# Thoughts on barn cats?



## CAP (Jun 18, 2014)

My barn is being over ran with mice now that winter is fast approaching so my husband and I are debating getting a couple cats to help control the mice population in the barn as they are starting to attack my feed bins and tack. 

The barn in isolated, and the tack room is heated so they wont get cold, but my husband is worried about them taking off, or them not really doing their job. So I thought I'd ask for opinion from people who may have experience with this?

The barn I worked at had some and they worked great for bombproofing tools, but they have a lot of people in and out to interact with so I didn't know if it helps keeping them around.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

If they come with a place I make sure they continue to have food and water. I don't replace them when they leave, and sometimes they do. Of course, coyotes are hard on them, too.

I prefer to remove any reason for mice to be around. Metal bins for feed. Hang saddle pads on dowel rods suspended from rafters by smooth wire. Hang saddles either by the gullet and horn or for English on racks you can suspend. Hay is not kept in the barn. Neither is straw or other bedding. Grass and weeds mowed to the ground for several feet around the walls of the barn or stable. No leaking places for water to puddle.


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## Emoore (Sep 14, 2015)

My father found a local organization that traps, neuters, and re-homes feral cats. These are cats that were never pets and are used to hunting and scrounging for their food. Unlike a lot of cat rescue places, the feral cat rescue doesn't require that you keep them as house cats; they understand that these cats are and will continue to be wild, and they re-home them in exchange for a donation to their organization. My father adopted 2, brought them to the barn, and left out water and enough food to convince them this was a good place. He still puts out a little food occasionally but for the most part the cats earn their keep by hunting mice. We very very rarely even see them but the mouse problem is greatly reduced. Might want to look and see if there's a similar organization in your area.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Love my barn kikis. I have 3 full timers and 1 part time who is truly feral but actually came from the same litter as the other 3. They are all neutered males, so no breeding. I leave out water and a little dry kibble for them and in return I have very few meeces.


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## Tihannah (Apr 7, 2015)

My barn also has a few, but only one of them is friendly. I only see them come out in the evenings, but they live around the feed barn and keep the mice at bay. Not sure if the BO feeds them or not, but I would imagine its why they stick around.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

They can definitely make an impact on rodent populations, but you have to do your part and remove the feed, water, and harborage for the rodents as well. You want to get some that are feral, not just pets people are bored of though, since you've got better odds on getting cats that are actually hunters that way. Usually they'll hang around if you shut them in a closed area for a few days with some food when they first arrive and then keep food out for them for a few weeks after. They might still disappear or be taken by coyotes, but most feral-cat rescue organizations will be happy to give you more (already fixed and vaccinated) since they understand the gig. And that's only if new cats don't magically start appearing (which seems more often the case for the barns I know).


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## CAP (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks everyone. 
I don't think we have any kind of organization around here like that, we have an SPCA but cats that are feral I think are found as unsuitable for adoption and put down, due to being hard to place. 
My neighbour however is trying to sell some, wanting $20 each just so she can get the money to spay the mother so she doesn't get anymore litters, so we're thinking about getting a couple from her. 
My husband wanted two males but they only had one, but we'll be fixing them both.

I have done everything I can think of to try an eliminate mice, I still don't understand how they get in some of the places that they do, and now they are pulling out the insolation out of walls to make nests. 
All my grains are in bins, they aren't tin as the only tin ones I could find were to big and took up way to much room for the amount of bins I need so I had to go with plastic so that's about the only thing that could use some more thought to try and keep mice out but they haven't been an issue until recently but I notice the mice have chewed a hole in the one bin. My saddles sit on saddle racks mounted to the wall, not close to the ground and nothing close to them except the wall and mice keep getting on them, I don't know how do they climb walls?

We will defiantly been giving them food to ensure they are getting enough and they'll always have access to water.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Females make better mousers even when they're fixed. I provide my barn cats with water and dry food and they supply themselves with fresh meat. If you get them as kittens then they're not as likely to take off. My neutered males do nothing but laze around and then take away the kills that the girls make.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

Cats will make a difference we usually start with kittens ( always free kittens available) as we never had place that had the feral cat adoption . Our local SPCA now has a barn buddies program that adopts out the cats that are less adoptable cats that have some issues that makes them less adoptable those cats come spayed/ neutered . With the kittens we usually lock in barn with there food & water for few days till that get use to place. After that they are usually good to go:wink: they are at risk of predators. My rule of thumb was usually if they could survive year then they would do ok& then I'd get them " fixed" have had great luck with our cats they live in barn & rarely see mice in there! They are pretty tame & we do have lots of places to sleep & they have free access to cat food


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## 3rdTimestheCharm (Jan 18, 2015)

The barn I board at has 3 barn cats. 2 of the cats are fixed females and 1 is an unfixed male (He doesn't know it though lol. He never leaves the barn), and they do a pretty good job with the mice! I don't remember the last time I saw a mouse on the property.

The BO does feed them a little in the morning,and keep water in tge barn for them, so they don't run off.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

I have 2 barn cats that I took from our old house when we moved, plus one super feral cat that was already there. Both of ours are fixed. One is a male, the other a female. Our female is one heck of a mouser! The male...he's good with birds. We feed them and give them fresh water. In my experience, in-tact males tend to roam. Almost every morning there are dead mice and birds lined up by the door of the barn with the cats sitting proudly next to them, and if I they don't each get a head pat they follow me around with one in their mouth, dropping it at my feet until I acknowledge them.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

There is feral cat place around here. I don't recall how I discovered them though. Possibly referred by the regular cat rescue.

They (she) told me they usually capture, vaccinate, health check, neuter, and release to the same place as captured to remain feral but not pro-create.

She was very hesitant to adopt out, said they usually run away asap. But under right circumstances she would consider it. A barn cat was the right circumstances. The cat would have to be caged and fed in the barn for 3 days, she would loan a cage.

However; when I told her about the cat-killing dog on the property she changed her mind and rejected me. I had to rely on strays.

The dog killed everything smaller than himself. Dogs, cats, skunks, you name it.  He would bring in the horses though, and was devoted to the BO, and visa-versa.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

No barn cats for me.
I tried that years ago but I may to too much of a softie. All mine were fixed, friendly & vaccinated. I always worried about them & found it upsetting to find them on the road dead or dragging hind legs from some injury or missing, never to know what happened.

I've been to barns with wild cats & while they may do a good mousing job they also tend to look sickly with goopy eyes, sneezing etc. The barn owners can't catch them to treat or simply don't care. Not something I want to see.

I was at a barn to see a horse. They had lots of cats. I didn't take the horse but I did steal a sickly skinny kitten with crusty eyes, respiratory infection & ear mites. It didn't have long to live where it was & no one cared about it, so yes, I took it. It was the wrong thing to do but it was also the right thing to do. That cat lived a long healthy life on my Mom's couch.

I use traps when I see evidence of mice.


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## weeedlady (Jul 19, 2014)

There are 3 cats that live at the barn where I board. Do they catch any mice? I doubt it. They are fed numerous times each day by all the various boarders (the same people who give too many treats to their horses). They are fat and content. They think the indoor arena is a giant litter box, and they will urinate in your tack box if you leave it open.
I am a cat lover, but these guys are not doing their job. 
A good mouser is a whole different story, and would be an asset to any barn, I think.
M


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

I love barn cats! Every barn where I've boarded has had them, and when properly managed they do make a dent in rodent populations. Of course, doing your best to make the place unattractive for rodents (properly sealing feed containers, etc) will help more. 

The best mouser I've ever seen was actually a kitten I got from animal control that lived at my parents' house. They didn't have a barn, but they have several acres of land that their house sits on. He was the scrawniest little kitten when we got him, but he turned into an enormous cat and a wonderful hunter. I can only imagine how big he'd have gotten if he wasn't neutered so early. Just his presence kept small creatures out of the fenced off portion of their yard, and he'd bring all sorts of creatures home for them. Of course, he'd stand there and yowl like he was in excruciating pain until you acknowledged them... His prey ranged everything from tiny mice and shrews to full sized swamp rabbits not much smaller than him. 

The problem seems to be that it's kind of hit and miss as to whether or not an individual cat will be an effective mouser. Our boy certainly was, but my friend has barn cats that aren't worth anything at mousing. The two options I would suggest are getting a young kitten to grow up in the barn and teach itself to hunt, or get a feral cat. If you ask around virtually every area has someone that can hook you up with a feral cat. Sometimes it involves getting involved with the rescue people directly and having them hook you up with the shelters if they don't generally put ferals up for adoption. When you do get the cat either set them up in an enclosed room where you are going to feed them (tack room or feed rooms are usually good places) and keep it/them there with food/water/litter box for a period of time to establish them in their new environment. If you can't keep them locked up in the room then get a big dog crate and set them up in there for that time period. This way they're enclosed and protected, and it'll make them less likely to run away when you do release them. My friend has done this with all of her barn cats and they've stuck around. 

Feed the cats to keep them around, but don't overfeed them. You want to keep them hungry enough to hunt on their own, but not too skinny so that they're unhealthy or that they find another place with food. Don't use any rat poisons, and make sure barns right next to the property don't either. Rat poison is a horrible way to go. And, of course, make sure they're neutered/spayed and vaccinated before you release them!


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## dawnandduke2002 (Sep 28, 2015)

*Barn Cats*

Well, first I would go around and tell your neighbors within a mile or so NOT to feed them, unless told they can. Sounds a bit harsh, but you'll feed them, I'm guessing? So, we kept our barn cats in our garage and let them out and fed them in the barn in the EXACT same place for about four days and once they established that was where they were fed we let them go. But first we let the food bowl stay in the barn 24/7 with food there in the mornings or whenever you feed them. Now, after they grow up or after about a month feed them a little less, but not too much! You have to make sure to always interact with them, too, I find the best time is while they're eating. This is where I made a mistake, I just let them go and didn't interact, most of them are scared of humans, so that's why you need to play with them.


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