How to Take Care of Barn Cats

  

My local shelter is now accepting stray and feral cats for barn cat adoptions. These cats provided that they are sterilized, with rabies vaccine, and are in good health are intended for farms that are in need of snake and rodent control.

 

Many people assume that a cat if it's “hungry” will hunt and kill its supper.  Therefore you would not feed the cat.  Know if you assume this then you are wrong, the cat will eventually move on to another farm or house in the area that will provide it with food.

 

The best way to keep a barn cat is to feed the cat food kibble.  Set a bowl of food in the barn along with fresh water and allow the cat to eat the kibble throughout the day. The barn cat will become dependent upon the food and will hang out in the barn or close to it.  

Here is a photo of cats in my shed.  I have provided them with food and an insulated shelter. They keep the shed rodent free along with the outdoor gardens. 

 

The food and water along with straw for sleeping will attract the cat to the barn where they will eat food and kill mice and other rodents in appreciation of the care that you provide them.   

Barn cats are feral cats that were born outdoors and are fearful of humans.  They normally kill and eat their prey even though they have eaten a bowl of cat food.  Fresh meat is a way to supplement their diet and hunting comes naturally to them and they enjoy it.

 

When we moved into our home in the woods our yard was loaded up with field mice and snakes.  My friend who has a farm told me to put out a bowl of cat food and fresh water in the morning and the feral and stray cats in the area will eventually come. She told me to feed them and they would rid my yard of pests.

 

I kept the cats in my yard by taking care of my feral cats with an outdoor shelter, and daily food and provided them with fresh water.  I also trapped them and paid for their sterilization, rabies, and other necessary cat vaccines.

 

So if you are planning to adopt a barn cat, please take steps to provide the cat with food water, and an outdoor shelter that will keep them dry, warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. When you take care of the cat, then they will rid your yard of rodents.

 

 *Note feral/barn or other cats that live outdoors are good hunters. A domesticated house cat is not a good hunter.  Many times they will play with the rodent and sometimes the housecat is afraid of the rodent.

Smart Queen Cat Can't be Trapped

For the past three days, we have been trying to trap a queen feral cat but this cat is very smart and knows how to get the bait without setting off the trap trigger.

I have been trapping feral and stray cats for over a decade and have never come across a cat like this. But sure enough, this kitty knows how to get the bait and leave. 

The trap works fine with normal cats, but a smart cat no.

At first, I thought it was my trap and that it was not working properly. So I checked it by setting it outdoors and was able to trap a tomcat.  It's not the trap it works fine.

One of the cat's friends suggested putting a kitchen towel in the trap to cover the trigger.  This towel would trick the cat and they would step on the trigger.  I thought it was a great idea so I set up the trap at 5 AM inside my garden shed, asd that is where the queen cat is. 

We watch through the window of the shed to see if the cat was trapped. We couldn't believe our eyes but this queen cat sat in front of the trap door as if she was studying the towel. Then she pulled the towel out of the trap before going in to eat the bait.  She escaped being trapped once again.

I spoke to my veterinarian about what was going on and she said the cat has probably been trapped before and that the cat is very smart.

We are going to try again tomorrow to trap this queen cat that is in heat. We are hoping that we are successful.  Have you ever experienced a cat like this?

ecoFlex Albany Outdoor Cat House Review

 I bought mossy oak ecoFlex Albany outdoor cat insulated house for feral and stay cats and have used it for the last three years. This cat house is quality and made to last through the harshest winters and I would recommend this cat house to anyone who has outdoor cats.

 

Know that I liked that the walls of this house are insulated and that it comes with an escape door. The cat house was easy to put together, but I do recommend that you keep the screwdriver because you will need it to take off the roof to clean the house.  I also recommend that add any extra insulation to the house before you attach the roof.

 

 

This past winter it was bitter cold in my area and I did add reflective insulation to all walls, floor, and ceiling. I then filled it with wheat straw and two feral cats lived in the ecoFlex outdoor cat house.

 

This house has a roomy interior that allowed two cats to snuggle in the straw and stay warm throughout the winter months.

 

The only thing I did not like was the plastic door flaps were difficult to open, and they scared the feral cats. I did remove the front entrance and left the door flap on the side entrance.  Also, this particular house design should have an overhang to prevent snow and rain from getting in.  We screwed a plastic container lid to the roof of the cat house and it worked very well.

 

***The photographs shown in this blog are my original photographs of the mossy oak ecoFlex Albany outdoor cat house.