# Barn cats



## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

I am the furthest thing from a cat person to the point that I despise them, BUT I missed getting the first mouse at the barn yesterday before it made it to hiding.

When you go to the humane society what do you look for in a cat to make a good barn cat? Do you even get them from there or what? 

I was going to post in an old thread from back in May of last year about this, but the suggestion box popped up saying I should start a new thread rather than one more than xxx amount of days old.


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## aldebono (Mar 15, 2012)

If you despise cats, I would not suggest you get a barn cat. They deserve the same love and care as a household cat.

Also, our barn cats are not too great at killing the mice, but birds, lizards, grasshoppers, and snakes are a different story.

Instead, set up snap traps and bucket traps.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

When we were looking for barn cats we flat out told the SPCA what we were looking for. They actually were really helpful and showed us some cats that they thought would be good barn cats. We looked for something that was brave and alert and showed interest in playing and exploring. 

The cats they suggested to us actually turned out to be great barn cats. They were catching mice like crazy for the first few weeks and then our mouse problem seemed to have faded away. They were still catching the odd one here and there as they lingered around. Barn cats come in handy and I find a lot of them really just show their faces to eat and they are off doing their thing the rest of the time. They do still like some love though when they come around to eat, also make sure you get a short haired. Long hair cats require a lot of brushing which is not ideal in a barn life.


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Got ours when it was hanging around my husbands work. Seems people do not want to pay to take them to the shelter so drop them off out there. :-(


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## Shoebox (Apr 18, 2012)

If you hate cats, please don't get a barn cat. They need love and attention just like housecats - you can't throw it in a barn and expect it to be happy without ANY friends and ANY human interaction. Every barn me and Clem have been to has barn cats - some have two - and even while everyone loves on them hwen we go out there they're still just starved for all the attention we can give them. If you hate cats and don't plan on giving that to them get traps. (One of the black barn cats, the one in my Avatar, LOVED to come riding with me).

That being said, all the barn cats at the barns we've been to have just showed up and made themselves at home, and the BOs started feeding them and put out beds and cat climby things/toys. I'm sure if you tell the humane society exactly what kind of cat you're looking for they can help you out.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Thanks.. I wouldn't say I'm cruel to them, but to hold one and snuggle it up to my face and such or pet bare handed would send me into a sneezing convulsion. 
I will set up a bucket trap this evening and see how that works out there. I've done few here at work that were successful.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Roadyy said:


> Thanks.. I wouldn't say I'm cruel to them, but to hold one and snuggle it up to my face and such or pet bare handed would send me into a sneezing convulsion.
> I will set up a bucket trap this evening and see how that works out there. I've done few here at work that were successful.


We do the bucket trap and it works like a gem. If you are getting into freezing temps anti freeze works really well. A slap of peanut butter on a bottle and away you go. We do one at our camp and we find catch them like crazy. 

Or do like my fiance does and grab the rifle and go hunting :shock:


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## mistysms (Jul 15, 2012)

We got two kittens 4 years ago that were brothers from the same litter. And they hunt together all day (maybe we were just lucky) Also we have friends who got 3 kittens and tied a toy mouse to the end of a fishing pole and played with them with it for a hour or so a day and now they hunt mice ALL the time!! I think the best and long term thing to do is get a few kittens


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Barn cat?!?! What's a "barn cat?"
I tried it that way, but my DH INSISTS that all 5 of them sleep in the house as night...and sit on our laps in front of the tv...and eat out of the antique high chair...in the living room. =b


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Roadyy. ,my youngest DD is very allergic to the cats, but she still pets them. They understood "love" with being fed and letting them rub on your leg. That's an adequate sufficiency. DO put out cat food for them. They won't make it on mice, alone. I feed mine the cheapest on the market, and they are fat and glossy.


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Shelters will sometimes have feral cats that need a place to stay... and a cat that has grown up feral certainly doesn't need (or want) attention from people. If they have a place to stay and some food, they're usually content to stay out of your way as long as you stay out of theirs.


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## nickers103 (Aug 10, 2010)

We actually put an ad on craiglist for "seeking mousers" when we were looking for some barn cats. There are a lot of farms in our area who have almost too many barn cats and who were more than willing to give some away.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

You want a (spayed) female. Much better mousers than the males.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

I assume DH stands for Darling Husband??
I do have an M4 Assault rifle (airsoft, ofcourse) that holds 300 rounds and sends them down field at about 450 ft per sec...hmmm if it doesn't kill them it dern well may provide some serious entertainment...Unlike when I accidentally on purpose popped my DW(Sp?) with a single full auto burst from about 15 feet away.

I was not the DH for a few days until she got her new Smokey Mountain boots.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

double post,.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

DH means Darling Husband 

My fiance uses our .22 nylon to stalk mice around. We've used the airsoft, it was fun but the .22 is even more entertianing lol. We do this at our camp in no mans land. Thankfully don't have a mouse problem at home. But the bucket trap works great when we're not at the camp. Then its mouse hunting when we're there. They are sassy little brats too. They will come in and sit up in the rafters of our camp(its a true country style hunting camp if ya get what I mean) and they will sit there looking at us. We grab the gun and they're gone lol


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

You don't need to love and snuggle and dote over a barn cat, but its also not take one home and say adios! They will need food. We give dry food, less in the summer and more in the winter. When the barn cat comes around I give her a few strokes, she is content then she walks away. Of course she get regular vet care plus flea and tick stuff. 

Another option is to get a ratting dogs like a jack or another terrier.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

We have two at the barn that showed up from next door (both are TERRIFIED of dogs and they have more nasty, barky dogs over there than I have fingers to count). 

The one loooooooves people. He doesn't care if it's a kid holding him upside down, making him dance, brushing him with a horse brush, dressing him in polo wraps (look Mom, it's a mummy kitty!) or on and on and on... he brings me dead mice when I am feeding, knows I will fill his dish with cat food and love on him for being such a good kitty.

The other kitty is terrified of life itself. We close the barn up at night so I close the door all but a couple inches and walk away, kitty then runs into the barn and I come back and completely close it. I've seen him with multiple dead mice so I am not taking any chances on him getting killed or eaten by something. He eats after the other kitty is done and they both have heated beds (scaredy kitty likes his bed surrounded by full bags of feed).


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

BTW..watch out if you have bunnies that you love. Barn cats eat them, too.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

No Easter bunnies. We,,er my wife had pullets until they got destroyed. Found out a few days later it was the M-I-L's long haired dachshund as one oft he neighbors came over and said they caught him going after theirs.


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