# Barn Cats



## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

We have been getting ready to get our new goaties soon and trying to figure out what we will need.
Right now we have 2 rabbits in the barn and I have already seen mice and mice nests. 

My question is, how effective are barn cats?
I have had cats all my life, but indoor only and indoor/outdoor cats.
The only experience I have had with an outdoor cat was when we had one that was fixed but was still peeing all over our basement. My husband kicked it outside and within a year it had been killed by a dog I think (we found it dead in our front yard from some sort of attack).

Does anyone have any thoughts to share about their experience with barn cats? Do you have them come up missing alot?? How do you get them to live in your barn and not just go off and find another home in the neighborhood or annoy your neighbors??

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I have 2 who were graciously dropped off here as itty bitty kittens last summer.... the female is fixed and the male I hope soon to be.... I do have neighbor dogs that will go after them if they go too far from the barn but they know where they are warm and fed. I haven't had any mice at all since they've ben here and though I do see them peeing in wasted hay, they go outside to the manure pile to do #2. They sleep with my does too.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

My two barn cats are still young.They are loved on just as much as an indoor cat but are taught bedtime is in the barn. I lock them in at night.So far,so good....and they are extremely friendly to boot, they just spend the night in the barn instead of the house.They have a litterbox and food in there and they drink from a bucket in the stall.They have been effective catching the mice as I even saw the smallest one with a mouse 2 days ago


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I hope they are effective cause as soon as it warms up these two are out.they were dumped here and i'm not a huge cat person. I love cats just don't want any at least not inside anyway..i'm a dog and livestock kinda girl lol..but as for mousers mine kick butt..


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Our barn cat, Midnight, is extremely effective. In all the places he can get, there are no mice.


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## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

NyGoatMom said:


> My two barn cats are still young.They are loved on just as much as an indoor cat but are taught bedtime is in the barn. I lock them in at night.So far,so good....and they are extremely friendly to boot, they just spend the night in the barn instead of the house.They have a litterbox and food in there and they drink from a bucket in the stall.They have been effective catching the mice as I even saw the smallest one with a mouse 2 days ago


Do they come up to the house and beg to come in all the time??
I am worried my kids will start bugging me to let them in and we already have 2 indoor cats and don't want more inside.

Also, how do you get them to go in at night? Do you have to go looking for them or do they usually stick around?

Sorry, one more question...how do you keep your goats out of their litterbox?

I lied, I thought of another..do they carry any diseases that are dangerous for goats?

Thank you all for your help!!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The female I have is extremely affectionate... and she does come to the back door in the early mornings as I let my dogs out and she has tried to come inside, I have 2 inside cats and don't want anymore inside, she knows where she gets fed....in the barn and as I go to feed my goats, she runs ahead to get hers...the little boy isn't as affectionate though I would like him to be, he's just so cute... he lets me pet him and occassionally pick him up but he waits on the door step to the barn for me to come feed and runs as soon as the back door is opened if he's waiting on the porch.

My barn is open enough that though the goats are safe when it's bitter cold, the kitties come in and out through a window, I don't keep a litterbox in the shed...one in the house for my 2 boys is enough for me to deal with... the outside kitties quickly learned where they are to go potty....not in my clean hay and no poop inside.

Cat poop is known to cause Toxoplasmosis and is dangerous for pregnant mammals...goats and humans


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

goatiegirl said:


> Do they come up to the house and beg to come in all the time??
> I am worried my kids will start bugging me to let them in and we already have 2 indoor cats and don't want more inside.
> 
> Also, how do you get them to go in at night? Do you have to go looking for them or do they usually stick around?
> ...


At first they did, but we kept strong as I am not a fan of indoor cats myself and we already have one 12 year old indoor/outdoor.
Once in a while they run in and we put em right back out.It's getting less and less, they get used to it.
AS for going in at night they have learned that it is warmer sleeping on the hay than outside...
My goats are not in there, they have their own shed but when I have one in there....my one cat loves the goats and will sleep with them  My "barn" is actually a converted garage that has chickens in it right now....lol...I breed poultry and I have some of my feather footed breeds in there. The cats do not bother the chickens.I also have some brooders in there with chicks.

I have read that un-neutered males can carry something that will make goats abort....but not sure on that??Maybe someone else can help with that. OOPS...Liz got it...

I also think it helps that their food is in there to keep them going back. Maybe at night offer a couple spoons of wet food for awhile?


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## DaisyMayFarm (Jan 19, 2013)

I have two barn cats. They don't run off, and really keep mice issues down. I just leave cat food out for them and they stick around.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Oh, and I wanted to add...they are not as safe being outdoors so always remember they can be there one day and gone the next. I try to limit this by locking them in at night!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Having them fixed, will help keep them closer to home. I feed ours once a day at night ,so they will keep the mouse population down. 

Mine get squirrels, moles, birds,mice, rats, lizards ect. I tell them to leave the birds alone, but, they don't listen.


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## Ninja Goats (Sep 6, 2011)

My farm came with one barn cat. We trapped her and got her healthy and fixed. Named her Peanut. She is the only one I see who even crosses the road. 

Next cat was a kitten from a friend's oops litter (stray cat given to them was of course preggo). She stayed on the porch in a dog crate until she was big enough to go in the tack room. Stayed locked in there for about a week, then let out when we were out, locked back up when we left. And eventually just let loose. She now likes to sit on the front window sill and stare at us on the couch. Her name is Cashew.

Next cats were all stray toms who wandered in. I neutered and released each one. Didn't care too much if they stayed or left since Cash and Peanut are doing a good job mousing. 3 have stayed. Filbert, Buckeye and Fluffy (yeah no nut name for him lol). Pistachio (he was super pissed to be caught) and one other (name is eluding me) decided not to stay.

I put out food for them twice a day. Just dry kibble. Enough that they'll finish it all so it doesn't attract racoons. They also get yearly shots and occasional deworming/flea prevention. The only one I can't touch is Buckeye.

They all sleep up on the hay and potty outside. There are coyotes around but none brave enough to come into the barnyard. The cats have tons of places to climb to get away if they need to.


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## brownie (Jan 31, 2013)

Well I would make sure you get all of them fixed because I have heard kitten manure can cause does to loose kidds


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yep tis kitten poo that can cause toxo =abortion.
We have several barn kitties. I try not to feed them very much. One of the coolest things is when a mama brings rats to her kittens. She hangs around letting them eat on the carcass.
A couple of them hang out in the chicken area of the barn & have not seen rat tunnels for awhile.
They all do their biz outside somewhere.
Some of them are pretty friendly & some not.


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## Ninja Goats (Sep 6, 2011)

The hunting instinct in cats has nothing to do if they're hungry or not. So you have to feed your barn cats. Don't overfeed but you need to provide something.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Ninja Goats said:


> The hunting instinct in cats has nothing to do if they're hungry or not. So you have to feed your barn cats. Don't overfeed but you need to provide something.


 It does with ours, makes then to lazy, see more mice running around, if I feed twice a day. So I will keep feeding 1 x.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I think you just have to see how your cats are. I leave dry cat food out all the time. My cats would rather catch the rats and mice and I don't go through a lot of cat food. 

So you just have to see how your cats are. If they are eating too much cat food and aren't catching mice, then you need to offer less. If they kill everything anyway, then you can leave it out.


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## Shotzy11 (Dec 15, 2012)

We have had quite a few barn cats. We got really infested with rats and mice not long after we got chickens. We have rescued many ferals through a feral cat program down in Houston. We keep them locked up for two weeks and then release them. Some take off into the woods but others stayed around. I found that not all of our cats would catch or kill rats. (Our first two just layed around and the rats got worse) So after about a month or so we found them new homes and got a few more cats. We have four right now and they stay close to home and keep all the rats away. We feed our dry kibble twice a day - all they can eat but we have to pick up the bowls so the ants and raccooons don't come around.  I hope this helps! (oh and all of our kitties have been spayed or neutered)


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

we have several..Alexandria is now 7..we got her as a kitten..she is fixed...she is an awesome mouser...then we have a male, Bruce, who is lazy...we would keep bringing home males that people needed gone ( because we didnt want kittens born every week!) and after a while they would all disappear...either killed or off looking for mates...so this time we brought home four ladies...they have stuck around and no kittens yet lol..they do a great job keeping our barn mice under control..


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