he wanders. He is microchipped... but still! Anyways, he is my first "mouser." I am learning.


I am learning, too - didn't know they made breakaway collars! That's a great idea and much safer for outdoor kitties! Where did you find it?


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Petsmart!! 

Petsmart.com

They have some cute ones.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Love PetSmart! Thanks!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Yes, remove the bell! Didn't you see the cartoon where the mouse puts the bell on the cat so they can hear him coming?


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Microchipping is the way to go. There is a data bank that allows any pound that finds your cat to know who he belongs to so that you can come get him. There is no danger of it causing any problems for the cat. 

I had a cat that got into trouble with a collar. She was apparently scratching her neck and she got her back leg stuck in the collar. By the time we found her, she had raw places on her leg from it. She hid for a full day before we were able to find her and help her. I took off that collar and haven't put one on a cat since.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Good news!!!! My fiancé just came up from feeding, and said that Milo had left us a mousey present! Lol, he is off to a good start. Now I bet that the mice are on to him.


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## yadlim (Feb 2, 2012)

Where we are now we get rats. Not just rats but GIANT HUGE MONSTROUS NOT AFRAID OF HUMANS RATS. We had an guy come out to rid us of the problem, but were told that because of the brush brambles in the 20 acres behind us, they will never go all the way away. 

As my hubby is desperatly allergic to cats, I had resorted to poison. When I would start seeing them, I woudl toss lots of poison anywhere they dogs coudln't reach. 

Then, about a year ago, some road construction displaced some feral cats - right into my yard!!!! There are two of them, a gray and white one and an orange one. I have never gotten within 25 feet of either of them, but they stick around and take care of my rat problem. 

Because of the rats and the racoons, there is no where I can leave them food, or I would. They are slowly teaching my dogs that they don't liek to be chased. 

Althogh I don't have the horses at home, I do have goats, so I have feed - I leave the feed door open so the cats can stalk anywhere they want! I love my feral cats!!!!


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Yikes!! If we had rats like that I would be terrified! Glad you found some good kitties. We live near a wooded area too, with lots of farmland, so field mice are always going to around us too.


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## yadlim (Feb 2, 2012)

Yeah, the first time I was sitting in the living room and watched one trot across the bench outside the window, stop and look at me, and then walk off I about died! Until that time, I had been strictly a no poision every type person... and then one chased me out of the feed room because he wasn't done with his breakfast yet....:shock:

I used three POUNDS of rat poision over the next six months. Every few months I would get glimpses of them, and then came those two cats... I love those cats!!!!


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## WesternBella (Jan 7, 2012)

Where I live, the biggest shelter here has a program where they give cats that can't be adopted away for free to barns 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## KarrotKreek (Mar 31, 2012)

I adopted 4 cats from the local shelter for barn cats. I went through and picked ones that had been there for some time and didn't look like they had much chance at adoption. The shelter discounted the adoption fee and had all of them spayed/neutered/shots. Honestly it was far cheaper than taking a "free" kitten to the vet for the same care, and I was able to spring a few from the shelter before they were euthanized. These cats have turned out to be the friendliest barn cats ever... and they are enjoying their freedom while keeping the pest population down.


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## LoveHipHop (Mar 27, 2012)

What a nice thing to do, and a good idea too! Good luck with your new cat!


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

Roo -he looks like a very nice cat. Congrats.


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks!! He is a sweetie. I think he is happy in his new home.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Roo, I doubt that the mice are on to Milo. Mice are not that smart. Put it this way - for the one that is wise it's too late.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Aw, Milo looks like such a darling . I would get some wire snips and just snip that little bell right off his collar. Glad to hear that he's off to a good start.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I didn't read all these in depth.
The closest pound to us is too far away, our vet won't give us a barn cat! IF they are spayed and declawed they only give to inside homes! But my barns are HUGE enclosed predator/dog free!! Congrats!

Make sure you don't feed him too much or else he'll get lazy. But if he likes you he'll bring you presents, mine used to bring me rabbit butts! 
I put the new/old kittens litterbox right outside a hole in the barn door. We had an old cat that used to potty IN the barn, YUCK! So the new ones learned to go outside and we never had a problem.

Milo is a doll!!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

A declawed cat would probably not make the best rat killer.
I would think that there are plenty of free cats out there.
People are always giving them away in the Walmart parking lot around here.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I agree, but our barns are fully enclosed and we had a house cat (from hub's previous marriage) that went psycho on my daughter and had to be put out.
She was fully declawed, and she cleaned out the barns!! The first week was mass slaughter and I counted over 12 one day! LOL! She was 11 when we put her out there and died at the age of 15 from cancer. 

The kittens we got were found near my grandparents woods, we kept them in the old dog kennels for a couple weeks to tame them and then let them loose. Poor things had terrible infections that even the vet couldn't cure so we had them PTS. So I'm waiting a few years and have BLEACHED barns making sure they didn't leave anything behind. It was sooooo sad.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Kitties can be serious virus factories. You should be fine after a few months to replace them. Poor kitties and poor you. It is so sad to have sick pets.


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