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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
   
Location: Kansas | Tomcats are good barn cats. Just make sure they're neutered. I have two and they're great. I've had three barn cats, two male and one female, for at least eight years. Take good care of them and they'll do their job and be good buddies.
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
 
Location: Gainesville, TX | We looked on Craigslist. They were giving away a female and a male, both fixed, both about a year old (same litter). They were already inside/outside cats, litterbox trained and proven mousers. Picked up, brought them home, kept inside a couple days, and then started letting them outside. They stay in the area and, being older, they fend for themselves quite well. Our landlord is happy with the arrangement because he has no mice. We had mice in the house when we got the cats and now have no problems. We let them in the house a couple hours in the morning and evening and then they stay outside the rest of the time. We don't even keep a litterbox any more. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I have 5 barn cats. 3 came from a vet clinic and 2 from the SPCA. All came with vacs and neutering. You used to have to fill out an application to adopt and I would fill it out with what they wanted to hear :). Now you just ante up the fee and the animal is yours- no questions asked. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | geez we always get dumped cats or kittens. most of the ones we have gotten have been 4-6 weeks old dumped. occasionally one a bit older. And then we have "Mystery" the adult spayed female who just decided our barn was her new house. we have a bunch of barn cats from over the years. NONE OF THEM EVER LEAVE. we have lost ONE cat out here so far. we have 14 between the house and the barn. |
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| Spay or neuter them, the ones that aren't will run off..all of ours that our spayed or neutered have stuck around for years. |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16572
Location: Displaced Iowegian | ridejg - 2014-02-26 10:43 AM CYA Ranch - 2014-02-26 9:47 AM The humane Society around here won't adopt out unless you sign your life away and promise only indoor living. Usually you can find kittens on Craigslist or the local newspaper. We used to have tons of cats. Mama's are the best, Toms are a POS. We lost 2 of our old mama's to old age so now having a heck of a time getting cats to stay around. Someone mentioned we need to get a pregnant cat so she has the babies at your place. I can supply you with a pregnant mama cat...How does the first of May or so sound to you? Will have to limit you to no more than 10 though..LOL
This was what I was going to say......come to my house PULEEEEEZE and pick up a few (from young to old....guaranteed to be cute and good hunters). I have 7 or 8. Usually, the coyotes or road traffic keeps my poplulation down! |
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Location: on a hill | I got 4 from my vet. They were what she considered unadoptable. 1 is missing an eye, 1 has a lazy eye, and the other 2 are feral. She gave them to me knowing they were going in a barn. Spayed, shots and micro chipped. Check with your vet if they have an adoption program. It doesn't hurt to ask. Better off in a barn then being put to sleep is what she said. Don't be afraid of ferals, mine are all coming around now. It didn't take them long to get used to my routine. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | i got six kittens at 4 weeks old (had to take them before the raccoon got to them as their momma couldn't keep up)
they stayed in my tack room for about 4 months (don't leave and saddle pads or blankets outor they'll get scratched up) We made sure they had plenty of reason to love us, plenty of lovins, toys and food. I let them out slowly and with my mom to keep track of all of them. started with 30 minutes of outside time twice a day, then and hour at a time...and we did those supervised. then once they were confident navigating around the barn and would come at dinner time, all 6 got about 6 hours of outside time un-supervised and I would check in regularly. they stopped getting put away in their room by the next summer. I wanted to make sure they had an easy space they could relax and be comfortable in.
Get them fixed, it will keep them from roaming! If you want to keep them around make sure they know you want them there. Our cats knew we were their people, never had issues with roaming except for one tom. Never had our kitties hesitate to handle their litters. They knew when food was coming and if need be they got to come inside the house if it was too cold. In fact several of them would jump right onto your shoulders and hang out there like a bird when you would clean stalls!
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1079
| If they are fixed, they will stick around.
I adopted 2 from our local vet. She had no issues with them going to be "barn cats" because typically a horse barn is quite the cushy cat life :) |
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| Get you 2 girl kittens and try not to tame them down too much .... they will stay and not leave and keep you supplied with kittens over the years ...
Horse barns are tuff on cat populations .. the boys leave and so do a lot of the girls ... if you have a wild tom cat visiting your mama cats they will run any fixed cats off when they claim your barn as their territory ...
Here are my never petted or caught barn cats eating with my dogs ... lol...
If you have a serious rat/mouse problem house or barn ... use the brick form broken up into chunks to throw behind walls, equipment or under stuff ... no more mices ... not a poison but a blood thinner that makes rats etc bleed internally and dry out so no smell of dead rats and dog and cats show no interest in the rat bait .... it is called ONE MORE BITE ...
There is not enough Warfin in the entire bar to ever affect a dog or cat and same goes for the dried up mice and rats you find behind and under stuff .... I think I should get paid for this ad ... lol
And then there is QUACK AND QUACK QUACK that eat all of my bugs and they love the grub worms up in the yard ... lol .. will sit and sun with my dogs ...
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 911
Location: Durango CO | I took in a pair of brothers but moved and gave them to my sister and they hung around until 1 got eaten. My next set of females I had to give to the same sister due to HOA rules changing and they are still there but have turned wild. They will stay around with food and company. |
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 Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | I only have 1 barn cat, he wandered in as a stray tom when he was about a year old. Never did get him neutered but he'll 6 this year & doesn't wander at all. Didn't have to do anything but pet him a couple times & feed him & he moved in for life! I've also got 2 indoor/outdoor cats & my inlaws have 3. Those 5 are all spayed/neutered, everyone gets along & you never see a mouse in my barn. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| 3 of my barn cats were over a year old and lived their whole life in a cage at vet. They have all stayed and I pet and love on them. I would never use any type of poisonous bait or blood thinners. If the cat eats the carcass they will be poisoned too. 5 cats and I don't have a single mouse dropping in my barn. I disagree with getting girls and letting them breed, there are more than enough cats in the world already.
Edited by rodeomom3 2014-02-26 2:09 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | We've always gotten at least two and keep them in a crate for at least a week. We will let them out of it when the barn is closed up to wander for a little while and put them back. We luckily have had the same big cat for a few years now so they usually become buddies with him and stick around but something happened to him :( soo in the spring we have to start over again. We dknt want to bring out new cats in this cold |
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 Night Watchman
Posts: 5516
Location: Central Montana | Ours found us. They just showed up and we fed them and they stayed. They tamed down pretty fast. We got the tom cat neutered and the female was already spayed. We also have 3 indoor/outdoor cats that moved here with us. They all get along pretty well. |
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 IMA No Hair Style Gal
Posts: 2594
| Murphy - 2014-02-26 11:20 AM We have been here three years, and I thought someone would dump cats or dogs, or we would see some cats, but we haven't, not one! We had one that would eat leftover grain if the horses dropped it in the pasture, but I think something may have gotten it because we haven't seen it in months. I'll check Craigslist. I need to get a big cage too to put them in at first.
Don't jinx yourself! Our neighbors don't spay or neuter their cats...and their momma cat brought FIVE kittens to our barn.
Or course for me it was like Christmas! My husband...not so much (lol)!
After that-nothing showed up except for people who had thought of me.
Then about six months ago two were dumped in the course of one week. My husband was outside when both happened and the poor cats went running to him. |
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 Max is Back
Posts: 6795
Location: Flat Rock,IL | magic gunsmoke - 2014-02-26 9:54 AM
Trust me....cats and kittens will find you.
I have only paid for spay/neuter for cats that have been dumped.
I take them in as barn cats and keep them.
But-over time I have also had people contact me with their older cats...(say one, two, three years old) needing to find them homes.
I take them-because then I don't have to pay to spay or neuter them-and cat food is inexpensive, and shots are pretty cheap too.
So my advice would be to post a wanted add somewhere (unless you really want kittens). I have six cats now! They all stick around. I have an open barn. If I am worried I keep them in the house for a few days-or crate them outside for a few days with food, water, litter box-and every time I am in the barn I take them out and pet them and hold them. As they get more adjusted I let them out of the crate in the morning and put them in the crate at night. Then from there I take the crate away.
I only had one cat run off. She ended up at a neighboring barn six months later!
I guess my point is spayed and neutered cats with shots are so easy to come across for free! I have never once needed to adopt one.
That's true, they will find you. We've had several show up.
Edited by Kcaughran 2014-02-26 8:05 PM
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Max is Back
Posts: 6795
Location: Flat Rock,IL | Here is one that showed up at the horse farm. Took this picture of him, he holds his tail up like a chow dog.
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 Texas Tenderheart
Posts: 6715
Location: Red Raiderland | I want some barn cats badly at our new place but I just don't trust my barn dogs! Have any of y'all introduced cats to "bad" dogs and they(the cats) survived?
The dogs showed up at our current place several years ago as 6 mos old or so. They were very scared and skittish but now they LOVE their humans but HATE critters. We have an enclosed yard as escape proof as possible and one day I found an adult cat dead in the yard! Those boys are hoodlums! They will be great at keeping skunks, coons, possums and other dogs away but I'd like to get some cats for the mouse issue but I don't trust these guys.  |
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Regular
Posts: 54
| Check your nearest animal shelter. It makes you feel good to know that you saved their life and, you will have a good pet. |
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