So in my current home (in town, no land), I semi-adopted a stray cat a few months ago that is still an outdoor cat, but always comes by for food and good scratchies. He kinda just showed up one day and we became fast friends. I might be moving to a property with more land in the coming months, and I want to take him with me and turn him into a barn cat/outdoor cat over there (unfortunately can't take him inside currently as I have household members that are highly allergic, and my dog would probably eat him). How do you all establish the barn as "home base" for your new barn cats? (I included a picture of the baby waby of course:)) any tips would be greatly appreciated 🙂
by mmwrite
9 Comments
Gonna have to make them feel safe in the barn. It should be cat safe, and there should be a few “hiding/sleeping” spots for the cat to choose from. They’ll pick the one they like best. I’d suggest constraining the cat in the barn for a day or two with food and scratchies then opening a door for it to access in and out full time.
Toby showed up, showed a dead pocket gopher. He now has corporate support. We hold parades for gopher killers.
Food and access to clean water. Even well-fed cats still destroy mice. Does he let you pick him up? If so, when you leave, bring him with you.
Best practice is to keep them confined in their new home base for two weeks, then release. Whether that’s a feed room, bathroom, cat condo, etc.
Make sure he genuinely is a stray. He could already be someone else’s outdoor cat. Stealing him would be an awful thing to do, even if you did it accidentally.
My friend’s cats will look mice straight in the eye and never move an inch. All cats are not hunters. His are couch surfers.
The number one reason stray cats die when caught is relocation. A true feral has a high chance of death if relocated. Our cat was also a stray. We started bringing him inside. Now he’s family
The tarantula on his head is SICK!
here is a good how-to for acclimating a barn cat to its new home
[https://icanimalcenter.org/DocumentCenter/View/2409/Barn-Cat-Acclimation?bidId=](https://icanimalcenter.org/DocumentCenter/View/2409/Barn-Cat-Acclimation?bidId=)