Housing for barn cats and their kittens

[BigBlueHen53]

I think Reader's Digest told a story of a cat owner who ran an ad saying "five adorable kittens and one ugly one for sale." They sold the "ugly" one six times!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

View attachment 1857585
This is Alice Cooper. My cousin lives in the city and found him as a kitten. Shed made a post on Facebook that if no one could take him he would have to go to the shelter as her landlord didn't allow pets. No one could take him and I watched as several posted comments that black cats were bad luck. Yeah in 2018 and people still honestly believed that.
Well of course I caved and took him home. By 3 months old he was killing mice. Shortly before his first birthday I watched him kill an adult raccoon. Unfortunately he occasionally took a chicken, but I seemed to have taught him to stop. He was technically a rescue and has been one of my best hunters ever. He is one of our 2 unaltered Tom's. Once he slows in his work or has provided us a litter he will be fixed, whichever comes first.

Your Alice Cooper is a ringer for my Dixie. She is the best mouser on the place.

 

[Elsveta641]

Here is a more flattering pic of Alice. In the other one he had stolen food with hot pepper in it I gave to the chickens and was panting like a dog lol
An interesting fact about him is we thought he was female until about April this year. He shed his super thick and fluffy winter coat to reveal he had grown these huge testicles over the winter So he went from Alice to Alice Cooper.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Alice Cooper... I love that!!!
When we rescued Clyde.... his name was Mary

 

[Stiletto]

I rehome them for 10 usd or a grocery sack full of non moldy bread or vegetables/fruits for the chickens. Not free ever, I've heard too many horror stories of free pets used for bait. Cats are the best hunters the first few years of life. After around 3 years old they begone to lose interest and only hunt if it is necessary to their survival (here it is not and they indeed quit). This is not a rule of course but a generalization. So to ensure a fresh batch of hunters each year I allow one or two litters. I only leave the best hunters unaltered and each queen is only allowed to give me 3 litters, if she is chosen to breed, before she is altered. I need about 4-5 prolific hunters at all times to not get over run with vermin.

People also take cats, not kittens, from my farm at the rate of 3-5 a year. People come to buy birds or for the construction business and say "omg what a beautiful cat!" And off they go. I never deny a barn cat a chance to be a housecat. 1-2 litters a year is the amount we need to keep our population stable. It is controlled and planned breeding of livestock. We do not adopt random cats for this purpose because we want the best hunters possible so we breed them, it is just good business. I dont want to be feeding a (bigger) gang of rescued freeloaders or gamble on whether or not a rescue will hunt. We did have some feral rescues from a shelter but they left after about 3 months.

Hope that information helps you

That was a very interesting read, I appreciate your being so open when replying to people and explaining things. What you do makes a lot of sense when your intention is to get the best hunters.

As an aside, if you ever have the opportunity of acquiring a Bengal kitten - go for it. Most people who have them keep them as indoor cats and much is said about their high energy, playfulness, etc. Ours is an indoor/outdoor cat and an excellent ratter (also mice, voles, snakes, etc.) so his athleticism and prey drive is put to good use.

One more thing, why don't you use a litter box for the kittens?

 

[Elsveta641]

That was a very interesting read, I appreciate your being so open when replying to people and explaining things. What you do makes a lot of sense when your intention is to get the best hunters.

As an aside, if you ever have the opportunity of acquiring a Bengal kitten - go for it. Most people who have them keep them as indoor cats and much is said about their high energy, playfulness, etc. Ours is an indoor/outdoor cat and an excellent ratter (also mice, voles, snakes, etc.) so his athleticism and prey drive is put to good use.

One more thing, why don't you use a litter box for the kittens?

Bengals are lovely but too expensive for me to put outside. Im sure theyd hunt beautifully with their wildcat heritage though. I got 3 Turkish Angoras when we first got a farm and they were gone within a year, bless them. Not putting anymore purebreds outdoors. And they came in when I went to bed, about 2am to 9am, but still vanished.
You may have missed my other message in the thread, but the kittens stay in our sunroom porch thing to learn to use a litter box, mostly in case they ever leave for a home off the farm. Normally people come and take them very quickly. But this time there is little interest because they are quite unattractive little dears, so I have 5. 5 kittens learning to use the box is a messy situation to have in the house lol

 

[slippednfell]

Normally people come and take them very quickly. But this time there is little interest because they are quite unattractive little dears, so I have 5. 5 kittens learning to use the box is a messy situation to have in the house lol

Do you happen to live anywhere near North Central AR? I would take an ugly kitty or two if they are good hunters.

I have only had fixed indoor only cats in the past but now that we have chickens and ducks, the mice population around us is increasing.

 

[Elsveta641]

Do you happen to live anywhere near North Central AR? I would take an ugly kitty or two if they are good hunters.

I have only had fixed indoor only cats in the past but now that we have chickens and ducks, the mice population around us is increasing.

No, sorry, we are in Iowa. But yes the more animals we have the more vermin show up too. The goats seemed to attract a lot, probably because they made such a mess with their food lol

 

[slippednfell]

No, sorry, we are in Iowa. But yes the more animals we have the more vermin show up too. The goats seemed to attract a lot, probably because they made such a mess with their food lol

Yeah, a little too far lol. I guess they are just meant to be with you.

I would've thought the snake population around here would make more of an impact around here but that doesn't seem to the case.

BTW, I love the "Alice Cooper" name for the black kitty.

 

[Stiletto]

Bengals are lovely but too expensive for me to put outside. Im sure theyd hunt beautifully with their wildcat heritage though. I got 3 Turkish Angoras when we first got a farm and they were gone within a year, bless them. Not putting anymore purebreds outdoors. And they came in when I went to bed, about 2am to 9am, but still vanished.

You may have missed my other message in the thread, but the kittens stay in our sunroom porch thing to learn to use a litter box, mostly in case they ever leave for a home off the farm. Normally people come and take them very quickly. But this time there is little interest because they are quite unattractive little dears, so I have 5. 5 kittens learning to use the box is a messy situation to have in the house lol

Yes, sorry, I missed you mentioning a litter box! And yes, five kittens is a lot of pee and poop.

I wish you luck in finding homes for them.

Oh, I forgot to say - how appropriate that your Tom's name was Alice! Alice Cooper suits him to a T!!