Barn Cats?

[EmAbTo48]

We own one male cat that is a inside/outside cat (he's nuetered).. last night while taking care of my chickens I found a orange/white kitten looks to be about 6 weeks old. The kitten was stalking my hens haha my hens of course stood there ground everytime it came to close. The kitten is skinny but otherwise appears in good condition! Anyways I am trying to find a home for it, but of course that's easier said then done.

Hubby does not want another inside cat and I agree. We don't have any barn cats, but we will consider keeping this kitten inside and then putting it in the barn once its bigger.

How to you keep your barn cats healthy? We will spay/neuter this one and get shots.

How do you keep them warm over the winter? Our barn is not heated.

Is there certain food that will keep the cat from losing weight in harsh conditions? Our male cat drops weight when outside more and then gains weight while inside more.

And last how do we introduce the kitten once big enough to the barn?

Thanks!!!

 

[HEChicken]

Our barn cats are neutered, get annual shots and worming, and that's about it. We do feed them but they also catch mice and moles (the latter they don't eat but just leave out for us). Our barn is not heated but we keep our hay in a stall and the cats hang out in the hay stall quite a bit year-round. In winter we do plug in a heated waterer for them. They are friendly and allow us to pet and pick them up and seem completely happy with their accommodations.

 

[2DogsFarm]

My barn kitten never lived indoors.
2 kittens about 6-8 weeks old wandered onto my property the first year I lived on the farm.

I quarantined them in my then-unused chicken coop, since I had 2 housecats, until I could get them tested by my vet for FeLu and worms.
They were fine there for 2 weeks until I moved them to the barn.
Sadly the little male became roadkill at 6mos (just after I had them both neutered). but the female is still thriving at 6yo.

I do feed her - mostly dry kibble but a tiny bit of canned food. She hunts her own meals mostly - as I can tell from the assorted "parts" she leaves behind X P
HeChicken: yup - moles & voles are eaten then hurked back up for me to find

She gets a 3-year rabies shot and every Spring I worm her with Droncit (praziquantel) for tapeworms.
I also use Revolution for flea, tick, heartworm & ear mite prevention - great stuff you should consider for your In-Out cat too.

In the Winter she has a little enclosed fleece house and I supplement the heat with those chemical packs they sell for hunters - Warm Hands? - that last 8h once exposed to air.
Her bed is located on the hay bales stacked in the barn so that adds insulation.
I have a small heated waterbowl for her as well.

She is a total little bonbon of a cat and sometimes comes to get me at the house if she wants her breakfast early.
And she expects - make that DEMANDS - laptime once I am finished with barn chores unless it's too hot.
Then I am commanded to pet her wherever she finds it coolest, TYVM.

She came to meet my chickens when they were pullets less than a year old, heard them talking Chickensmack and retreated. She has zero interest in them now and she is otherwise my little Verminator.
She's killed bunnies nearly her size - 6 or 7 #.

 

[Skyesrocket]

How to you keep your barn cats healthy? We will spay/neuter this one and get shots.

The same way you would a house cat. You might have to worm more often due to them eating rodents. Barn cats tend to get tapes from fleas and rodents. Flea preventative too when the kitten gets old enough.
To keep kitty warm during the winter provide a dry, draft free place for the kitty to sleep. Mine have the plastic dog houses filled with straw (not hay) during the winter. They prefer having the houses on top of something and not on the floor.
Personally I wouldn't have the kitten inside of the house. Leave it in the barn and feed it there. Otherwise you could end up with a barn cat crying at your backdoor to get inside.​