barn cat help needed

[Rin]

Quote:
Nah I can understand I only said that if they were too feral once netted/captured which they aren't from the sound of the description really. Misbehaved doesn't really describe it though.

 

[Why and Dotte]

I used to rarely feed my barn cats, because they would hunt better. My grandma lives next door now and is feeding them (I thought too much at first) one cat in particular is constantly bringing presents to her car, there was even a 5 inch fish there the other day

Try giving them a lot of food, with 8 that is hard though, I used to have a bunch of barn kitties too but there was some toms that chased quite a few off.
As for cats climbing screens, knock them off or spray them, throw a glass of water at it usually they get smart and realize screen = bad.

 

[underground chickenman]

What gender? The females are the hunters. The toms will hunt, but they are not nearly as good at it, and they are the ones that do the howling. Also, you may have too many cats. There's probably nothing to hunt.

 

[jerseygirl1]

How do you know they are not hunting? Do you have overloads of pests? If not, they may be doing the deed and eating them and are still hungry because they have worms. Mine do, so it happens. I worm them every 6 months. They may be doing their job, you just don't see it

 

[sumatra]

We have 12 cats, and we have had at least 10 for all the years we've been here(22) years). It sounds to me very much as if your cats are hungry. They know you have edible things in your house. To stop them you are going to need to feed them. We have a shelf where we keep cat food out continuously. It is the cheap stuff, but yes, it still gets expensive. In the winter they can go through a 16 lb. bag in just a few days. They still hunt a lot. We have no chipmunks, no rabbits, no rats, no mice. We do still have shrews and moles, but even they get killed (but not eaten). I usually have 3/4 male cats and 1/4 female cats. My best mousers are both female but I have 3 males that are almost as good. I would guess that roughly half of my cats are slackers.
In the spring the cats start heading out to their own individual hunting areas. Some will stay out there almost every day until fall. Some will come back every few days. Some almost never leave. The best hunters are the ones that stay away the longest/farthest. In the winter they usually stick closer to the house where the food is.
I know people say that you should keep them hungry and they will hunt better, but I have found that they hunt anyways. If they are hunters, they hunt. If they are slackers, they will goof off anyways. If the hunting is bad they will all get hungry and pester you.
If I were you I would decide how many cats I can afford to feed. Then I would start feeding all the cats you have now, and start watching behavior. If you have more cats than you can afford, pick your best. Also, watch colors. White cats have it rougher, even in winter. And watch where they hang out if you have coyotes. We once had a cat who liked to sit on top of the barn roof. Then an owl came along.

 

[Skyesrocket]

The problem I have had was caused by me letting them into the house once in a while and feeding them either inside or at the backdoor. When I do that they act like your cats. I had to make up my mind that a house cat was a house cat and barn cats stayed by the barn.
I feed my barn cats really well. Plenty of catfood, goats milk and scrambled eggs a couple of times a week. But they only get fed inside of the barn. I only pet them inside of the barn or outside, away from the house. If one starts trying to hang out at the backdoor I chase it away. I make sure to pick it up and love on it the next time I'm in the barn. If I bring a kitten home it goes right to the barn.
This is what has worked for me. My barn cats aren't ferral but they know where they get fed and attention. They come running when I walk into the barn and they are well taken care of. The females are very good mousers. Females usually are better than the males at hunting.
It sounds like your barn cats want to be indoor cats. I think you can break them of this if you stop feeding them by or inside of the house. Feed them in the barn only and they might learn. Good Luck!

 

[ninny]

Thanks everyone! The only one i've ever seen hunt is mama my older female. Everyone else just lays in the yard all day. We got rid of all the ferals. These guys all have names and are over friendly. Most know how to use a litter box too. I try to feed them when i can but cat food here so sky high anymore. So they get the left over pizza from my job. I bring it home just for them. Im trying to come up with the money to get everyone fixed too. It really seems as though when i dont feed them everyday in the spring i dont have kittens. Thats nice. I just gave them a bunch of pizza and they did the normal. They attack you when you carry food. They trip you, jump on you ,try to rip the food out of your hands i hate feeding them. I won't feed mama because she just freaks and shes made us bleed more then once. So i try to put the food down for the other cats and then call her. I feed them away from the house. I use to feed them in the barn but coons were getting into my totes no matter how i tried to stop them. I use to feed them out of my car too. I'd get home and give it to them from the car but they started jumping in the car. I've locked a couple in that i didnt see jump in overnight. They also maul my dogs. My two bichons are their size and they can't go to the bathroom with out cats rubbing all over them. I'd love to get rid of some of them. But i don't want them to get put down since they would make good house pets.

I just want to go outside and not have cats all over me.

 

[Rin]

Sadly, if you have a humane society or pound. I'd really suggest that - if you can't afford to feed them then you can't afford to have them. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but they are starving and the fact they aren't fixed means your situation is only going to get worse. Good to hear they are capable of being pets though, this means they have a chance of a new home that can afford it.. please.. please... consider just keeping what you can afford to feed and have fixed. For the sake of your sanity and theirs.

 

[RiverOtter]

Ok, I know it's unpleasant for you, but if you were starving, you'd mob the guy with the food too. So please don't choose to not feed them because it's unpleasant.
Next, here are some links, please contact ALL of them and ask for help. They either have info on these sites about organizations close to you or can help you find some.
http://www.feralcatproject.org/
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#states
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/tips/feral_cat_organizations.html

Then, contact your local shelter, see if there are any programs around that will help you feed them. Some shelters have a program that lets you buy food by the pound from them pretty cheaply. Also, ASK them if you give them pictures, can they please put the cats up on their petfinder site? Help them to help you.
Hope this helps.

 

[ninny]

Thanks for the links. I should say that how they always act when feed. Even when i was feeding them everyday. I always make sure theres enough for everyone. They always leave left overs. If they were straving i would have taken them to the pound a long time ago.