hi everyone!

I “have“ a grey tabby that needs to be rehomed. I say “have” because she is not actually my pet. she’s a stray that‘d made our backyard her home for the past 3 years. which my husband and I were totally fine with, and even looked out for her in inclement weather. however, she’s been showing some aggression towards our dog (who has been here 10 years, long before her 😅) recently. our dog is very sweet and mild mannered and actually ignores the cat. but the cat has been scratching at her and recently pounced on her, warranting a vet trip (she’s fine now thankfully).

the cat is very sweet with humans, will come up to you and rub against you. she had been fine with dogs (a dog) until recently? and with other cats, she became quite territorial. once, another stray entered into our backyard. I noticed both of them sitting near each other just fine for hours. for some odd reason, when I came outside, “my” stray beat the shit out of the other stray. I have no idea why my presence triggered that after they had been sitting practically side by side the whole morning. needless to say, the other stray left and I never saw it again.

anyways, since this cat has started being aggressive towards our dog, I’ve had to discourage her from being in the backyard. she’s been around less and less lately because of that, but I would also just like her safely relocated. that way she’s out of our yard, away from our dog, and still being looked after. she’s a great hunter and has left us PLENTY of “gifts”..

I am located in South Georgia. if I come across the cat again (pretty sure it’s female), I am willing to pack her up and drive her a few hours to anyone who would have her. I tried posting and asking if any homes would like her, but no luck. unsure of how old she is, if I had to guess I’d say about 4-5 years. her ear is clipped, so I’m assuming she’s been TNR at some point.

thank you for reading!

tl;dr- if anyone near south GA wants a female grey tabby (with clipped ear), I will bring her to you if she comes back in our yard.

We recently bought a farm that came with a very sweet tiny barn cat. Over the last few weeks I noticed a scab on her back that looked like it may have come from a fight but I couldn’t be sure. This morning I went to feed her and she popped out of her heated house with a VERY sizable wound in the same spot. A large chunk of fur and a bit of skin is missing. Does this look like it was caused by a fight? We are waiting to get in with a new vet and I would love to avoid going to the emergency vet if we can. Can/should this be treated at home with anything? Is this potentially her being target repeatedly and we should bring her in? The issues with this is that we have a 20 year-old cat who is extremely territorial and a dog who seems to be wanting to eat her, we could keep her separate, but I feel like it would be very isolating for her to be locked in a basement.

To give a little context/background, my brother found a kitten 3 days ago. Took him to vet cause he was in rough shape (upper respiratory and worms, being treated for both) and the vet guesses hes (brother named him Frances) about a month old. My parents have a rodent problem in their barn and are hoping to turn him into a barn cat. All my cat experience is with my two indoor cats so im unsure how to get Frances used to barn life. He is currently in a crate in the garage since there is a wood stove in there to keep him warm overnight. The barn is relatively small with two small pens and a larger pen that houses their chickens and ducks. There is a small feed room and then a ladder to an upstairs storage area. I am fully willing to wait until he gets older before moving him to the barn but my dad is a little antsy to get him in there. Any tips for getting him adjusted to the barn and how to create a warm, safe space for him would be appreciated!!

Edit: thank you everyone for the advice! I expressed my concerns about the kitten and my family decided it would be best to just find another home for him. There are a couple rescues that adopt out their feral cats for barn use so we will be looking into that

We keep two barn cats specifically for rodent control but they can't be everywhere at once and we still have a mouse problem near the feed bins. Poison bait is a nonstarter given the cats hunt whatever they catch. Looking for a deterrent that works alongside the cats instead of against them.

Hey there! We have just moved to a rural property with a resident barn cat. The previous owners tried to catch the kitty but could not, so we have accepted that we now have a barn cat! Our dogs like cats, and our own cats are indoor, so I don't see that being an issue. What I am concerned about is the following;

- The previous owners mentioned he is up to date on shots.... he hasn't showed up to us yet other than being captured on our cameras, so how am I to gain his trust and keep him up to date? I put out a water source for him (it's very dry here), and the previous owners said he only needs to be fed in the fall/winter/spring, so I will set that up for him. But in the meantime? They gave instructions on how to call him over, but we haven't even caught a glimpse yet.

- Feeding him in general. In the barn seems logical, but it is a bit away from the house and I am worried about attracting other animals. We wouldn't be close enough to hear any sort of commotion. Tips or tricks to make sure kitty has a safe food station?

- The barn needs to be torn down. It's falling apart and won't suit our needs, but we want to make sure he has a safe place to land and hide from predators/cold Canadian winters. A shop that he can live in will be in place of the barn eventually, but ideas to keep in safe in that transitional period? I don't think we will tear it down until the spring, should we have heat lamps for him over the winter? It gets down to -10C here.

Anything else I should know?? TIA!

Edit: We've been here only about 6 weeks

We’re adding a colony of 4 feral working cats to our ranch. Our friend has another colony of 6 feral cats she’s asking if we could take. Any tips on introducing two colonies? Our property is over 600 acres, but the main living area with barns is about 5 acres. And yes, they are all spayed/neutered!

We’re adding 4 barn cats to our ranch. Do we need to elevate their shelter or just their food to protect from raccoons? They will be living in a covered truck shed with some insulated beds. Thanks!

Navajo decided to come sit with me after I did all the work hauling brush today.

I'm new to both cat ownership and barn cats. I adopted my first, Barnold, from our local humane society at the end of March. She has made herself at home in the barn and seems generally comfortable and happy - aside from the trauma we both received when I had to trap her recently to bring her to a vet for a really bad cold). I followed all the suggestions on what to do to make sure she stays around: 3 weeks in a large crate in the barn, plenty of treats and wet food, predictable feeding schedule. I even read out loud to her so she'd get used to my voice.

But she doesn't hunt and she seems like she wants some company. So I adopted a second barn cat, a black one. This cat, Malvadita, was an escape artist and got out of the crate I use to help the cats get used to the barn on the second night I had her. She found some great hiding spots she liked and would stay in those until dusk when she'd come out to hunt. I kept the barn doors closed until she had been with me for 4 weeks. She stuck around another week or two after I started opening the barn doors during the day. I went on a work trip and left my husband to feed and care for the cats. She waited until the day after I left and then she took off and we haven't seen her since.

I waited a month to see if she'd find her way back, but no luck. So I adopted another barn cat, also black, M2. I kept her in the crate for 3 weeks with the barn doors open because it's been so hot here and I wanted to get them some air flow during the day. Right around the 3 week point, she got really antsy in the crate. She'd pace a lot and try to get through the bars. I started by closing the barn doors and opening the crate at night and at first, she just poked her head out. The second night, she hopped out and explored the barn. The next day, she was still in the barn, happy to come get treats from me, eating and drinking well, and even rubbing against me and asking for pets. Then she went outside of the barn to explore.....and I haven't seen her since. She's been gone for at least 3 nights. I leave the door open enough that she can slip in without any coyotes getting in. I leave her litter near the door and the hammock she spent a lot of her time in, so she can smell them.

Is this just...how this goes? I thought one cat leaving made sense because she didn't have a lot of time to adjust before she escaped the crate and she was quite skittish in general. But M2 was super friendly, recognized that I was the Bringer of the Churus, and generally seemed pretty content. Do I just accept that Barnold will be my only barn cat? Did I do something wrong?

He helps me feed the horses

A week ago there was one brown squirrel tail in our pole barn near where we feed the cats. A few days ago there were two. Today? Three! Good kitties!

Puss in boots showed up one day with a back foot that sorta looks... Crushed? Half bitten off? We don't know but he won't go in a cage no matter how hard me try and he doesn't seem to be in any pain he just doesn't walk on it. Anyway he's been hanging for almost 2 years now, and he seems fine.

Today I spotted a young rabbit munching on grass and it got startled by something and started running and well, puss got him. I've never even seen him hunting assumed he lived off the food we give the cats.. obviously not lol

Hi Barn Cat People! We could use some help.

We just moved out to the country. This stray cat came right up to our door looking for help. We fed him a little food, put him in a kennel, and set him up in an enclosure out in our barn. This cat lets us pet him and pick him up, but he’s still watchful. He’s not eager to leave - actually, he seems pretty tired. He’s not neutered. We’re going to take him to the vet tomorrow for an exam.

I come from an animal family. My mom and sister are veterinarians. We’ve had lots of cats but they’ve always been indoor cats.

If his health is okay, how do we do this? How do we help him adjust to life in our barn? If he wants out, should we let him out? Do you all let your barn cats out during the day but bring them in at night? Please share your wisdom! Thanks in advance

I rescued three working cats about 10 weeks ago. Everyday when I take their food and water they are usually hiding. The last couple of weeks they've not been running and hiding unless I get too close. One of them started hissing at me yesterday and again this morning but is not running away. Is he getting more comfortable or is something wrong?

Hi all. Two months ago I adopted three working cats that were rescued from a colony where the caregiver died. They are living their best life now and are gradually not hiding when I bring their food and water but I can't get more than about 10 foot to them or they run. Any suggestions for flea/tick prevention?

That good sleep. The kittens belong to the calico however grey and white cat kittens were still born so she decided to co-parent with calico cat.

Bonus pic of Bill and his Pupper Ted

Hi it's going to be a pretty long update post to my barn cat problem. New updates have occurred I'll try to list the biggest ones and I'll try to keep this short if I can. the shorter one of the two Tabbys we think has been hit by a car and it now has a broken leg. The black and white one who was pudgy earlier has gotten much more skinny we think she might have had kittens. The gray cat has not gotten any better. The neighbor across the street from the barn had told us that they were being evicted. And asked us to please take the cats with us to our barn and relocate them because they cannot feed them anymore. The old lady's house who is since passed on now has two cats there. We found one of them in the road not once but two times both in the same night. They are okay they are both orange haired but was very hungry. To the point where I had never seen these two before and if I did they would run away. The long-haired one of the two came up to me and seemed a little bit friendly, this was the one that was in the road both times. This one had come up to the concrete block I had put a a can of wet cat food on was very scared and flinched anytime I would gently touch its head. However by the end I was able to fully pet its back and even when I walked up behind it from its back turn to me it let me pet it. However it was very skinny and I could feel the backbone. The shorter haired orange cat however would not let me go next to it. These two seemed very hungry I don't know what to do anymore. My mom had gone to the vet related to my other cat and had asked about the situation with the gray cat. She was then told by the vet that this had been going on for a while. All the cats had a disease that spread very quickly to other cats therefore they had to be kept in the same area hence why the five cats were always at the barn. My mother was then told that the best option would be to euthanize the gray cat and most of the other ones. These cats need food and they are so very hungry.I'm conflicted on whether to try and capture the few cats that will let me get close and take them to the animal shelter or to call animal control. The thing with animal control is that they have already been to the older woman's house when she was pronounced deceased to round up all the indoor cats however not the outdoor cats. Please let me know what to do I just I don't know what to do.

Our top barn cat taking a break and surveying his territory

Hello I'll try to keep this as simple as I can but I need help with a cat. I live in a farm area therefore there are a lot of barn cats. My sibling used to go help feed cats at a barn near us with an older lady that eventually passed away. We know the cats were neutered because we had a cat from the barn come to our home and live with us and has been living with us since. This was okay with old woman as she owned the barn. She unfortunately passed away a little bit over a year ago. The problem comes with the lady passing away our family and a couple of other families near there have taken on the responsibility of feeding the cats. The the nephew / son of the owner has come by before and asked me what I was doing. I was let know that I was okay with me feeding the cats. However requested for them not to be fed everyday as he wanted them to keep working to kill the mice and keep the barn vermin free. Recently I have noticed one of the cats a gray one we named well.. gray is very skinny. This is weird because we feed them every other day and should not be skinny. All the other cats are fat and seem well fed. I am worried that this cat might have worms that will eventually kill him. The problem comes with the fact i can't just take this cat. I have no clue if the old woman who used to own them had adopted them legally since she had them neutered and they live at the barn. I'm not sure if I can take them to the animal shelter and have them helped. I would need to take them to the animal shelter because currently me and my family cannot afford the proper treatment these cats need. If there is any vets, lawyers or anyone out there that could possibly help me find a solution.. if there is a solution please let me know thank you.