The barn cat dillemna...any suggestions?

Question

My boyfriend has a small dairy farm, and I go there every day to help take care of the animals. They have always had barn cats, but usually just a handfull of healthy ones. The past 2 years have brought an unusually large amount of kittens, and feral kitties appeared, and now I am seeing viruses, lice, and battle wounds associated with having too many cats. We are not the type to hurt the cats, and many are considered family pets. My boyfriend says they have overpopulated because his sisters feed them too much, but we can't just stop feeding them now that they are there! Nobody has the funds to start neutering them, and they tell me it is $$ down the drain if they get hit on the road. If I treat our favorites only, won't they just get healthier and have MORE babies? And won't the feral ones give diseases back to the pets? Serious suggestions or personal experience with this ONLY. Rude answers will be reported, I really care and want to help the situation.

Thank you so much for your answers so far!!! I really want to get the "pet" females spayed. Things have been rough lately, his mother has been restricted to a wheelchair and we've all been trying to help with farm work, but $$ and hands have been short. I feel rather inconsiderate worrying about the cats, but I want to fix the problem. I don't think there is a SNR program here, I work at the local shelter here. Could there be a fund just for spaying farm cats? I should start one if there isn't!!!

Answer 1

Hopefully the dairy would make enough money to spay & neuter the cats. You may want to suggest that all the care CAN BE legitimately written off as an expense for the dairy.

I suggest taking the parent cats in ASAP for fixing and get the others fixed as soon as they are old enough (about 6 months). Otherwise they could be a health hazard to themselves and other livestock (rabies, feline leukemia, lice etc.). Before you know it the local animal cops could shut the place down...you dont want that kind of publicity for the dairy...not good

Here (in Oregon) we are able to write off all costs in feeding and care of barn cats for "rodent control" on our farm. The same goes for guard dogs and sheep dogs. Check with a tax person to make sure, but is should be good to go! Then run a tab with a vet and go for it!

good luck!

Answer 2

Outdoor animals will get whatever comes from the ground, air, and greenery.
Such as: Fleas, Ticks, Lice, Mites, and viruses.

Your boyfriend is wrong, in that they have overpopulated, because they are fed too much. Populating is done naturally, it's just what they are born to do, without human interception, to control how, and if, our pets will be breed.

You cannot only feed some, and not others, this will have them fighting for sure. You know, how you get, when you are hungry. As for the neutering &/or spaying, yes it is expensive, and yes you could say it would be money down the drain, if they got hit in the road. Pet Owners Have A Responsibility To Their Animals. They occasionally need a doctor, same as us. They need vitamins, minerals, clean water, and fresh food, warmth in winter, and a cool area in hot weather, same as us.

The feral's and the domestic's, will just keep passing diseases, sickness back and forth, if the Human family doesn't step in and help.

There are millions of healthy cats and kittens put to Death each year in U.S. animal shelters because of unaltered cats and not enough homes for their offspring. Some people don't know this, or they don't recognize this is related to themselves or their cats.

People put off spay/neutering due to issues of money, transportation, or time. Some people believe it's fairer to allow the cat to mate "just this once", or they think a female cat's pregnancy & kittens will be sweet or educational for their human children. Also, some people don't know that: Cats can start mating as early as age 6 months.

You Need To Check Out:

Low Cost or Free Spay - Neuter Programs in the United States: http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

Answer 3

Put a sign up by the road FREE KITTENS or usually your local paper will not charge for placing an add for free items. See if you can keep the sick cats seperated from the others until they get better. You dont have to worry about humans catching lice from cats because its not the same and humans cannot carry the lice that cats have. Get some flea powder and sprinkle all over the cats. It should kill the lice and the fleas. Fleas also can carry viruses and the cat gets bit by the fleas. That is what my vet says.
I use the Hartz Flea and Tick Powder that kills fleas and ticks. It works good for my 2 cats and it lasts. As far as the breeding, eventually you will have to get the cats fixed , maybe one at a time in order to control the overpopulating. I think its under 50 bux.
One other thing you might try. When my sisters cat had 5 kittens I called the local petstore and they said they accept kittens as long as they are flea and tick free. Its another option if you want them to go to a good place.
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Talk to your local vet about discounts, or see if there is a local feral Trap/Neuter/Release program in your area that can help offset the cost. You're right that too many cats will end up being more of a problem than too few. As far as being "out the $$" if a neutered cat gets hit on the highway, if they're considered "family pets" then that's IMHO a d*mned callous attitude towards them.

The more ferals you have, the more chance of serious disease that will affect not only the cats, but possibly the cattle. Did you know that cats are the only pets known to be affected by the infectious agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, in cattle?

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/304_cow.html

Answer 5

trap as many as you can and take to your local SPCA or human society... in fact I would call them and explain the delima... most shelters realize that part of the rural problem is because city people dump unwanted pets in the country.. anyhow I say to call them because every area has different things they do or can assist with and I dont want to say what my SPCA does, because yours may be very different

anyhow I am on a farm - ALL our 5 cats are spayed or neutered.... there is no point in treating them unless you also spay or neuter.. obviously the friendliest ones would be the best choices - feeding them too much wont make a difference to their population - you must remove some and spay or neuter the others...

sometimes SPCA have funding assistance to help with spaying or neutering...
spay the girls first neuter the males if you still have the money

Answer 6

I think you should seperate the "family pets" and the "diseased" ones. Get the female pets spade, and have animal control take the diseased ones. They will all be just fine. They will make them healthier and they will find good homes for them. My friend used to have wild cats living under her house. There were tons of them. They just bought a dog, and the cats that were afraid went to someone elses house. They got lucky and the really good cats stayed. Cats are great animals, i am glad you are concerned for them. You are doing the right thing in trying to decrease the population. Less cats equals less fights. Good luck and be carefull.

Answer 7

Check on Petfinder.com to find feral rescue groups in your area. Or do a web search for feral cat rescue. A trap-neuter-release program could be what you need. TNR programs trap ferals in humane traps, neuter and vaccinate them, then release them back where they were trapped. Some particularly sociable ones might be kept and adopted out as pets.

Answer 8

Call animal control...to many with diseases will just continue to spread. If possible try to set up cages and capture the females. Have them spayed to help cut down on the unwanted births.

Answer 9

You should get rid of the ones that shouldn't be there there are places whereyou take kittens and cats where they do not put them to sleep.

Answer 10

If you cut down the food supply it will force the cats to look else where for food they will wonder more to find food and other animals in the wild will take care of your population problem. I live one a farm and have to do the same thing. It might sound creul but let nature take its course.